June 28, 2002

Dear Eardley Families,

After all the excitement of the 15th July 2000 we have all paused for breath. Many of us have been enjoying a well earned rest. What a weekend it was! Those of us who attended will never ever forget it and we all trust that your efforts and energy were repaid with interest. Now we look forward to Sunday, 2:00 pm, 14th July 2002, St. James' Church, Audley, England for the dedication of the altar window. In addition there will be an order of service for the blessing of the marriage of Polly Singer and Keith Eardley. Everyone is invited, it should be a great day.

Not only did Eardleys provide colonists for most of the English speaking world, we now discover that we provided significant leadership in that amazing exodus from Britain which has brought both enlightenment and democracy to very large portions of the world. We already knew we had the governor of Tasmania and a General Culling-Eardley involved in the Indian Mutiny in addition to a Lord Chancellor and several Bishops. However, we were not aware of the existence of thrice Royal Governor of Virginia, Sir George Yeardley. The spelling is correct, for that was how we spelled our name in 1600. It was Sir George, who actually granted a form of Independence long before George Washington and the event following the 'Declaration' in 1776. Let me explain as briefly as I can.

Recent research indicates that Oliver Yardley married Margaret Eardley of Eardley Hall. Oliver was from Warwickshire around 50 miles south of Audley. They had children, one of whose descendants married into the Moreton family. Local people are very familiar with Moreton Hall, one of the finest Elizabethan structures still standing in the north of England. It is now owned by the National Trust and is viewed by thousands each year. The great grandson of Oliver- William, married Elizabeth Moreton and their son is George (later Sir George) Yeardley. It could be that the spelling is a compromise between Yardley and Eardley.

George is said to have been raised in London's Southwark district, so clearly some of the family had for some reason moved to the Capital. I recall the guide at Moreton Hall mentioning that prior to winter months the windows were removed and transported to London. It must have been the Moreton family's winter residence. It should not surprise us therefore to find a young man more attracted to the excitement of London than to life in the provinces. However, let me say a brief word about the Yardleys. Jeff Hammond on the genforum.geneaology.com/Yardley/messages/19html tells us a most interesting piece of information. One of the Yardley forebears was one of the Barons who witnessed the signing of 'Magna Carta' in 1215. Everyone who ever watched a 'Robin Hood' movie will remember the 'wicked' King John. The nobles of England eventually forced John to sign a sort of 'Bill of Rights' for every citizen which became the platform upon which English Common Law was constructed. American law is also based largely on English Common Law, as is that of the rest of the English speaking world. So it is most exciting to be aware that one of our ancestors was active in granting us our early freedoms and rights.

Young George must have been an adventurous type and also seemed to know the people who counted in London Society. Many of the families who came to Virginia in the early days e.g. the Sandy family were and still are powerful English families. Queen Elizabeth I was a 'fan' of the town of Nantwich, just a few miles from Audley and Moreton Hall and indeed she is said to have slept at Moreton and paid for the rebuilding of Nantwich after much of it was destroyed by fire. So, it would be unsurprising that the Young George Yeardley would find acceptance amongst the elite of London Society.

The year 1609 found the 26 year old George sailing for the infant colony of Virginia on board the Deliverance. He is shipwrecked and is forced to spend time in Bermuda before completing the trip to Jamestown. There he marries Temperance Honeydew West, obviously a Puritan and they produce three children. On a return trip to England he speaks up for the settlers against the Court Group in a long interview with King James I who duly knights him. The now 'Sir George' is appointed Governor of Virginia, a post he is to occupy three times. He is extremely popular with the colonists and he calls into being the first free Democratic Representative Assembly in North America. After three years King James terminates its existence in favour of 'direct rule'. We can only speculate how the history of America (and even the world!) may have been altered had George's Assembly been allowed to develop. James' fateful decision would eventually lead to a gradual rift between Britain and its American Colonies which would erupt into Revolution and Independence for what is now the United States of America. In any event, Eardleys on both sides of the Atlantic can draw some satisfaction that one of our ancestors beat George Washington to it by a century and a half!

Sir George's children have descendants in the U.S. today. It would be interesting for them to be able to contact us and learn about Audley, July 15th 2000 and the rest of our worldwide family story.

