Lawrence Pearson (bef. 1607 - 1673)

Born before 4 May 1607 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England

Husband of Anne (Worth) Pearson — married 2 Apr 1643 in Prestbury, Cheshire, England

Husband of Elizabeth (Janney) Pearson — married 1652 in Pownall Fee, Cheshire, England

Descendants

Died 24 Feb 1673 after age 65 in Mobberly Quaker Burying Ground, Cheshire, England

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Biography

The birth date of Lawrence Pearson remains uncertain however a baptismal record believed to be his is dated 4 May 1607, Wilmslow, Cheshire, England with the father listed as Edward Pearson.^[1] Alternate birth years are seen as late as 1620 but without any documentation. It should be noted that the surname is seen spelled various ways depending on the clerk making records.

First Marriage

The marriage of Lawrence Pierson of Mobberly to Anne Worth is recorded in 1643.^[2][3] Additional records regarding Anne have not been found.

Second Marriage

Regarding the name of Lawrence's second wife all that is certain is that her first name is Elizabeth. While it is common to see her name given as Elizabeth Janney there is no document or primary source record that gives her name as Elizabeth Janney daughter of Randle Janney and Ellen Allred or Thomas Janney and Elizabeth Worthington. There is also considerable speculation about her maiden name being Barnhill however no records exist for such a family at this time in Cheshire. See notations under Elizabeth.

Children (all with Elizabeth with possible exception of Mary)
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 (below) 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 (below) 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 (below).

John born 5 Sep 1654, Pownall Fee, Cheshire.^[4]

Sarah born 3 Nov 1659, Pownall Fee, Cheshire.^[5]

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

Lawrence passed away 23 Dec 1673 in Pownall Fee and is buried in Mobberly.^[6]

Will

Will of Lawrence Pearson in the Probate Registry, Chester. A.D. 1673, Feb 21(Old Style)

I, Lawrence Peirson of Pownall Fee, Co. Chester, mason, I give unto my sonne John (?) pounds; unto my sonne Edward the dishboard, the little plow, and the little pair of plow irons, etc.; unto my daughter Mary 1/s. It is my will that the rest of my goods etc. be divided into four equall parts and three parts thereof to be divided into equall portions unto my sonne John, unto my sonne Thomas, unto my daughter Sarah. And the fourth equall part being divided as aforesaid, I give unto my Executors to administer to my daughter Mary or her issues necessitie according as they in their wisdome and discretion shall see occasion.

Executors my brother Robert Peirson of Pownall Fee, mason, and John Johnson of Baguly, yeoman, and Randle Janney of Pownall Fee, husbandman.
Lawrence Peirson

Witnesses, Peter Burges, John Hobson, the mark O of Richard Neild. Proved 20 Jun 1674 by Jo. Johnson one of the Exors, named. Power reserved to Robert Peirson, Randle Janney being dead.

Additional Information

The following items appear in many online sources but the actual source of this information is nowhere listed. It may be factual and it may not.

In 1657, Lawrence Pearson of Wilmslow Parish refused to pay a tithe, and had a horse worth three pounds confiscated to pay an eight shilling tithe.

In 1665 Lawrence Pearson of Pownall Fee was arrested at a Quaker meeting and jailed for two months.

In 1650, Lawrence Pearson was imprisoned for testifying in the streets at Highfield, County Derby. In 1660, Robert Pearson, his brother, was put in jail for refusing to take an oath.

Research Notes

In searching for additional information on the family the One-name.org was contacted and the Pearson name chief reports (Sep 2018) that they do not have Pearson information for Cheshire for this period of time. (They do have substantial information on Pearson for Lancashire.)

Sources

1. ↑ England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. [Note that this is not user submitted information, the original document is being sought.] Image of Parish record at FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQBG-NXK : 7 December 2017)
2. ↑ Prestbury Parish Register, 2 Apr 1643
3. ↑ "England, Lancashire Non-Conformist Church Records, 1647-1996", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Z445-S2MM : 11 July 2022), Lawrence Pierson, 1643. from image: Weddings 1643: Macclesfield (Cheshire), Lawrence Pierson, Ann Worth, April 2.
4. ↑ 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
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 1398: Monthly Meeting of Cheshire, formerly Morley (1654-1776), Frame 22
6. ↑ 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 23

• Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol IV., Flushing Monthly Meetings (2) [Citation is unclear after merge but has been left in order to check the reference.]
• Profile re-sourced and edited T Stanton 4 Oct 2018.