Origin and Meaning of the name Pearson
PEARSON is a simple patronym or father's name meaning son of Piers or Pierce which is an older form of Peter.
My Pearsons originated in the area of the villages of Storth and Beetham in Westmorland, North West England. My paternal grandfather was Jack Pearson who moved from Westmorland to Lancashire in the late 1920's to work on a farm in Wrightington near Wigan.
I remember childhood visits to Westmorland with my parents, especially to the village of Storth, where my father had spent his Summer holidays when he was a child with his grandmother Rebecca Pearson. I remember that the Pearson name was very common in the area, it appeared on shops and on the war memorial in the centre of the village, and we wondered at the time, what relationship these Pearsons were to us.
The main aim of my Pearson research was to go back as far as possible with the Pearsons of Westmorland. At first I thought that the fact that they had lived in a small area for many generations would make it easier but I soon discovered that as there were many branches of Pearsons with the same given names it was in fact going to be harder than I'd imagined. Pearsons married Pearsons, as first and second cousins married and a set of other surnames became important as they married into the Pearson family in several different generations; Barber & Woof, in particular.
Jack Pearson (1906-1971)
My grandfather, Jack Pearson came from Westmorland to Lancashire in the late 1920's to work at Boggart House Farm, High Moor, Wrightington which was run by Bill and Polly Valentine. He met their niece, May Anderton and they married in 1930. They had 6 children, including one set of twins, my father being the eldest child. During the 1930's they lived and worked at Boggart House, which is where my father was born and spent his early childhood.
During the Second World War they lived in Parbold Hall as the caretakers of the empty hall. My father remembers the German and Italian Prisoners of War who worked as labourers at the Hall in this period.
In later life Jack & May moved to Wigan.
Rebecca Pearson (b. 1881)
Rebecca turned out to be much more of a mystery than we had expected!
My father remembers visits to the village of Storth, Westmorland as a child to stay with his grandmother. He remembers her as a serious, rather straight-laced, church-going lady. She lived in a cottage in the centre of the village and everyone called her Mistress Pearson. As a child my father had been led to believe that Rebecca's hisband had died in the First World War and that Rebecca's maiden name was Barber but in fact, when my grandfather died we discovered that there was no father's name on his birth certificate and Rebecca had never married.
It turned out that it was Rebecca's older sister, Betsy Pearson who had married Richard Barber of Black Dyke Farm, Arnside, and Rebecca and her two sons had lived there with the Barbers, hence the mistake about her relationship with the Barbers.
The Pearsons and Barbers were very close as Rebecca and Betsy's brother, John Pearson, who never married, lived with Betsy and Richard Barber's son Dick Barber and his wife Lizzie on their farm in Quernmore, N. Lancashire.
Thomas Pearson (b. 1847)
My great, great gandfather, Rebecca's father. Once I had discovered that Rebecca had been born a Pearson, I found the family on the 1881 census with no problem:
Census Place: Beetham, Westmorland, England
Source: FHL Film 1342257 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 5215 Folio 59
Page 8
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
Thomas PEARSON M 34 M Hutton Roof, Westmorland, England
Rel: Head
Occ: Builder & Contractor
Ellen PEARSON M 38 F Arnside, Westmorland, England
Rel: Wife
Betsy PEARSON 11 F Storth, Westmorland, England
Rel: Daur
Occ: Scholar
Mary Ellen PEARSON 8 F Storth, Westmorland,
England
Rel: Daur
Occ: Scholar
John Willm. PEARSON 6 M Storth, Westmorland,
England
Rel: Son
Occ: Scholar
Alice Jane PEARSON 3 F Storth, Westmorland,
England
Rel: Daur
Rebecca M. PEARSON 6 m F Storth, Westmorland,
England
Rel: Daur
Thomas' birthplace was given as Hutton Roof and I found his christening as:
PEARSON, Thomas
Christening
Sex: Male
Christening Date: 31 Oct 1847
Recorded in: Hutton
Roof, Westmorland, England
Father: William PEARSON
Mother: Betsy
Source: FHL Number 1471666 Dates: 1813-1879
William Pearson (b. 1817)
My ggg grandparents then, were William and Betsy Pearson of Hutton Roof, Westmorland. They also appeared on the 1881 census living with Thomas' older brother's family and some younger brothers and sisters:
Census Place: Beetham, Westmorland, England
Source: FHL Film 1342257 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 5215 Folio 57
Page 3
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
William PEARSON M 37 M Camsgill, Westmorland, England
Rel: Head
Occ: Stonemason
Sophia PEARSON M 39 F Scotland
Rel: Wife
Annie PEARSON 4 F Storth, Westmorland, England
Rel: Daur
John PEARSON 4 M Storth, Westmorland, England
Rel: Son
Sophia Mc Hardy PEARSON 2 F Storth, Westmorland,
England
Rel: Daur
William PEARSON M 64 M Storth, Westmorland, England
Rel: Head
Occ: Yeoman (Farmer)
Betsy PEARSON M 62 F Storth, Westmorland, England
Rel: Wife
John PEARSON U 26 M Sedbergh, York, England
Rel: Son
Occ: Stonemason
James PEARSON U 24 M Sedbergh, York, England
Rel: Son
Occ: Stonemason
Jane PEARSON U 18 F Sedbergh, York, England
Rel: Daur
Occ: Yeomans Daughter
Thomas Pearson (1796-1820) & Mary Pearson (b. 1800)
My gggg grandparent's, Mary & Thomas Pearson were first cousins. They married at Beetham on 20th May 1817 but their marriage was a short one. Thomas died in 1820 at the age of 24, leaving 20-year old Mary Pearson a widow with 2 small boys, William aged 3 and Thomas aged 1. She married again five years later on 11th April 1825 to William Woof in Beetham and they had several other children who were brought up with the children from Mary's first marriage and who continued to have a close relationship in adult life as can be seen from the 1841 and 1851 census returns, which show the Woof brothers living with their half brother William Pearson's family.
| Thomas Pearson's father was: | Mary 's father was: |
|
| William Pearson b. 1765 | Robert Pearson b. 1766 | |
| William married Mary Atkinson in 1789. | Robert married Agnes Stott in 1789. |
William and Robert's father was:
William Pearson b. 1734
William married Jennet Hudson of Haverbrack in 1757.
John Pearson b. 1696
John married Ann Dineley in 1733.
Robert Pearson b. 1668
Robert married Mary Barne in 1692.
Robert Pearson b. 1623
Robert Pearson was born in Carlisle in 1623.
Click above to view my Pearson Family Group Sheets
Pearson Surname Noticeboard at GenConnect
Pearson Surname Noticeboard at Genforum
Pearson Surname Noticeboard at Rootsweb.com
If you have or know of a website dedicated to the Pearson Surname, please let me know so that I can include a link on this page.