Ezra Pierce, son of Nathan Pierce and Polly McLouth, was born on June 17, 1806 in Massachusetts. He married Eliza Burley in 1827 in Manchester, New York. As a resident of Manchester, Ezra claimed to be acquainted with Joseph Smith. When asked about Joseph’s drinking, he said, “Everyone drank in those days.”
Ezra owned 127-acres northwest of the Manchester Village. He served in the Ontario County Assembly in 1847 and as a justice in the court of sessions from 1859-1860. He was still living in Manchester by 1881.
Ezra claimed that Joseph Smith knew no more about hieroglyphics than a stove. Joseph Smith Sr. called on him with a few unbound copies of the Book of Mormon and was ordered out of his house.
Ezra died on February 21, 1886 in Manchester, New York. He was buried in Manchester.[1]
[1] Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:95–97.