The First Pearson

Pott Shrigley by Andy Edwards from PicturesofEngland.com

Of course he is not the first, but we have to start somewhere, so we will begin with Edward Peersonne (1575 - 1648) of Cheshire, England.

The  name Peersonne is variously spelled Pearson or Pierson. During World War I James Madison Pearson used the spelling Pierson on some documents while in France.The derivation of the name Pearson is likely son of Pierre. A common English adaptation would be Peterson.History buffs will remember that William of Normandy conquered England in 1066 and brought many French retainers with him. French is a large part of the current English vocabulary.

Thanks to Wally, I have logged into a family discussion list on the Pearsons. The question is can we link up what is known of our relatives with this Edward Peersonne? Here is a link to the page on this ancient Pearson. Here is the link to Wally's site that gets us to Lawrence Pierson (1607 - 1673). Wally says that our family line comes from Edward's grandson of the same name, who went to Bucks County, Pennsylvania.From Wally's other page:

...the descendants of Edward Peeresonne (c1575-1648) of Cheshire, England.
Some dispute Edwards' place in this lineage and that is also part of discussions here. Edward's son(?) Lawrence became a Quaker in the mid-1600s and sent two sons to America: Edward (Bucks Co., PA) and Thomas (Chester Co., PA). Many of their descendants followed the major Quaker migration routes into Virginia and the Carolinas and then went into Tennesee, Ohio, Indiana, and points west or stayed in the south in Georgia and Alabama.

There, seemingly, is the connection. The ancient Edward Peersonne had a son Lawrence who became a Quaker. This Lawrence had two sons Edward and Thomas. Lawrence died in 1673 and Edward departed for America in 1687 and settled in Bucks County. Thomas followed and settled in Chester County (Note the name Chester which ties into Chester, England).

There is a second source of information on the Pearsons. This comes from William H. Pearson. This site references a first generation for Edward Pierson.

Edward PEARSON was born in 1575 in Wimslow Parish ,Pownall Fee, Cheshire, England. He died on 25 Jul 1648 in Pownall Fee, Cheshire, England, buried Moberly Cem.. Edward Pearson was born @ 1590 at Pownel Fee in Cheshire Co., England. He was married to unknown @ 1600 in Cheshire and died 25 Jul 1648 buried at Mobberly cem.

This Edward had a son named Lawrence Pierson. Lawrence had sons including Edward and Thomas. Edward was born in 1648 in Wimslow Parish, Pownall Fee, Cheshire, England. He died on 3 Jun 1697 in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania. Edward and his family came to America on the ship Welcome in 1687. Thomas followed on the Endeavor.

Visit Wimslow Parish online. This site has several photographs. It also notes that the parish register commences in 1558. This is the same year that Elizabeth I ascended the throne. Another good website is the postcard collection of Maggie Blanck.


Now for a third source. This one is on Ancestry.com and is called rootsDigger. This site starts with Edward and continues with Lawrence, but it then diverges to another son. The site includes the will of Lawrence Pierson. I will copy this in the comments section, but you can go to it directly.

A looming question for me is Why? Why did our ancestors leave England for America? Was it religious freedom, political discontent, economic opportunity, or just the desire to see something new? Our own immediate family histories give many reasons for moving from state to state, the common reason today being economic, the hunt for a job and a livlihood. To answer the question for earlier Pearsons at this point in history is well nigh impossible. We have no letters from the ancestors explaining their actions. What we do have is a history of the times. So, from time to time I will give a little history to help in understand what drove the Pearsons to leave England.

Cheshire, England from which the Pearsons came in the 17th century was made up of rural parishes. The population of the city of Chester around 1700 was 7,817 which was more than twice the population of Manchester (3,690), and no other town in north England topped three thousand (Source The First Industrial Region).  In 1660 the restoration of the English monarchy occurred under Charles II. The bishops were restored to Parliament and there was a strict Anglican orthodoxy. As a reaction, Quakerism began in the north of England under the influence of James Fox. The Quakers stressed independent thought and personal interpretation of the Bible. There is a good discussion at exlibris on English Dissenters.

I will leave this post up for awhile. If it turns out to be a dead end, then it can be removed. For now, let's follow this trail and see where it leads.I will update it as I get new information.

I am posting this link to online search sites for later review. Valuable links should be entered on the blog page when verified.