James Harrison was a resident of Tyrrell County. In 1777, he, along with several of his brothers, sons, and nephews, became a member of the Gourd Patch Conspiracy and took three oaths of secrecy. Later when the plot was discovered, he made a deposition before the Tyrrell County justices of the peace and informed on several members of the conspiracy including his nephew Thomas, Daniel Leggett, and James Hays. He initially failed to appear before the court to answer the charges against him, and later appeared on a list of prisoners along with several of the plot's leading conspirators being held at the Edenton Court of Oyer & Terminer. His changes were later dropped.