Sarah Ann Pearman

  General Notes:

Chris Pearman notes:

We next hear of JAMES in Wakefield, when on 22nd April 1855 he married a widow Ann (according to the Certificate, without an "e") Bailey, the daughter of George Hunter, at Wakefield Cathedral. She was a schoolteacher. He was described on the Certificate as 29 years old (actually 27) and a Labourer, she aged 39, (probably 41) a widow. The marriage was noted in a local newspaper (Wakefield Library Reference WJE 27/4/1855 P.5). They both lived at Wellington Street Thornes, Wakefield, the house now demolished, near Thornes Lane Wharf next to the river Calder. A child, Ann Elizabeth, was born on 3rd August 1855, only to die on 2nd June 1856 from pneumonia (Certificate). Burial took place at St James' Church, Thornes on 5th June 1856 (Reference No.1056) With James' arrival in Wakefield we can propose an answer to the question of the pronunciation of the Pearman name. James may have used the (fruity type) Pearman in the way that some southerners still do. However his Norfolk accent would render the sound 'Pierman' (Wigan type) to the ears of his broad -Yorkshire-speaking acquaintances, who may have adopted his way of saying it and pronounce the name Pearman (Seaside type) as his descendants have continued to do.
The 1861 Census taken on 7th April shows James and Ann living in Union Street, Thornes along with a son Edward, then aged 4. Also named as members of the household were Maria Bailey aged 22 (probably Ann's daughter by her first marriage - see below) and Hannah Hodgkinson aged 23, the two both being registered as 'Servants'. It may be that they were giving support to James, Ann and their son during Ann's illness, as Ann died on 6th October 1861 (Certificate No.9c 33), burial at St. James' Church on 9th October 1861 - Reference 1384.
21st December 1861 JAMES married Sarah Ann Whitaker at St. James' Church Thornes. He was stated (Certificate) to be a widower, 37 years old (actually 34) and a Labourer. Sarah Ann was 20 years old and a Domestic Servant. The story now gets complicated as they were to have many children, including ANNIE ELIZABETH (born around 8th September 1862 and died May 1885), SARAH A. born about 1868 and married George Henry Jackson in 1885, CHRISTIANA born 10th September 1869 (married William Hepworth on 8th July 1893), CHARLES born 21st June 1872 who married Margaret (Winterton?) 1895 and fathered Eveline (1895 later Mrs Ward), Bert (1897), Horace (1899), probably Arthur (1903) and Ada (1904 later Mrs Cross) (the Mormon Register mentions a marriage of a Horace Pearman on 8th November 1924 to Annie Rebecca Clifton and freebmd shows a marriage of Arthur to Alice Mosley in 1925). The next son JOHN HENRY born 24th July l874 later had a Stud farm at Barnsley Road Sandal, (married Ann Horne in 1893 and according to Jack Pearman their children were Dorothy (1895 later Mrs Shaw), Sydney (1897), John Henry (1900 married Winifred Davis in 1922 and fathered Thomas A. 1923/1923, Jack 1924, Sylvia 1928/31 and Christine A. 1933), Primrose (1903 later Mrs Graham), Violet 1905 (later Mrs Hodgson and eventually divorced) and Eric William (1909 who fathered Christine and possibly another daughter). Next came SAMUEL born about 1877 (died January 1912), JAMES THOMAS born 5th December 1878 (the next link, see as follows), ARTHUR born 5th April 1881 and died in June 1881, WILFRID believed born 1882 died 1893, and EDWARD, baptised 7th May 1885. This brother Edward (the younger of that name) married Olive Skelton on 1st August 1908 - Wakefield Herald Newspaper 8/8/1908 - Page 1. They lived in Duke of York Street, Wakefield and had one daughter, Gladys. Edward died around 1970.
These details were gleaned mostly from the registers of St. James' Church Thornes, microfiches at the West Yorkshire Archives (Registry of Deeds) building in Wakefield, and which may show some anomalies. They do not mention the baptisms of daughter Sarah A. Pearman or the son, Sam, both of whom are mentioned in the 1881 Census returns. Also the daughter Ann(ie) Elizabeth was apparently baptised twice, on 3rd December 1862 and 16th April 1865. This daughter was handicapped (deaf) - see 1881 Census below. It is surprising to note that James named two of his sons Edward, the younger having a step-brother of the same name!

MODERN TIMES
With JAMES THOMAS PEARMAN we come to a person who lived on until 1943, and about whom quite a lot is known. On 26th December 1900 he married Sarah Hardman at St.Mary's church Wakefield. The marriage certificate shows his profession as 'mechanic', the same as Sarah's father James Hardman (the 1901 Census says 'Engineer at Machine Makers'). Possibly the couple met because J.T.Pearman worked with or knew James Hardman. J.T.'s address was given as 6 Church View Thornes Lane, his wife's as 13 Kay Street. He was 23, she 24.

