Children
Martha
Marion
Albert
Thomas
Grace
William Jr.
Jesse
Minnie
Jenny
Between the 1880 and 1900 census counts, there is a descrepency in the recording of dates of birth for all of the Peardon family, which is anywhere from 2 to 5 years off. In the 1870 census, Peardon is misspelled as "Parton" and in the 1880 census it is "Pardon," which may indicate how the name was pronounced. We pronounce it "Peer-don," but William, especially with an accent, may have said it differently, leaving the census-taker to write down how it sounded rather than basing it on any written records.
According to Elizabeth's obituary and the 1900 census, Elizabeth was born in 1840. I am sticking to the date of 1840 as being most accurate since it was recorded by two independant sources.
I assume that the William Peardon, who served as witness to Ann Peardon's wedding on June 16, 1860, was the same as this William Peardon, which puts him in England in mid-1860. I suspect that he left shortly thereafter, as his eldest daughter was born in 1861 to Elizabeth, who was American.
At this time, we are not entirely sure if Martha and Marion Peardon are the children of Elizabeth and William. There are no "Peardons" listed on the census records in 1870, but there is a William and Elizabeth "Parton" listed in Marion County TN who just happen to have been born in England and NC respectively. There's also the fact that William's grandson (my grandfather) was named "Marion", so it seemed to be a good link. Patsy Wooten and I have assumed that the "Parton" family was William's, but my grandmother Peardon is quite certain that their eldest child was Albert. He died young and William's son, William Jr. named his eldest son after Albert. Seeing how Martha and Marion disappear off later censuses, I had assumed that Marion, especially, had probably died young. But why the fuss over carrying on Albert's name but not Martha's, and Marion's name doesn't appear until another generation later (which could be coincidental; after all, everyone involved was born in Marion County).
I have also found a census which clearly shows William Peardon still living in his father James's house in 1861 in England. That means that Martha couldn't have been born before 1862, and probably not until later than that. Given how horrible the census records are for pinning down a date of birth, it's not entirely inconceivable that William came over in 1861 or later and still managed to have time to father the elusive Martha and Marion. However, if his line didn't start until Albert, then he has until 1865 or later to get to America, get married and have Albert.
Elizabeth's obituary was found in the Chattanooga Times, Sept. 30, 1922, page 11. Copies of this can be found on microfiche at the Hamilton County Library in downtown Chattanooga, TN.
William's date of death may be guessed by his appearing in the 1880 census, but not appearing in the 1900 census. Elizabeth is listed as living with her son Thomas and his family in 1900, at the age of 60. The 1890 census was lost in a fire, so I am currently out of options for pinpointing his date of death.
