Reverend Joseph Alexander Harrison (born April 30, 1883 – died 1964) was a Moravian pastor. He was born in San Juan de Nicaragua (formerly known as Greytown) to Cornelius and Margaret Harrison.

Personal life

When he was young, the family relocated to Bluefields, Nicaragua where he attended school. After several attempts at various trades, he eventually became a bookkeeper and worked for a local company in Bluefields. In the mid-1930s he joined the national guard

National Guard (Nicaragua)

In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...

 and rose to the rank of captain. After leaving the military, he became a Moravian pastor. He was dedicated to his ministry until the time of his death.

He married three times (Margaret Casanova, Charlotte Hogdson, Aminta Lampson) and was widowed twice. He had a total of nine children: Leonie, Alexander, Margaret, Anita, Junietta, Maggie, James, Mary Ann, and Myrtle. In 1957, a stamp was commissioned in honour of him founding the Boy Scouts in Nicaragua. On June 27, 1964, he died in Bluefields

Bluefields

Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...

, and was buried there.

Scouting

In 1916, he was asked by Aubry Campbell Ingram

Aubry Campbell Ingram

Aubry Campbell Ingram was a native of Nicaragua, considered to have been the founder of the Asociación de Scouts de Nicaragua.-Scouting:...

 to write a letter to the Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

, who helped him start the first Scout troop

Scout troop

The Scout troop is a unit of Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts that usually meet weekly. Girl Guides often use Unit or Company instead. The troop is the fundamental unit, which a Scout joins and via which he or she participates in Scouting activities, such as camping, backpacking, and...

 in Nicaragua, called Moravian Uno.

In 1942, the Nicaraguan Scout groups formed the Federación Nacional de Boy Scouts de Nicaragua, which was recognized by the government in the same year. The federation became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement

World Organization of the Scout Movement

The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

 in 1946. In the 1950s, the federation changed its name to Asociación de Scouts de Nicaragua

Asociación de Scouts de Nicaragua

The Asociación de Scouts de Nicaragua is the national Scouting organization of Nicaragua. Scouting in Nicaragua started in 1917 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1946...

.