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Elizabeth (Janney) Pearson (bef. 1626 - 1662)

Elizabeth Pearson formerly Janney
Born before in Cheshire, Englandmap
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of — married 1652 in Pownall Fee, Cheshire, Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died after age 36 in Mobberley, Cheshire, Englandmap
Profile last modified | Created 6 Aug 2010
This page has been accessed 2,753 times.
Elizabeth was a Friend (Quaker)

Biography

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:

Randall died in 1613, seven years before such a daughter's improbable birth. I have a photocopy of and have transcribed his estate papers. I also have the christening records of all four of his children, one of whom pre-deceased him and the fourth of which was born posthumously. None was an Elizabeth. ....
I located, had photocopied, and transcribed the 1619 will of Randall's father-in-law, John ALLRED (1564-1620) of Wilmslow Parish. ... Among other things, John ALLRED named ALL his grandchildren. None was an Elizabeth Janney.
I have searched the Wilmslow Parish Register repeatedly and failed to locate any person named JANNEY who was a suitable candidate to be Lawrence PEIRSON's wife. We know he had a wife named Elizabeth and that she was the mother of some of his children ~ probably all except the eldest, daughter Mary. We know that she died in the summer of 1662 and was buried in the Quaker burying yard at Mobberley in Cheshire.
Thus far we do NOT know 1.) what her birth surname was; 2.) who her parents were; 3.) when she was born; 4.) where she was born; 5.) when and/or where she was married to Lawrence PEIRSON.[6]

Sources

  1. Davis, William W. H, A Genealogical and Personal History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. pp. 54-55
  2. Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Piece 1398: Monthly Meeting of Cheshire, formerly Morley (1654-1776), Frame 21
  3. Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Piece 1398: Monthly Meeting of Cheshire, formerly Morley (1654-1776), Frame 22
  4. General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Piece 1037: Quarterly Meeting of Cheshire and Staffordshire: Cheshire (1655-1794)
  5. Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. Piece 1603: Monthly Meeting of Cheshire, formerly Morley: Mobberley, Congleton: Burials (1688-1742), Frame 11. This lists burial date as 12 Aug 1662
  6. Chester County Genealogy, Pearson ( Peirson) Family: Bogus Ancestries (be sure to scroll down) https://web.archive.org/web/20161124230924/http://pachester.usgensites.com/content/pearson-peirson-family


Acknowledgments

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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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Elizabeth by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Elizabeth:

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Comments: 10

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After lengthy notice, Thomas Janney and Elizabeth Worthington which have been marked Uncertain as parents are removed. See Disputed Parentage. No evidence to refute the statements of the Thomas Janney profilers that he cannot be her father have been put forward.
posted by T Stanton
After re-sourcing, the linked parents Thomas and Elizabeth have been left but changed to "uncertain." The profilers of Thomas Janney reject (with documentation) this relationship. Left the relationship for now but it should probably be de-linked after a time unless credible documentation otherwise comes to light.
posted by T Stanton
Linking Thomas Janney as the father also seems erroneous. This Elizabeth was born 1620 which is five years before the documented marriage of Thomas. The alternate birth years also do not work for this family as 1630 is the birth of Thomas' proven daughter Martha and 1646 is well outside the known years of their children.
posted by T Stanton
Note for research: http://www.mobberley.oneplacestudy.org/quaker-graveyard.html Land purchased 1669 for Quaker grave yard purchased by Thomas Janney.
posted by T Stanton
The profile reads: Consider that Lawrence and Elizabeth's two sons Edward and Thomas left England about 1683...

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.

posted by T Stanton
Cheshire, England, Select Bishop's Transcripts, 1576-1933 indicate a burial for Elizabeth Pearson of 13 Dec 1675 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. That matches the provided biography. The 1662 death date would invalidate Margaret as being Elizabeth's daughter. Birthdate for the 1675 Elizabeth Janney Pearson is given as 7 Jun 1620 in Wilmslow.
posted by Kevin Nauta
Janney-1 and Janney-131 are not ready to be merged because: May be same person but needs more research. Interesting that both records list her sister as having the same name. Birth dates different but could be typo.
posted by Mary Knox
I have Elizabeth's birth year as 1620, not 1630.
posted by Ron Pearson
Janney-127 and Janney-1 appear to represent the same person because: I believe same person except birth date is wrong on one>
posted by Ron Pearson
Janney-127 and Janney-1 appear to represent the same person because: Names, dates, locations are the same.
posted by Ron Pearson

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