I was first alerted to this story by a Philip Eardley who sent me a picture of the house built in the Jamestown area by 'Daughters of the American Revolution' in the early 1900's as a memorial to Sir George Yeardley on the very spot where that first Assembly was convened. He and his wife were touring Virginia last year and came upon it quite by accident. The Reunion was uppermost in my mind at that time and it is only now that I am beginning to realize just how important to us Eardleys this connection will be. Robert Mayer has also done some research on this and it is fair to say that Robert has more data on many Eardley Family issues than the majority of us. Linda E. Hollis has offered to help research the Yeardley story and since she lives only 3-1/2 hours drive away (her words, not mine!) I feel she may be able to check some questions out for us 'on the spot', so to speak. Sonny Eardley also indicates that much of the Yeardley story is described in a book 'Adventurers of Purse and Person'. Glenn Waite, who is known to both of us has also offered to help research the story. Glenn will reveal his findings in the East Liverpool Review. Eardleys worldwide can access this newspaper either by using the link from our website 'Eardley.org' or Potterstown.com.

However, for a moment let me develop briefly the Yeardley significance in the history of the United States. Sir George Yeardley was responsible for the construction of the first windmill in North America. Is it going too far to call him the 'father' of American mechanized farming? Perhaps so, but he seems to have been a dynamic, farsighted administrator as well as a man of action. He was a renowned 'Indian Fighter' and was an enthusiastic recruiting officer for new immigrants to Virginia. As a reward, he acquired large tracts of land in Virginia.

On that first assembly sat Sir George's nephew, Rossingham and his friend John Jefferson, ancestor of Thomas Jefferson. So esteemed is Jefferson that Civil War President of the 'South' Jefferson Davis took his name, as does President William Jefferson Clinton.

However, it gets even more interesting. Every American (and quite a few non-Americans) know that George Washington married Martha Custis. She was a widow who had produced four children from her first marriage to John Parke Custis. George looked upon them as his own and the family apparently got along extremely well. However, research now shows that this same Custis family (from an Anne Custis) had married Sir George's grandson Angoll. From this part of the Custis family came the same John Parke Custis, first husband of 'First Lady' of the U.S.A., Martha. As if this is not enough for one day a little more research tells us that from George's Custis stepchildren was descended the wife of Robert E. Lee, the great Confederate General of the Civil War. You know it seems to me that America is much more like England than many of us thought. What I mean is that few 'powerful families' in both countries seem to acquire and retain power by strategic marriages. The groups from Virginia seem to have wielded a disproportionately large slice of power in the early centuries of the history of the U.S.A.
The descendants of the 'Planters' seem to have become a kind of 'American Nobility' if you know what I mean.

Anyone wishing to pursue this need only type in 'Sir George Yeardley' on any of the Search Engines such as Yahoo.com, Northernlight.com, AltaVista.com to access streams of information on this and related topics. Simply click on the blue heading. One I can recommend is the Walke Family Scrapbook. Another is The Miles Files. It is just a question of bringing it all together.

A little piece of trivia I discovered yesterday is that American author James Fennimore Cooper of 'Last of the Mohicans' fame had a nephew John Yeardley Cooper. On a lighter note, 'Simpsons' fans may wish to connect us to Yeardley Smith - is she Bart's wife?

Is it possible some influential organization such as 'Sons and Daughters of the Americn Revolution' could help us here. I for one would be excited to visit Jamestown and Williamsburg to follow up on this. Any thoughts?

Those Virginia families were not alone in seeking out strategic marriages. Here in North Staffordshire the Offleys of Madeley, the Moretons, the Yeardleys/Yardleys/Eardleys (it is all the one name) and the Audleys all did the same. It has always been the same throughout history. Sarah Offley married Francis Yeardley in Virginia and Moretons married Yeardleys in Staffordshire. Also Audley Farm (one of the most prestigious stud farms in Virginia is reputed to be hundreds of years old) seems to suggest that an Audley may have settled in Virginia too! Stafford County, Virginia is known as the 'mother of counties' and we still find Stafford and Staffordville in Virginia. Speaking of Yardleys, I need not remind you that your great grandfather was born a Yardley and married as an Eardley.

The Jefferson Papers in the Library of Congress contain many early documents from the period. On a number of occasions Sir George Yeardley signs himself as 'Yardley'.

My cousin Frank Eardley of Wallsall, England has spent hundreds of hours researching Sir George and his times. Sir George's wife Temperance West was related to Lord de la Warr (Delaware) who was related to Anne Boleyn, mother of Queen Elizabeth. George's godfather was Sir Thomas Gates, an important figure in those times since George's parents had died of 'plague' when George was quite young. Thomas Gates was legally responsible for his upbringing. There is no evidence that George received an outstanding education, but from his letters and his deeds we can infer that he was literate. A natural leader, a man of action who saw the heart of a problem in an instant and took decisive action. He was also far sighted and was quick to be completely aware that something needed to be done on a 'devolved' basis so that a local decision making process could be set in place. However, a little more on this later.

