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Edward Pearson is believed to be the eldest child of Lawrence Pearson and Elizabeth Janney born between 1648 and 1651 in Pownall Fee or Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. While the Quaker birth records of his younger brothers Thomas and John have been located, Edward's birth predates the minutes book in which his younger siblings records are found. The prior minutes book has not yet been located.
The marriage record between Edward and Sarah Burgis (which is the spelling on documents of the period) is dated 6 July 1670 in the Monthly Meeting of Cheshire records.[1] The marriage occured in Thomas Pott's Home, Pownall Fee, Cheshire, England. [2]
Five of the six documented children of Edward and Sarah were born in England and the sixth after their arrival in Pennsylvania.
Edward's brothers Thomas and John are documented arriving in Pennsylvania in 1683. From various records it is concluded that Edward arrived 1687. One source does list his arrival as 1682[7] and another with sometimes uncertain verification lists 1687[8]
Hinshaw's unpublished index contains a transcription of the acceptance of Edward's Society of Friends transfer from England which was accepted 1 Apr 1687 at the Monthly Meeting held at Ralph Brockes (Brookes?) in Bramhall, Chester County.[9] Further, the birth locations and dates of his children corroborate arrival in 1687.
Various references to Edward refer to him as a mason and builder, a trade in common with at least one of his siblings.
The Quaker death record of Edward has not been found as yet. He appears in Falls Monthly Meeting minutes in 1695 and 1696. Various family histories read that he passed away in 1697 and it is said he was buried at Fallsington, Bucks, Pennsylvania. The area today is Levittown. The original meeting house was replaced in 1789 and was last reported as being used as a Friends Day Care Center.
An October 1698 intention to marry[10] between Martin Wildman and Sarah Pearson refers to her as the widow of Edward.
Sarah Pearson's marriage to Martin Wildman is confirmed in the 1698 Intestate Administration file for Edward Pearson's Estate which contains a renouncement of her right to Administration in favor of her son Lawrence Pearson dated November 17, 1698 which reads: "Know all men by the presents that wee, Martin Wildman of ye Countie of Bucks, husbandman, and Sarah, his wife, ye late widow of Edward Pearson of ye countie in ye province of pennsylvania, due renounce ye benefit of Administration upon the Estate of said Edward Pearson to and in favor of Lawrence Pearson, son of ye Edward and Sarah." The file also contains the Administrator's Bond dated November 17, 1698 signed by Lawrence Pearson with Martin Wildman as Bondsman and the Initial Inventory of Edward Pearson's Estate dated the 22nd day, 7 mo., 1698.[11]
A number of children are sometimes wrongly attached to this family:
Simon Pearson born 1665 cannot be a member of this family. His date and place of birth (and other records in his profile) prove that he is not a member of this family as does the date of birth itself which predates the proven marriage by five years.
Mary Pearson born 1665 cannot be a member of this family. Her date of birth is five years before the proven marriage of the parents and the location in the Colonies predates their arrival in the colonies by 20 years.
Mary Pierson Scarborough born 1673. While the date of birth is after the marriage of Edward and Sarah they had not yet arrived in the Colonies. There does not appear to be any birth record in England or Pennsylvania for a daughter Mary born to Edward and Sarah.
There is a Thomas who would have been the youngest child sometimes associated with this family. There is not yet enough information to be certain if he is or is not a part of the family but he does not seem to appear in Pennsylvania records as part of this family.
Other children sometimes seen with this family for which there is no evidence other than internet genealogy include: Joseph, Priscilla, William, and Elizabeth. There were a number of Pearson families in this area at this time and they become confused with some regularity.
This profile was re-sourced and rewritten by T Stanton Sep 2018.
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Sarah Burgis, 06 Mar 1671, Marriage citing p. 19, Cheshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
And "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQLW-HJW : 11 December 2014), Edward Peirson, 06 Mar 1671, Marriage; citing p. 19, Cheshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
Josiah Granville Leach collection, Miscellaneous notes and abstracts of wills from Bucks County, Pennsylvania; v. 01 p. 168, (Hist. Society of Penn). Available here
He is referred to as a mason and his 1684 cert of removal is also mentioned.
edited by Bob Pickering
A father's death date (Pearson-35 died 3 Jun 1697) should not be more than nine months before one of his children's birth dates (Pierson-111 born 9 Dec 1714) .