John Worrall Sr., Esq. (1658 - 1742)

Born 18 Sep 1658 in Oare, Berkshire, England

Husband of Sarah (Goodwin) Worrall — married 9 Apr 1714 in Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 19 Apr 1742 at age 83 in Edgemont MM, Chester, Pennsylvania Colony

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Biography

John was a Friend (Quaker)

John Worrall Sr., Esquire, was born in 1657 in Oare, Berkshire, England. His father was also named John Worrall. His mother's name is not known at present. The Worrall family were substantial landowners and of gentry-level social standing. John put much of this at risk when he was converted to the doctrine of George Fox and joined the Society of Friends (Quakers).

John Worrall emigrated to the newly-founded Quaker-friendly colony of Pennsylvania on July 16, 1682, before the arrival of the colony's Proprietor, William Penn. He brought a letter from the Quaker Oare MM in Berkshire, England. He bought 2,000 acres of land across the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey, and his first home in Philadelphia took up "a whole square on Market Street." He also bought 1,000 acres in Middleton Township, Chester (later Delaware) County, Pennsylvania. As of 1690 he was a member of the Governor's Council and in 1717 was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly. As one chronicler put it: "He was a man of large means." ^[1][2]

John Worrall was married two times, having lost his first wife, Mary Lewis, around 1700 in Pennsylvania. On April 9, 1714, he married Sarah Goodwin, b: 1690 and thus 33 years younger. They settled on a large property in Edgemont Township, Chester County, where her family had emigrated in 1708. They had the following 9 children together: ^[3]

1. Elizabeth WORRALL b: 29 MAR 1715 in Edgemont, Chester, PA
2. Mary WORRALL b: 17 JUN 1717 in Edgemont, Chester Co., PA
3. John WORRALL b: 26 OCT 1719 in Edgemont, Chester, Co., PA
4. Peter WORRALL b: 26 OCT 1719 in Edgemont, Chester, Co., PA
5. Sarah WORRALL b: 19 SEP 1722 in Edgemont, Chester, Co., PA
6. Thomas WORRALL b: 21 NOV 1724 in Edgemont, Chester, PA
7. Peter WORRALL b: 1726 in Edgemont Twp., Chester Co., PA
8. Thomas WORRALL b: 29 JUL 1728 in Edgemont, Chester, PA
9. Mary WORRALL b: 12 DEC 1731 in Edgemont, Chester Co., PA

John Worrall Sr. died on April 19, 1742 in Edgemont, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His wife survived his passing. She died on July 5. 1755, in Edgemont, Chester Co., Pennsylvania.

Born to John and Elizabeth Worrall of Acton, Cheshire, England. John has been confused with a relation of his by the same name who also emigrated to Pennsylvania. John, of Acton, arrived on 16 May 1682 with his cousin, Richard Worrall, and presented his certificate from Monthly Meeting of Oare, Berkshire, England to Philadelphia Meeting 16 Jul 1682.

He lived first in Philadelphia, where he took up a whole square on Market street, besides two thousand acres of land in New Jersey, and one thousand acres in Middletown township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania.

At Chester Monthly Meeting, 5 Nov 1683, he proposed marriage with Frances (née Yardley) Taylor, widow of Thomas Taylor. Thomas Taylor's 400 acres of land lay immediately south of the tract of 250 acres purchased by John Worrall, of Acton, May 22, 1682, which was located in Middletown township, Chester (now Delaware) county, just southward of the Middletown Presbyterian church. John and Frances Worrall settled on John's land in Middletown, but on 15 Feb 1685, John conveyed it to Richard Woodward, at the same time purchasing a tract of 387 acres in Edgmont, which subsequent surveys proved to contain 485 acres. To this property they removed, and on it John Worrall continued thereafter to live. John and Frances had one child together, a son John, who accidently met his death in 1706.

When on 30 Jan 1710, John Worrall advised Chester Meeting of his intention to go to Great Britain, he requested a certificate from the meeting which was signed at the next meeting, 25 Mar 1710. John Worrall, now of Edgmont, yeoman, executed a general power of attorney to his friend, and husband of his daughter Elizabeth, John Salkeld and Joseph Selby to act in his place and assist his wife Frances Worrall to buy and sell "when she hath occasion."

After the death of Francis in 1712, John remarried. His second wife, Sarah, was a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Goodwin. John and Sarah had nine children together;

- Elizabeth - Mary - Peter - John - Sarah - Thomas - Peter - Thomas - Mary

John Worrall is remembered to have been a dictatorial man, though hospitable and kind hearted. There were many landless men in those days who were tramps, and as there were no inns, wayfarers' claims to be entertained were always considered. It was the rule in '"Friend Worrall's" house that bread and cheese should be set before every man who claimed to be hungry. If he cut the cheese unevenly his host required him to eat on until he squared it up again.

John Worrall was a man of considerable means, and is credited with having loaned £100 to William Penn on one occasion when he needed the money. He was a man of strict integrity and of prominence and influence in his neighborhood. He was a member of the Governor's Council, 1690; served in the Provincial Assembly in 1717, and was a County Assessor in 1708.

"Name John Worrall Role Decedent Residence Place Chester Co., PA Will Date 7 Apr 1741 Will Proved 6 Sep 1742 Title Yeoman Comments John Worral. Chester County, Pennsylvania. Yeoman. April 7, 1741. September 6, 1742. Wife: Sarah. Children: John, Peter, Thomas, Sarah and Elizabeth Salkeld. Grandson: John Salkeld. Cousin: Martha Tannior. Exec: Codwallader Evans, tanner, and Thomas Cummins. Trustees: Peter Dicks and George Asbridge." - Abstract of John Worrall's Will; Will Bk F:311

Sources

1. ↑ Colonial Families of Philadelphia by John Woolf Jordan, pg. 1316. A Google book.
2. ↑ Lobb-Shaffer families on RootsWeb - John Worrall. Some slight discrepancies in birth/death dates. Confuses this John Worrall with father who died 1716 in Maple Twp., PA. Ascribes m. to Sarah Goodwin to a son, John Worrall, b: 1680... Contradicts "Colonial Families..." book. Research needed.
3. ↑ Lobb-Schaefer Families on RootsWeb - Sarah Goodwin

- The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Class: RG 6; Piece: 1035

- Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

- Philadelphia County Wills, 1682-1819. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1900.

- Myers, Albert Cook. Quaker Arrivals at Philadelphia, 1682-1750. Baltimore, MD, USA: Southern Book Co., 1957.

- John Woolf Jordan. Colonial Familes of Philadelphia, Vol. 2. New York: Lewis Publishing Co., 1911.

- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231849529/john-worrall : accessed 13 September 2021), memorial page for John Worrall (18 Sep 1658–19 Apr 1742), Find a Grave Memorial ID 231849529, citing Chester Friends Cemetery, Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Salkeld Genealogy Research (contributor 48113546) .