ROBERT
JACK EARDLEY, M.D.
3366 Commodore Drive
Lexington, Kentucky 40502-3602
(606) 269-3686
Fax #: (606) 266-7317
E MAIL: robertjack@eardley.org
Web Site: http://www.eardley.org
Dear
Eardley Family Member,
This will be the final update the “Eardley Clan” will
receive prior to the scheduled Millennium Get-Together.
As you all are aware the official start is due to “lift off” at noon,
July 15 in St. James Church, Audley (near Stoke-on-Trent) England.
On this occasion, the vast majority of the 2500 Eardley families
worldwide will be reading this letter on a computer screen.
In the past, as you well know, the letters have arrived by the
traditional mailing system. This
has been effective - demonstrated by the hundreds of responses received.
However, as more and more Eardleys “go online” (I am figuring that at
least one Eardley per family grouping has access to the “web”) the easier it
is to contact everyone more often and more effectively.
For example, the number of e-mail responses has been very very
significant over the past year. In
addition the family website - eardley.org - has received more than 12,000
“hits” with frequency escalating rapidly.
The message board/bulletin board after a hesitant start is now quickly
“catching on” and is a most useful and exciting tool for Eardleys to speak
directly to one another. I am continually updating the site - so it pays to visit the
site frequently both for news and for researching your own family history.
In order to ensure that as many Eardleys as possible
receive this “letter” perhaps those of you with PC’s would help your wider
Eardley family (grandparents and Eardleys not on the web) by printing out and
distributing the information. This
gives us all good reasons to visit other members of our family.
Most of us hear families say that they meet only at weddings and
funerals. This project gives us
every reason to communicate to cause and generate a feeling of togetherness and
family unity. A relatively limited
number of letters will be sent in the “normal” way for those who may not
have a computer.
Should you be a first time Eardley reader, let me briefly
summarize how this all began. I
decided some five years ago that it would be interesting and rewarding to
research my family name - Eardley. Most
of us regard it as somewhat unusual and we often wonder where it came from - how
many of us there are - and how widely around the world we are distributed and so
on. People do seem to have trouble
spelling our name. We all tend to
spell our name over the telephone and as children in school not many teachers
could pronounce or spell it. We’ve
all received notes to Mr. Erdly - Herdley, Hurdley - Urdley and so on.
So I eventually decided to investigate and the rest, as they say, is
history.
But I digress! I
was born in a small pottery town in Ohio, U.S.A. called East Liverpool.
Most of its people came from England - but even more interesting they
came from one area in the main - that being Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire which
as many of you will know is the center of the world’s pottery industry - home
to famous brand names - Doulton, Wedgwood, Spode.
In the 1800’s some 5000 families left Stoke for a new life and a fresh
start in America where they successfully founded the flourishing US pottery
industry. My grandparent’s family
was one of the 5000. After making a career in medicine and the military, I at last
found the time and the resources to spend serious time researching the Eardley
Family History. From small
beginnings it is now highly probable that more than 90% of Eardleys worldwide
are aware of their family story and their heritage through our joint efforts.
The get-together in July is set to be the high point of
the project thus far. It is my hope
and expectation that post-July the project will continue on a more “real
time” basis - largely based on the web. The
new technology enables us all to contact each other by e-mail and message board.
Members can post family trees, family inquiries and so on through the
website. We have a huge amount of Eardley data and you are invited to
consider new ways of accessing it.
The information currently on the website enables almost
all of us to trace our family back to 1837.
Prior to that you will need to access the Parish Registers.
Eventually you will almost certainly find your way back to Audley where
Eardleys are recorded from the 1550’s on the registers but are known to have
been living in Audley much earlier than this.
Professor David Hey of Sheffield University has made a study of
“locative” names - these rooted in a particular place - and he concludes
that Eardley is a living example. He
is convinced that Eardleys have lived in the Audley area for at least 600 years.
You have access to all known information on the history of the Eardleys
from the previous letters posted on our website and I know from your e-mails
that many of you have been fascinated to discover so much about our history.
Robert Mayer, a local Audley historian, writes regularly
about the Eardleys in a magazine compiled by active members of the Audley and
District Family History Society. Robert
(an Eardley!) researches his material in considerable detail using only primary
sources of documentation and I commend his work to you all.
Copies of “back numbers” of the Audley Historian may be obtained, so
I am told, by contacting a U.K. Call-Free number 0800-2981683.
Robert’s latest article entitled “Dispersal of an Old Audley
Name” charts the dispersal of the Eardleys from 1530 - 1750 but he has
documentary evidence indicating that we contributed to Edward I “Scottish
Wars” in the 1300’s. See the
movie “Braveheart” for a flavour of the times!
Our name has several variables (variations) and traveled at different
times from Erdele, Yeardley, Yardley and finally Eardley.
Robert suggests that local Staffordshire dialect had something to do with
it. For example - “head” until
recent times was pronounced “yed” and since in England the “h” sound is
often omitted - Eardley could easily be Yeardley or Yardley!
By the early 1800’s Eardley was the dominant version.
My own great-grandfather was born a Yardley - but married as an Eardley.
The two names are completely interchanged. I often wonder if the Yardley fragrance company is really one
of us. Again, Robert is able to
demonstrate from charting the marriages recorded on the Parish Registers and
I.G.I. (Mormon Index) that most Eardleys found partners from within a few miles
from home. Consequently, until the
Industrial Revolution the spread of the name in England was “hesitant.”
However, once canals, railways and the rapid spread of the British Empire
were taking shape - the dispersal became more rapid and much more widespread.
You can trace this for yourselves by simply looking at the marriage
locations throughout the 1800’s. In
the beginning, few marriages took place more than 15 miles from Audley.
