Aaron James (1674-1752) and Elizabeth Fieldhouse (1683-1751)

When trying to decide on the next ancestor to research, write and share about… I landed on Elizabeth Fieldhouse, an 8th Great Grandmother.  She died 274 years ago next week, in 1751.  However, the further back you go, it’s always harder to find info about females.  I began looking into her husband, and wound up with a lot to sift through.  Mostly everything I found on him, would qualify for her, too.  So I suppose this is about both of them…

**Note: I do not have much to back up this story.  The only documents I could find in a short period of time, are their marriage record, a list of their children, a list of Elizabeth, Aaron Sr. and Aaron Jr. deaths, and the death writing for Aaron Sr.  All of these came from Quaker record books.  Everything else in this story, has been compiled from different online writings/family trees of other descendants/researchers and Quaker history.  I had hoped to find a ship manifest of the Canterbury in 1699 to confirm the James’ were on it… but was unable to do so in my timeframe. However, the pirate attack on the Canterbury is true!  🙂

Elizabeth Fieldhouse, one of my 8th Great Grandmothers, was born about 1668 in Tixall, Staffordshire, England.  Her father may have been Jerime/Jeremiah Fieldhouse, and her mother is noted in several online trees as Alice Turner (but I have not taken the time to prove or disprove that yet). Her baptism is noted as October 24, 1668.

Aaron James, one of my 8th Great Grandfathers, was born about 1674 in Staffordshire, England.  His father was Thomas James, and I have seen his mother listed as Elizabeth Smyth or Elizabeth Becke.  His father Thomas is noted as living in Longton in 1699, but it’s unclear at this time, if that is where Aaron was born.

Aaron James and Elizabeth Fieldhouse marriage record, 1699

Aaron and Elizabeth were Quakers, and were married in the Friends meeting house on Foregate Street in Stafford, on April 6, 1699. There is still a meeting house at that location, built in 1730. I would assume the two met because of their shared religious beliefs.  They were “older” when they were married (him 25, her 31).  They may have grown up in the Quaker faith, or they may have come to it on their own.

I admit that I am not very knowledgeable about Quaker history.  What I understand is that Quakerism was established in Staffordshire about 1651, and meetings were held in private homes.  Friends were being persecuted and imprisoned just for attending a meeting, and families began leaving England in search of a place they could establish their own communities.

Inside a typical 17th Century merchant ship

On September 3, 1699, the James’ departed from Cowes, Isle of Wight, on the ship Canterbury with William Penn.  This was Penn’s 2nd voyage to America and his Pennsylvania Colony.  Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, between Sept. 3 and Nov. 3, the Canterbury was attacked by pirates.  It’s reported that “the ship’s crew and passengers fought off the attackers in a successful defense.”  On November 3rd, the Canterbury docked at Newcastle, Delaware.  The ship’s trade goods were unloaded there and the families rested and recovered for 3 weeks.  On November 30, they set sail again (up the Delaware River), and arrived at Philadelphia a day or two later.

Area of Westtown, PA, where Aaron reportedly owned land

I have not located any documentation of it, but several family histories online state that Aaron James purchased 600 acres from William Penn in 1700.  The land is said to have been in Westtown, PA, at the corner of present day Routes 352 and 926.  I have also read that in 1701, Aaron purchased 142 additional acres of land from Joseph Hickman.  

It’s said that Aaron and Elizabeth brought a certificate from the Stafford meeting house in England, to the Chester Friends, allowing them to join.  In 1722, the Chester Quarterly Meeting formally established Goshen as a monthly meeting.  The James family became some of the first members of the Goshen Friends.

List of the James children, 1700-1711

Aaron and Elizabeth had 6 known children, all born in Pennsylvania, between 1700 and 1711.  We descend from their son Joseph, and eventually get down to the Miles’ line, which then moves into the Carlisle line.

The James family established a pottery business in Westtown around 1730.  They primarily produced redware made from locally available red clay.  It was practical, everyday pottery (jugs, plates, bowls, etc.).  The local clay was rich in iron content and fired to colors ranging from salmon pink to red-brown. Everything I have read, credits Aaron James as the original potter for the family business.  However, it’s unclear if it was Aaron Sr (the subject of this writing), or Aaron Jr (who would have been in his early 20s at the time).  Either way… I wish I had a piece of the pottery!

List with Elizabeth, Aaron Jr. and Aaron Sr's deaths

Elizabeth died November 19, 1751, in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  Aaron died on April 8, 1752.  Both are buried in the Goshen Friends Burial Ground.

Present day Goshen Friends Burial Ground, pic from Find-A-Grave website

There is an entry in the Goshen meeting records.. 

“Aaron James late of West Town in the county of Chester, Pennsylvania, departed this life on the sixth day of the second month, in the year 1752.  He had been an Elder of the particular Meeting he belonged to, that of Goshen, for many years; he was a man of an upright conversation, a peace-maker, and serviceable on Truth’s account in diverse Respect.”

Death notes in Quaker records for Aaron Sr

I'll close with this... even if some of the things above turn out to not be true, we know this.  The sentence that describes our ancestor as a being a man of upright conversation and a peace-maker... that's really our guy, and it's something to be proud of!