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Sir George Yeardley - a debate
Posted By: Robert Mayer
Date: Friday, 24 January 2003, at 3:27 p.m.
The Eardley resource web site links Sir George Yeardley with the Eardley family of Eardley Hall, Audley, Staffordshire.
The purpose of this posting is to explore the evidence that is the basis of this connection and to survey its reliability. This posting should open up the debate and the author welcomes responses, additional information, opinion and constructive criticism.
Sir George’s achievements as an adult are well documented (e.g. ‘Sir George Yeardley, or Yardley and Temperance (West), Lady Yeardley and some of their descendents’, Upshur, 1896) but his origins remain comparatively obscure.
The evidence that, it is suggested, links Sir George with Audley seems to consist of four main items, which are as follows: -
a)There is an entry on the IGI, relating to Southwark Parish Registers that records the baptism of a George Yeardley, son of Ralph Yeardley and Rhoda Marston. This Ralph Yeardley is considered to be the second son of William Yeardley and Elizabeth (Moreton) of Eardley Hall.b)A modern tapestry, relating to the early immigrants into North America, correctly depicts a recognised Eardley coat of arms.
c)There is an entry in the Cambridge Alumni stating that a George Eardley matriculated from Christ College in 1598. The detail states that he is ‘kin’ to Ralph and to the Eardleys of Staffordshire.
d)Sir George Yeardley’s 16th century estate in Virginia is called the Audley estate.
On the face of it there is a body of evidence built up that links Sir George with Ralph and with Audley.
However, we should now examine this evidence in more detail to test its reliability. Furthermore, more evidence will be introduced in an attempt to balance up the debate.
First let us deal with the evidence presented above: -
a)The IGI entry. This consists of a series of entries (www.familysearch.org) placing the date of baptism at any time between 1577 and 1588 with the consensus being that it was ‘about’ 1580. (Between 1577 and 1580, Upshur) The IGI is notoriously unreliable and it seems appropriate to consult the original document.b)The Tapestry with the Eardley Coat of Arms seems to be very problematic. Sir George is argued to be the son of Ralph, second son of William Yeardley, armiger. Can we really suggest that he would have carried the same coat of arms as those attributed to Edward Eardley (visit Audley Church) who died in 1653? I believe this to be extremely unreliable evidence.
c)The Cambridge Alumni. The difficulty here is what can be attributed to the word kin (Kinship and Kin Interaction in Early Modern England, Cressy, 1986), which may be used to represent everyone from a son or brother to a cousin or nephew.
d)The Audley Estate. This seems to be compelling evidence. The possibility of a coincidence appears too fantastic to be credible.
We now need to turn to further evidence not previously entered into the debate: -
a)The 1583 Heraldic Visitation to Staffordshire (Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Volume 111, 1882) The heralds took evidence directly from William Yeardley. He mentions all his children, 2 daughters and 5 sons. He states that the two daughters and eldest son, also a William, are married. He takes time to record that the 3rd son, John is living in London, but he does not record Ralph as having been married. If he was not married in 1583, could George, baptised in Southwark ‘about’ 1580, be his son?
b)The Kelsall Pedigrees (Staffordshire County Record Office, D (W)1788/v /392, Kelsall Pedigrees) Kelsall, has Ralph, baptised in 1554 and being buried in 1587. This fits within the time frame but, again, there is no mention of a marriage.
c)The Will of Ralph Eardley (Lichfield Record Office, B/C/11) This is the most difficult piece of evidence to fit into the equation. Ralph is referred to as a ‘gent’ but the inventory is essentially one of a yeoman farmer. Ralph was alive on the 26th July and his inventory was taken on the 28th, so the probable date of death is the 27th July 1587. Firstly the probate records confirm that, despite what the two pieces of evidence above say, in July 1587 Ralph was married to Alice (possibly Boulton). What happened to Rhoda Marston? Alice is referred to as ‘Alice yerdeley now wiffe of me’ and this may bring a previous marriage into play as a possibility. The brothers, William, John and George are mentioned but not Randle the 5th son. Most of the will is given over to bequeathing 26 acres of copyhold land and a messuage located in Talk on the Hill, to Alice. There is no mention of children, no mention from the proud father of a son and heir, no legacy?
All this leads to potentially the biggest problem of all: -
Sir George died on 13th Nov 1627. ( IGI, www.familysearch.org and most secondary sources). He met an 'untimely death at the age of 39'. (Eardley Web Site, Robert Francis Eardley) That puts his birth year as 1588, which means that he matriculated from Christ's College Cambridge at the age of 10 (Is this Possible?) and his dad (Ralph) died on 26th July 1587 - a full year before his birth.
In summary, the evidence presented above shows little consistency and often contradicts itself, and this is why I believe that some effort needs to be made to produce clarity. Whereas Sir George may be connected in some way to be connected to the Eardleys of Audley the evidence presented above does not prove the connection and it is clear that Ralph, son of William cannot be his father.
Robert Mayer (January 2003)
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