Dear Eardley Family Member,
Much has been achieved by our extended family over the past several years. From our early beginnings in 1996 to the present, the Eardleys have emerged from a somewhat obscure surname, found mainly in North Staffordshire on the edge of the English Midlands, to a worldwide group of families in touch with each other, and more active with each passing year. When Robert Jack Eardley first contacted me in 1996, it's doubtful whether either one of us thought or imagined that the next several years would generate worldwide interest and enthusiasm amongst Eardleys everywhere. Like you, we had little knowledge of our history. As Eardleys we knew we had inherited a rather unusual surname which our teachers found difficult to pronounce, and which we even now have to spell out on the telephone. The Eardley name has had many different spellings and has even been spelled as Audley. As our research progressed, we discovered that the family which originated in Audley, England had a rich and fascinating history. We learned that we all stem from a handful of Audley families, who must have been related. These Eardley families occupied the first six rows in St. James Church in Audley, England, and one of them resided at Eardley Hall, a striking building which remained intact until the 1970's. Long before this, an Eardley had been chosen as the first Member of Parliament of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Clearly the family enjoyed a powerful position in the local hierarchy.
Everything started to look extremely interesting. As the research progressed, we found that Eardleys had played important roles in some of the major events in the history of the English-speaking world. We learned, for example, that an Eardley is recorded as being one of the barons who forced King John to sign 'Magna Carta', still the basis of our basic rights as Englishmen. Others had fought in the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. Around 1600 A.D. Eardleys moved to Ireland with Lord Audley's family. There are still a significant number of families in the Republic and Northern Ireland to this day. Many had dropped the d in Eardley so as not to be recognized as having an English name, thus being accepted as Irish. But when they moved back to England, the d was put back in Earley (Eardley). One of the most significant movements was that of George Yeardley (Eardley) who was one of the first Merchant Adventurers to seek his fortune in Virginia. So successful was he that he became the Colony's first Royal Governor, a position he held on three occasions. He had married Temperance Flowerdew, and named his beautiful estate on the St. James River for her. Jack and I have visited it, and George certainly had an eye for an impressive parcel of land. On a bend on the river, it commands a majestic view over the panorama of green forest and fields. George became the first American 'millionaire' from the sale of tobacco back home in England. His brother, meanwhile, was busy back in London establishing the great Yardley of London perfume company.
As the power of Britain developed from the 17th Century, Eardleys began to appear as Bishops, Governors and high-ranking politicians. One held the post of Lord Chancellor, and another the Governorship of Tasmania. Yet another became General Culling-Eardley who served with great distinction in India. Yet for the most part, we Eardleys quietly carried on with our own lives, working as farmers, potters, coal miners and the rest. A surprising number became owners of Public Houses, while in America, one enterprising Eardley grew tired of coalmining, and recruited a team of bare-knuckle boxers, which he managed. Later he switched to racehorses, and I recall speaking to his grandson a few years ago, who actually rode one of them as a child. Eardleys played their part in many of the great military campaigns. Some fought in America during the Revolutionary War, others were at Waterloo, the Wars of Empire, and the two World Wars. One Congleton Eardley, George Eardley, won the Victoria Cross in 1944 for his heroic action in Holland. All of these events can be seen on this website, and this summary is intended as a reminder to established readers and a prompt for those who perhaps are visiting us for the first time. As the railways became ever more established and the Empire spread worldwide, Eardleys joined the tide of emigration to every corner of the English-speaking world. Eardleys moved to Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, United States, and even to China.
The day 15th July 2000 saw our now epic reunion at our 'home' in Audley when we estimate that almost 2000 Eardleys came together from five continents of the globe. It was to be the largest gathering of any family in history. Those who made that journey will never forget it. Since then we have, as a family, generated sufficient funding to restore the East window of St. James Church. This will be our legacy for the centuries to come. Eardleys can be proud of our achievements. In 2007, we mark the quadcentenary of British involvement in North America. Hopefully we intend marking the event by taking part in the celebrations. This will involve George Yeardley's Flowerdew Estate in some manner, together with some events planned to take place in the State of Virginia itself. Further information can be found at the Jamestowne Society website.
As can be seen from this website, the 'Eardley Foundation' has now been formally set up. A wide range of Eardleys have agreed to be involved, and this group will organize future activities. We would draw your attention particularly to the website, Eardleyfactor.com. Through this work in progress, we intend to bring to advertisement, which basically is not cost effective, the face of TV commercials. We acknowledge that this presents us with a major task; however we are convinced in our findings that sooner rather than later we will be able to demonstrate this reality to the Advertising Industry. This is an ongoing project and in addition UK television commercials also will be evaluated, and will be posted on the Eardleyfactor.com website.
There is a vast amount of information on our website Eardley.org. The letters published on this website Eardley.org chart the development of the genealogy of the Worldwide Eardley Family and are retained for your perusal. There are military records, and Births, Marriages and Deaths stretching back in time to our earliest Parish Records enabling almost everyone to trace his/her family tree. E-mail addresses of Eardleys from every corner of the globe are available for your use as a means of contacting Eardleys online. Numerous photographs may be accessed to provide an ongoing record of most of our activities, together with links to related sites. Any Eardleys running a business may link to the Eardley site. We all may regard this as a mutually beneficial activity. Also, it is appropriate for Eardleys to report the loss of a loved one on the message bulletin board. You can be sure that Eardleys everywhere will be sending and feeling heartfelt condolences to each one suffering loss, and remembering them in our prayers.
Eardleys living in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire - indeed any Eardley anywhere - are invited to attend the Eardley meetings held the first Wednesday of every month. To discover the current location of each meeting, call David Eardley. His number is 01782 72 1060. Every Christmas, we hold an Eardley Dinner in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Should you wish to attend this coming Christmas, an opportunity to take part will be posted later in the year or check with David Eardley.
Spring begins officially tomorrow, March 21st; the sun is shining and let us all look forward to a meaningful and wonderful year.
Robert Francis Eardley
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