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John Pearson 1808 - 1878 John Pearson was born 1808 in Brierley Hill, almost certainly at his father’s house, ‘The Orchard’, near what is now Wallows Road. It is not known where his education took place, but as his youngest sibling, George, attended university to study mining engineering it can be guessed that John, and his other brothers – for all were involved in the same trade – followed a similar route. |
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John’s
first business venture was as a partner in the firm ‘Hall, Holcroft &
Pearson’, a company operating coal mines in the Brierley Hill area. It has not
yet been determined who Mr. Hall was, but the other partner was James Holcroft.
Some time later, John became a partner in ‘J & W Pearson’ with his
brother William, who had begun his working life as a clerk in his fathers
business (‘Parrish & Pearson’) - they also owned and operated mines in
the area. In 1860 the two brothers, now very wealthy in their own right, founded
another company named after their respective eldest sons, presumably with the
intention that these two sons would run, and probably take over the business.
This was ‘E J & J
Pearson’ named for Edward Jewkes and John Pearson. Surviving
documents record payments made to Edward
Jewkes Pearson for his work as an agent for the company, although it
seems he was also a director of the company, and several other documents eg
Trade Dircetories list both Edward Jewkes Pearson and his cousin John Pearson as
proprietors. It seems there was later a problem and Edward Jewkes Pearson later
resigned his directorship and his father and uncle retook control of the
business, inviting Williams son-in-law, John William Thomas to become a partner.
John, by virtue of his knowledge of the mining industry, seems to have been one of the first people to have realised that the same coal seam which lies under the Black Country reappears near the ground surface in the Clee Hills in Shropshire. An article written by C A G Thomas (a descendant of William Pearson) which appeared in ‘The Blackcountryman’ (the Journal of The Black Country Society) outlines how John and his brother were able to take advantage of this knowledge.
John
married Ann, the daughter of Edward Jewkes, another Brierley Hill Coal and
Ironmaster, at Sedgley Parish Church in 18__. At this time he was living in
Gorsty Bank var.
spellings
(now Bank Street), Brierley Hill, near to the Methodist Church founded by his
father. In later years he lived at ‘Townsend House’, Market Street, Kingswinford
(on the junction with Summerhill) – at his death in 1878 this house passed to
his son Dr Alfred William
Pearson who carried on his medical practice there until his death in
1920.
Methodism
stayed with John throughout his life. In addition to being a Trustee of Bank
Street Church he was also a Sunday School Teacher there for most of his adult
life. In later years he provided a loan to purchase land for the building of
another Methodist Church in Moss Grove, Kingswinford. When the Trustees of this
new church tried to repay this loan John refused to accept it.
John
died in _ _ 1878 and was interred in the Parish Churchyard at Wordsley, near to
the main doors of the building. His wife, Ann, is buried with him, and their son
Dr Alfred William Pearson
is in the adjacent grave. He left a vast and valuable estate consisting of mines
not just in the Black Country but also in Shropshire. In addition he was a
partner and co-owner of ‘E J
& J Pearson’ as mentioned above, with the additional fireclay
mines etc. associated with this venture. His will, because of it’s extent,
took over twenty years to settle, and involved a Lawsuit in Chancery involving
his descendants, including the Chavasse family.
Pearson/Rowley/Parrish/Batham/Gauden
Steve Pearson
PO Box 2483, Dudley, West Midlands, England, DY2 0YH
Tel: +44 (0)1384 571244 E-mail: Steve Pearson
©S Pearson 2002