When he was sixteen he joined a regiment charged with guarding London Bridge, later he was attached to a group of military involved with The Tower of London. George, having served his apprenticeship, then travels to Holland where he joins Prince Maurice's forces, probably as a mercenary and becomes Captain George Yeardley. No portrait of him exists, but he is described as being of medium height, dark hair, smartly dressed in colorful Elizabethan style garb and sporting a goatee beard, much like many young men of today. He was also flamboyant. One of his contemporaries describes his behavior after his Knighthood at Newmarket as being over the top and describes him as a 'strutting peacock'. Well, maybe there was a touch of envy in those remarks. We see people receiving 'honors' today at Buckingham Palace seeming to be very pleased with themselves.

Partly through the influence of Thomas Gates and also due to his European military experience he successfully applies for passage to Virginia with three hundred others which will constitute the largest movement of the English to America thus far. I have described the events of the fateful voyage elsewhere, the storm, the wreck off Bermuda and the eventual arrival at Jamestown almost a year later in small ships constructed from the wreckage of the 'Sea Venture'. I also mention the fact that Shakespeare bases his play 'The Tempest' on this event, but conveniently moves the action to Italy.

When they arrive in Jamestown the Colony is all but extinguished. Less than 100 settlers remain alive, emaciated, starving, constantly threatened by powerful Indian Tribes. The Colony survives and begins to thrive. Land grants are settled where tobacco becomes the main cash crop. However, many of the settlers are lazy and indolent. George spearheads a set of tough rules which amount to - 'no work - no eat'! Matters improve and new attitudes develop. A form of 'Independence' is set up which even after King James rescinds it, still carries on unofficially and becomes a template for democratic institutions in other colonies and inspires many of the tenets of the United States of America's Constitution.

One of George's children, Argoll, marries Anne Custis and this union eventually leads to Martha Dandridge (Washington) marrying a Custis descendant, John Parke Custis. He dies at age 27 leaving two daughters. Martha then marries George Washington and the rest is history.

The mystery of 'Audley Farm', that now famous 'Horse Farm' near Berryville, Virginia, remains not quite completely solved yet! American author Helen Bry e-mailed me the other day explaining how the property came to the Washington family, but so far the reason for naming Audley Farm has not surfaced. The quest continues.

Mount Vernon, George Washington's home has an interesting history. I think it was Washington's brother Lewis who fought with Admiral Vernon at the siege of Castagena. The Vernon family is centered in South Cheshire according to their website, and Vernon is one of the proudest families in Audley and has been there almost as long as ours. Lewis becomes very sick and dies quite soon after returning to Virginia but names the house Mount Vernon in honor of the admiral he so admired.

One of the original land grants, the 'Flowerdew' Hundred owned by the Yeardleys in those early days and is now privately owned by a Mr. Harrison. It is a growing site of interest for students of early Virginia history. It displays 250,000 artifacts discovered on its land, including a replica windmill of the style introduced by Sir George. On August 24th this year their organization is scheduled t hold its inaugural 'Descendants of Flowerdew' get-together. All the descendants of the original English Settlers and Planters who lived and worked on the plantation are invited to attend. The list of names can be found by using the Yahoo search engine and typing in 'Flowerdew Hundred' 'Names of inhabitants'.

Dr. Robert Jack Eardley and Robert Frances Eardley are planning on being there. Should you want more details, contact Dennis Pickeral at www.Flowerdew.org. He is most helpful. We imagine it will be truly amazing to meet all those people whose ancestors worked so hard and so bravely to retrieve the almost impossible situation at the Jamestown Colony all those years ago.

July 14th is now not far away. We anticipate a packed St. James once again for the re-dedication of the East Window. For those of us who like nothing more than a 'nice wedding', come and see Jack's son Keith and fiancée Polly Singer Eardley re-enact their very recent civil ceremony, this time in the 'Anglican Rite' after the re-dedication on July 14th.

There are other matters to consider. On September 21st, the Eardley groups which meets in Audley on the first Wednesday of every month, locations vary, but in future will be posted on the website and hopefully in the Staffordshire Evening Sentinel is holding an Auction Spectacular in the church hall of St. James. By then we anticipate having many hundreds of items to be auctioned. A professional auctioneer is giving us his time and expertise absolutely free - gratis and for nothing. We are relying not only on Eardleys and Audleians to provide suitable items, but the whole community and in particular Eardleys worldwide who, though they may not be able to attend, assuredly will wish to forward their contribution on to us. An appropriate address will be on our website as soon as a location makes itself available.

Local businesses and schools are being requested to participate as Jack and the Committee wish to now extend the Window Project into the whole community. The auction promises to be one of the largest of its kind ever held in Audley.

So, for the moment that's it. As developments unfold we will keep you posted. See you all at Audley on July 14th, St. James Church.

There is much yet to discover about this fascinating family of which we are all proud to be a part.

God Bless,

Robert Francis Eardley

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