ROBERT JACK EARDLEY, M.D.
1119 Eldemere Road
Lexington, Kentucky 40502
(606) 269-3686
FAX (606)266-7317
June 1996
Dear Eardley Family Member,
I would like to take this opportunity of updating you concerning the search I have been conducting on the history of the Eardley family in general and the genealogy of my own particular branch of that family in particular.
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the trouble to reply. The response from all corners of the world has been truly astounding. So far I have received over 130 replies, which have helped me enormously to begin the process of piecing together a huge and fascinating puzzle. New information arrives on an almost daily basis, making the picture ever more clear and complete.
With your help, I have now been able to discover a great deal of information about my own family. I am now back as far as 1832 when my great-grandfather was born at Smallthorne in Stoke-on-Trent. We are now on the trail of his father, Elijah Eardley I, who was probably born before 1812--the year when Napoleon retreated from Moscow--and before the Battle of Waterloo. It is also the year the British burned Washington, DC. and the President's home had to be repainted white--hence the White House of today!
The parish registers should tell me more about him and the Eardleys before him. Eventually it may well turn out that all the Eardley roads will lead to the area around Audley--a small area tucked in the corner of Staffordshire, There have been Eardleys there since the Twelfth Century. They were local squires in the Parish of Audley and important enough have the front seat in the parish church. The family fell on hard times around 1700 and when Stoke-on-Trent started to grow very rapidly into the centre of the world's pottery industry, the Eardleys--along with many others moved into the new pottery towns and became miners and potters. By looking at the local census returns, many of them were very poor--living in small terraced houses rented from mine owners and a "landlord class." My own grandfather who married on "Wokes Sunday" August 2nd, 1874--was still living with his father-in-law in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent sharing the house with ten people--in two bedrooms!
It seems the 1880s were bad times in Stoke. The only way out was to leave--and leave they did. Many went to the USA. and especially to Ohio and Pennsylvania, where heavy industry skills were needed--especially after the huge loss of life in the Civil War. Eardleys did well in America and now they occupy positions in virtually every profession and trade, Doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, and nurses are numerous on both sides of the Atlantic, together with tradesmen and entrepreneurs of every kind.
I received stories of some Eardleys who remained on the British side after the Revolutionary War and these Empire Loyalists went north to Canada. Others went West and one in particular ran a string of boxers and racehorses before settling down to run the town general store. In his earlier days, he had even made hoops for the covered wagons.
During my research I have received much pleasure from reuniting Eardleys in different parts of the USA who were related and had previously not known of each others' existence!
Soon I hope to be able to discover the precise time each Eardley family entered the U,S.--where they settled and from whence they came. It may then be possible to see how today's "big picture" of the world's Eardleys came about.
I plan to computerize all the information as and when I get it. It is a daunting task--but one I find hugely exciting and worthwhile. I doubt whether anything quite like this, on this scale, has ever before been attempted.
Now, although there has been a marvellous response so far--there are still many more Eardley stories to be told. So--please--no matter now small or insignificant you think your story may be--I would be delighted to hear from you. Without the cooperation of everyone, the picture will be incomplete, and that would be a pity. So keep those little bits of information rolling in. I really do need them.
On the English side, there have been a number of Eardleys with a military background. Sir John Wilmot-Eardley was Governor of Tasmania and fought at the siege of Lucknow. In World War II, Sgt. George Eardley won the Victoria Cross and Military medal--making him one of the most highly decorated soldiers in the British Army. A number of Stoke boys were killed in World War I in Flanders and in Mesopotamia--whilst many others served with distinction.
Soon I hope to discover whether any Eardleys fought in the American Civil War--and on which side.
I do hope you found some of this information of interest.
Please remember--there are only 1500 Eardley families worldwide--not many of us really--and we all must be related somewhere down the line. If you have not already sent me your Eardley family tree--or Eardley family story--please ask people in your family who can help you. I assure you it can be quite fascinating rediscovering the past.
Someone suggested we should consider a "Millennium Meeting of Eardleys"--probably in Stoke-on-Trent to celebrate the year 2000. It's only an idea. Do you have any ideas along those lines?
Sincerely,
Jack
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