Thomas Pierson, of Caln

Two Thomas Pierson (Pearson) Families

There were two Thomas Pierson/Pearson Families in Chester County and there is an enormous amount of erroneous information on both of them, to the extent that they have been pretty thoroughly mixed together. One lived in Marple Township and the other in Caln Township. See the 1780 Map on our Chester County Map Page for the location of Marple as it is not a present day township in Chester County. It was a ways east of the two Caln Townships so records for the two Thomas Pearsons can generally be sorted easily based on location. Thomas Pierson/Pearson of Caln

This Thomas Pierson/Pearson is of particular interest to us. He came from England to Chester County, Pennsylvania, purportedly with William Penn. He was deputy surveyor to William Penn. From Fiske's Dutch & Quaker Colonies, quoted in the biography of descendant Nereus Mendenhall, comes the following quaint legend: "Turning to his friend and shipmate, Thomas Pearson, he (William Penn) said 'Providence has brought us here safe. Thou hast been the companion of my perils. What wilt thou that I call this place?Call it Chester,' replied Pearson, who had come from that most quaint and beautiful city of old England."

It is quite simply, a quaint legend! The Mendenhall Web Site contains a copy of a ledger, found in the Historical Society in Pennsylvania, where Pierson documents two trips to America. One was started on the 14th day of 7th month 1676 in company with William Dixon, brother of his future wife Rose, and was on the ship "Joseph and Benjamin". On the 14th day of the 12th month in 1681 he started back for England, and then 25th day of July in 1683 he sailed again in the "Comfort" for America. In other words he never sailed with William Penn.

The Mendenhall Web Site also contains a copy of a document signed by William Penn nominating Thomas Pierson of County NewCastle to perform a survey. Thomas Pierson was Deputy Surveyor for William Penn for many years. That it was this Thomas Pierson is proven by the fact that there were surveying tools in his inventory at his death in Caln. It is not entirely clear why he is given as of County NewCastle in the document. The survey to be performed did eventually separate off the County of NewCastle from Chester but the County was formed in 1673 and called New Amistel County and then the name was changed in 1674. It then was later part of the State of Delaware.

From Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750, Thomas Pierson married Rachel Sharpley 8th month 1686 at Newark Meeting. She died 7 mo 2nd day, 1687 and is buried at Newark. She probably died in childbirth given the dates. He married (2)Rose Dixon, purportedly daughter of Henry and Rose Harlan Dixon. The marriage took place supposedly in 1690, although that does not fit with the birth of daughter Susannah. Henry and Rose Harlan Dixon supposedly came from Armaugh, Ireland and were probably of the Quakers who fled from England to Ireland, and then immigrated on to America.

Source: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mygermanfamilies/Pea...

GEDCOM Note

Category: Newark Monthly Meeting, Kennett Square, PennsylvaniaCategory:William Penn and Early Pennsylvania Settlers Project

Biography ==Thomas Pierson, son of Susanna Pierson,<ref>p 128, Quakers in Delaware in the time of William Penn, by Herbert Standing</ref> was born in 1653 England. He married Rose Dixon. They both died in September 1722.<ref>See "Additional Information" below.</ref>

Thomas Pierson's Estate ===The Mendenhall Family Association hasa transcript of the estate record for Thomas, filed by his son-in-law John (m Susannah) Mendenhall.

The record begins:
:Inventory of Tho's Piersons Estate :filed ye 27th 9th 1722 [27th of November, 1722]

:The Inventorey of Thomas Pierson goods and chatels :of the township of Caln :deseased the twenty ninth of September 1722

Additional Information ===A G2G question about what happened in September 1722 yielded the following answer from Bredehoft-6|Tom Bredehoft:

Conflicting information, Family of Henry Dixon, www.Quakersurnames.net/Dixon says: :Rose DIXON (b. 1661, Seagoe, Armagh, Ireland; d. 29 Sep 1772), East Caln Twp., Chester, PA m. Thomas PIERSON (b. 1653, Pownall Fee, Chester, (Cheshire), England; d. 27 May 1734, Marple, Chester, PA. On the other hand, a report of his will written 27 September 1722 sayshe died 29 September 1722, two days after making his will.

Thomas was 69, Rose was 61; could have been sickness took them both. None of the sources I found (Ancestry.com) mentioned an unusual cause of death.

Sources ==* Pierson-242* Pierson-481 included the following list of sources:

:* 1. Hayden Virginia Genealogies p. 354 :* 2. Immigration of Irish Quakers to PA 1682-1750 by Albert Cook Myers 1902 p. 119 :* 3. PA Mag. Vol XXI p. 506-7 :* 4. Main Archive Record*Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Births and Deaths, 1686-1739; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: MR-Ph 267 (marriage record with Rose Dixon with clear marriage date 01 1st 1690 (1 Mar 1690). See attached PDF. *Harlan, George & Michael, History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family,Lord Baltimore Press, 1914. Page 8. Dixon Family. https://archive.org/stream/historygenealogy00harl#page/8/mode/2up

No more info is currently available. Can you add to this biography?

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