Harriet Prescott was born in 1775 in Nova Scotia, Canada, to Peter F. C. deLesdernier of Boston. She appears to have been well-educated. Harriet married William Pepperell Prescott (born circa 1770), a sea captain and merchant, in 1803 or 1804. William lost his fortune due to the start of the War of 1812 and returned to being a merchant. The Prescotts had eight children, all of whom were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with the exception of the eldest: Elizabeth Ellis (born 1805), twins Joseph Newmarch and Mary Newmarch (born 1809), William Henry (born 1809), George Benjamin (born 1810), Harriet Goddard (born 1811), Adeline Ann (born 1813), and Catharine Fraser Watson (born 1814). William Pepperell Prescott died on May 20, 1831, at the age of 61. After her husband's death, Harriet and some of her daughters moved to Calais, Maine, then the residence of her son Joseph Newmarch. Harriet died at the home of her daughter Catharine and son-in-law George L. Montague of Boston, on December 29, 1864.

Elizabeth Ellis Prescott Betton was born in 1805 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott. She married Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Betton of New Hampshire in 1827; they had no children. Charles died in 1850, at the age of 47. Elizabeth died December 25, 1891 in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Joseph Newmarch Prescott was born in 1807 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was a merchant in Calais, Maine, and suffered several reversals of fortune during his career. In 1835 he could not do business in his own name and was avoiding creditors. According to correspondence, that same year he was forced to "break up housekeeping" and was seeking to board his wife, children, mother, and unmarried sisters with his own sister, Elizabeth, as cheaply as possible. In 1839 he stated he had "failed in business", but was starting over by 1841. Throughout this time he was postmaster and justice of the peace in Calais. In 1850 he moved to Oregon for several years, without his family, but returned to Newburyport.

Joseph married Sarah Jane Bridges in 1833, and the couple had eight children together. Their daughter, Harriet Prescott Spofford, became an author. Joseph died in January 1881, in the Salisbury, Massachusetts home of his daughter Harriet and son-in-law Richard Spofford.

Mary Newmarch Prescott deLesdernier was born in 1807 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott, in Newburyport, Massachusetts; she was the twin of Joseph Newmarch Prescott. In 1825 or 1826, she married her mother's cousin, John deLesdernier. John was a sea captain, and during his voyages, Mary lived with her mother-in-law. In 1839 Mary and John moved to Galveston Island, Texas, where John died in 1856. Mary returned to Newburyport where she died in 1860.

William Henry Prescott was born in 1809 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He went to sea while still a teenager. He became an officer in the Mexican navy, serving under Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana in 1833, in a war against Spain. William never married and died in a shipwreck in 1835, at the age of 25.

George Benjamin Prescott was born in 1810 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He appears to have had a brief career. By 1831 he was penniless and unemployed, having tried his fortunes both on land and at sea. At one point he was incarcerated, but was released in 1832, when his affairs were settled by his brother Joseph. George never married, and died at sea in 1832 at the age of 21.

Harriet Goddard Prescott was born in 1811 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She never married, and died on December 30, 1887.

Catharine Fraser Watson Prescott Montague was born in 1814 to Harriet and William Pepperell Prescott, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She married George Little Montague in 1847, and they had six children together. Catharine's date of death is unavailable.