Anecdotal evidence tells that J.T. was at one time chauffeur to the Rhodes family who owned an engineering works (Joseph Rhodes Ltd founded in 1824) in Ings Road, later Calder Vale Road. Jack Pearman recalled that J.T.'s mother Sarah Ann worked as a servant (possibly a cleaner as she was referred to as 'charwoman' on her later marriage certificate) for the Rhodes family, and this seems to have instigated a link with the Pearmans, as two of J.T.'s sons, Jack and Milford, spent their working lives with Rhodes Ltd. The last family head of the company Charles Joseph Rhodes kept faith with the link by weekly visits to J.T.'s widow Sarah following the death of J.T. in 1943 up to the late 1950s, ostensibly to purchase fresh eggs from her sons James Cecil Pearman's smallholding in Almshouse Lane, but probably to pay a small pension.

JAMES THOMAS & SARAH
In 1919 J.T. and Sarah bought the house known as "Birdleigh" (later the Post Office and General Store) at Milnthorpe Wakefield with the aid of a mortgage from the Wakefield Building Society. The purchase was registered at the Wakefield Deeds Registry in 1919 Vol.35 Nos.423 and 424. Before this they had raised a large family, Nellie, Jack, Harry, James Cecil, Milford and Thomas Kitchener Pearman (born 8th January 1916 and named in honour of Lord Kitchener the 1914-18 war leader). In 1923 J.T. purchased land adjoining "Birdleigh" along with a building used as a garage from C.J.Rhodes (see above), the garage stated to be previously rented by J.T. from Rhodes. J.T.'s occupation was at that time stated to be Motor Cycle Dealer. In 1929 the mortgage was for some reason paid off and a new one taken out (Registry 1929 Vol.156 No.39). Could this have been to finance the fitting out of the house as a shop and Post Office? The family stayed at the Post Office until J.T. became ill in 1939. The Milnthorpe properties were sold to Mr P. Arundale in 1939 (Registry Vol.111 No.185) when J.T.'s occupation was given as Grocer. They and their youngest son Thomas K. then moved to a rented cottage in Almshouse Lane at Newmillerdam, where, following the death of J.T. on 22nd April 1943, Sarah lived out her old age until taken into care at Hemsworth hospital where she died on 25th August 1962. They are both buried in Sandal Churchyard. Their children's details follow.

Nellie Pearman married Kenny Banks (Wakefield Registry 6.1920 No.89), and lived at Woolley with their family Reggie, Cecil, Milford and Ethel. Jack married Violet Sullivan. They had no children, and lived at Bromley Mount, Sandal. Next door to them lived brother Milford Pearman (referred to by the family as 'Miggie') and his wife Annie (known as Sandy) whose maiden was Fleming, with their children Wendy, and Roger (formerly an all-round sportsman, played briefly for Wakefield Trinity including a Wembley final, married an American lady and went to live in Australia where he retailed opals. Wendy says he is now divorced). Harry married Frances Parkin and they lived at 53 Snapethorpe Road Lupset Wakefield (later moving to Horbury) with their family, Donald, Alan, David, Valerie and John. James Cecil Pearman (born 1908 Certificate No.9c 11) married Lily Heaton who, having lost a baby was unable to have more children, and they lived for many years in Almshouse Lane at Newmillerdam only four doors away from the cottage occupied by Cecil's mother. Thomas K. Pearman married Mary Fisher on 5th April 1941 and until 1960 lived at 140 Waterton Road at Lupset, then moved to 60 Batley Road Wakefield. Their children were Christopher Ronald (14th May 1943), David Ian (3rd January 1945), Richard Scott (2nd September 1946), Anne Patricia (24th May 1948) and Kathryn Mary (8th September 1953). Anne died in childhood of a brain tumour on 27th September 1956. Thomas K Pearman died on 5th September 1966. David Ian Pearman died on 13th October 2004 at Knaresborough. Mary Pearman died in Wakefield on 30th May 2007.

  Noted events in her life were:

• connection. ¹⁰¹⁴ Chris Pearman 's connection to me is as follows:
Chris Pearman (1943)
His father was Thomas Pearman (1916)
His father was James Pearman (1878)
His father was James Pearman (1827)
His father was Edward Pearman (1796) who also had Sarah Ann Pearman (1834) who married William Ashton (1831)
They had William Ashton Pearman (1857)
He had Valentine Ashton (1890)
He had Ronald Ashton (1921)
He had Rodney Ashton (1942) who married Patricia Kneller (1942)
Her father was John Kneller (1911)
His father was Alfred Kneller (1887)
His father was Henry Kneller (c1857) who married Olive Pink (1859)
His father was James Kneller (c1832) who married Eliza Kemp (1836)
Her father was George Kemp (c1796) & he also had George Kemp (1823)
He had John Kemp (1860)
He had Louisa Kemp (1884) who married Percy Barton (1882)
They had Marinda Barton (1903) who married Arthur Crowther (1902)
His father was Frederick Crowther (1875) who married Elizabeth Knight (1876)
His father was John Knight (1844) & he also had Arthur Knight (1881) who married Ethel Dawes (1879)
Her father was Richard Dawes (1845)
His father was Edward Dawes (1813) & he also had James Dawes (1843)
He had Annie Florence Dawes (1873) who married Arthur Augustus Bray (1869)
They had Albert Bray (1896)
He had Robert Alfred Bray (1920) who married Veda Kemp (1925)
They had Robert Bray (1947) who married me - Robyn Bray (nee Davies) (1950)

Sarah married William Merlin Ashton, son of William Ashton and Jane Smith. (William Merlin Ashton was born in 1831 in Kings Lynn, Norfolk England.)