As the 1800’s and 1900’s progressed it is amazing to see how we
discovered spouses not only in every part of Britain - but also in far flung
places the world over.
As I write this section of our letter I am on a flying
visit to the Family History Centre in London.
The purpose is to collect all the Code Indices of Eardley marriages -
male and female from 1901 - 1940. At
a later date, if I should ever have time, it may be possible to complete the
inquiry and work through year 2000 - but it is not easy to look too far into the
future. The good news is that from
1912 onwards the surname of the spouse is given along with the marriage
location. So, effectively, we get
most of the information on the certificate without necessarily having to
purchase it. Since there are almost
1300 marriages recorded, it is easy to calculate a significant saving for us.
This information will appear as part of this letter to be posted on the
website. Since this information is
so very recent it will now be a simple task for every Eardley to look into their
family line. Every grandparent should be there - so all you need to know
is your Eardley grandparents’ names and there you are!
Throughout the 1900’s new locations appear frequently -
reflecting the social dynamics of the past century. I trust you will all find the information interesting,
helpful and worthwhile. Clusters of
new Eardleys appear on the North East, Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Midlands' and parts
of Wales, London and a “sprinkling” on the South Coast. In America too we have this same “clustering” - Ohio, New
Jersey, Utah, Wyoming, Michigan and Texas were our early homes - but as time
went by Eardleys penetrated almost every state in the Union - even Alaska and
Hawaii!
Robert Francis Eardley, who has been of assistance to me
almost from the start, continues to help me with the message-board/bulletin
board on our website “eardley.org”. A
steering committee has now been set in place to plan the big day.
Richard Gibbins, C.E.O. of Tacklers, is heading up the committee along
with Bud Eardley who farms near Macclesfield in Cheshire.
We would hope that St. James’ Curate Roger Woods will join them.
Also likely to join the steering committee are Bill Eardley from Lytham
St. Annes, Kathy Gamble from Yorkshire, Michael Eardley from Stoke, Margaret
Eardley Beaumont from Staffordshire, and David Eardley and John Harrison from
Audley. They plan on visiting
Audley soon to see how the land lies! I
am sure we can count on Richard and his team to ensure we all have a wonderful
day! What follows is how we
envisage the event unfolding. Please
remember that in reality we have no idea how many Eardleys will be there - but
the church should be more than full.
I make the following points for information only, in
order to sketch out a possible format and perhaps to anticipate some of your
queries.
Make your travel arrangements and accommodation
arrangements in good time. There
are “special deals” at a couple of hotels featured on the website, and
message board. Should these be
full, contact the Stoke Tourist Dept. which has a link on our website.
They should be able to help. Michael
Joseph Eardley has indicated he will help to provide bus transport to and from
Audley. Alistair Griffiths, prominent Audley parishioner and member
of the Wolstanton Golf Club has invited golfing Eardleys to take part in a game
at the Club on Friday 14th July. Bring
your own clubs - though it may be possible to hire a few sets - but don’t bank
on this. We may use the clubhouse
facilities but there we pay like everyone else. On Saturday July 15th we have the church gathering at noon.
Depending on the numbers it may be necessary to hold more than one church
assembly. The capacity of the
church is around 800 so we may play it “by ear”.
Afterwards, there is the prospect of our being invited to Audley Cricket
Club, a few minutes walk from the church, to socialize and watch a cricket
match. Alternatively, or in addition, there are plans to invite us
to the neighboring village of Wood Lane to take part in their annual Country
Fair. Details will be posted on the
bulletin board of our website as and when matters are “firmed up” or
otherwise.
Bring your tape recorder, camcorders, cameras, etc. as
well as copies of your family tree. Audley
Family History Society have offered to host some of us in the village hall for a
cup of tea and general socializing - but again numbers are a key ingredient.
The hall is quite small, so events will be determined by circumstances at
the time. Local dignataries and
personalities from local press and radio have indicated they will be present.
We assure them of a warm welcome. We
would wish to break the world record for “clan” get-togethers.
The Guinness Book of Records people will be so informed so that an
official count may be organized. I
say again, all depends on numbers! At
this point we have no firm idea on just how many of you will be there, but
hundreds of Eardleys and their families have phoned, faxed, e-mailed and message
boarded me indicating their intention to be there on the day.
Many of you will, I’m certain, take part in what could be the world’s
largest family “get-together” on record.
Those Eardleys coming from overseas may well be organizing for themselves
an extended trip around Europe and will be including the get-together as the one
“can’t miss” event.
Reflecting fame on the area and moving briefly on to
other matters, Robert Francis Eardley tells me his relative, Frank Eardley of
Walsall has discovered one or two interesting Eardley “tid-bits.”
Apparently (perhaps someone out there can confirm or otherwise) that 1960
pop stars Eden Kane (Boys Cry!) and Peter Sarsted (Where Did You Go To My
Lovely!) were Eardleys! Also that a
Newcastle-u-Lyme Eardley was a Tiller Girl.
Remember “Sunday Night at the London Palladium”?
Since we are in name dropping mode I know Robert Francis Eardley was
Robbie Williams’s English teacher. I
mentioned Robert Clive of Market Drayton, where many Eardleys reside, was
responsible for the incorporation of the subcontinent of India into the British
Empire. I would like to see his
family tree.
We have galvanized the Eardleys into a force to be
reckoned with - one of the largest “locative name” groupings in the world.
This could not have been achieved without the help and support of all of
you. I cannot thank you enough.
The information now exists for every Eardley to trace his family history
and you have free access to it both on our website and from our letters.
Please use it and leave yourselves, your children and your grandchildren
a record of our collective family heritage.
God bless you all, see
you in July.
Robert
Jack Eardley
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