Glenn Waight's Editorial from The Review
October 7^th, 1999 Edition

     I've been consulting with an attorney, discussing the possibility of changing my name.
     Despite the long and proud lineage of the English "Waight" family, I am sorely tempted to add "Eardley" to my moniker.
     Not only because every Eardley I've encountered has been handsome, bright and personable, but bearing such a designation, I would be eligible to attend the world family gathering at Stoke-on-Trent next July.
     You certainly recall Dr. Jack Eardley, city native who two years ago was the originator and driving force that let to the "Friendship Link" between East Liverpool and Stoke -- from where so many of our original potters immigrated in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
     Dr. Jack of Lexington, Ky., and local folks arranged for Stoke Mayor Doug Brown and a contingent of wonderful Staffordshire citizens to visit here during the East Liverpool High School Alumni all-class reunion in July 1998.
     The good doctor, of course, since 1996 had been locating the far-flung twigs, branches and limbs of the family tree, aided by cousin Robert Francis Eardley of Stoke. The two traced hundreds of moves of relatives to Europe, America, Australia and elsewhere, using various directories, letters, telephone and the Internet. 
     Nearly 3,000 Eardleys have so far been found and listed, an amazing number of men and women whose origins reach back to three families in the tiny hamlet of Audley near Stoke in the 1220s. Eardley is derived from the town's name. 
     Such a wealth of nobility and success must not be ignored, Dr. Jack concluded, and his inventive mind decided to undertake a worldwide gathering, titled Eardley 2000, to mark the beginning of the Millennium.
     His recognition of the remarkable facility of the Internet in widespread communication led him to establish a website for the gathering, and if you care to check out possibly the handiest and most comprehensive family resource you've ever seen, boot up the old PC and try www.eardley.org.
     The site features histories, letters, photos of sites in Stoke and East Liverpool along with family data and genealogical materials galore.
     Meanwhile, preparations advance for the Grand Reunion July 15 which is to include dedication of a new stained glass window at St. James Church at Audley as an Eardley Millennium memorial. St. James and East Liverpool's St. Stephen's have launched a family link project.
     Other ties between the two cities lie in a youth soccer exchange and a tourism and trade program.
As warm-hearted and sociable as Eardleys are (at least those I know), they undoubtedly would not shun an outsider at the 2000 bash. And as an English descendant married to a daughter of Britain (family from Burslem), I own at least part of a credential to be on hand.
     Dr. Jack and Robert F. rate a "Well done, chaps" for the remarkable unifying of their family through modern technology, for creating an informative and entertaining website and for furthering the pleasant and enjoyable friendship link of pottery heritage, bloodlines and mutual respect across the Atlantic.
     If I go next year, my regular "Waight" passport will have to do. I reject the sarcastic suggestion from my spouse to adopt the name "Audley" which, she notes wryly, sounds fittingly like "oddly." 

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