Disputed Parentage
It has long been seen that Elizabeth wife of Lawrence Pearson is the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Janney or Randle Janney and Ellen Alrodd. There is no evidence of this however the belief persists so the various problems with this should be examined.
There is no primary or credible secondary source document listing Elizabeth's maiden name.
William Davis's history of Bucks County claims that Randle Janney and Ellen Alrodd had four children: Thomas (bp 27 Jun 1605), Randle (bp 26 May 1608), Heine (bp 24 Mar 1610), and Richard (bp 20 Feb 1613)[1]. See Paul Palmer Research below for additional information disproving this parentage.
Thomas Janney and Elizabeth Worthingon have been detached as Elizabeth's parents. This parentage is rejected by the profilers of Thomas Janney who state that Elizabeth daughter of Thomas was a minister and did not marry a "Lawrence, John or Lawrence John Pierson." While evidence of that Elizabeth is thin it should be noted that Thomas Janney did not marry until 1625 and this Elizabeth "Janney" is always seen as born 1620.
It has also been proposed that her maiden name is Barnhill. This appears to have come about from a user submitted genealogy found at FamilySearch (but it appears to have now been deleted). A search of Cheshire and Wilmslow, Cheshire records does not appear to produce records for someone named Elizabeth Barnhill or similar surname.
Birth
Absent any primary or credible secondary source documents Elizabeth's birth is likely before 1626 given the ages of her children (the earliest children are not proven hers beyond all doubt). It is probable that she was younger than Lawrence in that she is believed to have been his second wife .
Marriage
The marriage date of Lawrence and Elizabeth is unknown. No marriage record has been found. With the birth dates of the eldest children unknown the marriage could have occurred as early as 1645 or as late as 1650.
Children
It is not definitively known that all the children of Lawrence are the offspring of Elizabeth but absent any other records on his first wife this is believed most likely.
The following children have primary source documentation or secondary sources and related documents showing their relationships either to each other or the parents.
Mary born about 1647. Mary is named in her father's Will (see Lawrence Pearson) but is not listed first which casts some doubt on this year of birth. The will notes that Mary has special necessities requiring oversight by the executors.
Edward born between 1648 and 1651. Edward is named in his father's Will ( see Lawrence Pearson) but his birth predates the Quaker minutes book in which most of his younger siblings records are found. The prior minutes book has not yet been located.
Thomas born about 1653, Pownall Fee, Cheshire. Thomas is documented as a brother by ships records to the Colonies and his father's Will (see Lawrence Pearson).
John born 5 Sep 1654, Pownall Fee, Cheshire.[2]
Sarah born 3 Nov 1659, Pownall Fee, Cheshire.[3]
The following additional children may be a part of this family but are presently lacking either primary source documentation or secondary and related documents pointing to them being part of this family.
Martha born about 1650. Is not named in the will of Lawrence and no records have been found.
Robert born about 1656. Is not named in the will of Lawrence and no records have been found.
Margaret born 1670. This is easily discounted as the date of birth is after the proven death of mother Elizabeth. This is only included as reference as she is included in many unsourced genealogies.
Children to Pennsylvania
Thomas and John left England and arrived Pennsylvania 1683. Edward left England and arrived Pennsylvania 1687. See their respective biographies (linked above under children) for documentation.
There is some evidence that their sister Sarah and her husband arrived Pennsylvania in 1685 but this has not been conclusively proven at this time. See her biography for additional information.
Death
Elizabeth passed away 13 Aug 1662 Mobberly, Cheshire, England[4][5] She is buried at St Wilfred's Church, Mobberly.
Paul Palmer Research
Researcher Paul Palmer has been unable to identify any proof that Elizabeth Pearson was a Janney:
Janney-215 was created by Al Alexander through the import of Alexander Jr Family Tree.ged on Jan 11, 2015. This profile was re-sourced and rewritten T Stanton 4 Oct 2018.
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This is incorrect. It is proven that Thomas and John left England in 1683. Edward left England in 1687. See their profiles for the documentation.
As the mother of 3 Penn Project members (Edward, Thomas and John) perhaps some team members from the Penn Project could tackle the issues with the origins of Elizabeth wife of Lawrence.