Clement-Jones family 12/22 - Person Sheet
Clement-Jones family 12/22 - Person Sheet
NameJoseph PEASE , 5645
Birth1799
Death1872
FatherEdward PEASE , 5654 (1767-1858)
MotherRachel WHITWELL , 5657 (1771-1833)
Spouses
Birth1800
Death1860
FatherJoseph GURNEY , 8472 (1757-1830)
MotherJane CHAPMAN , 8638
Marriage1826
ChildrenEdward , 4396 (1834-1880)
 Joseph Whitwell , 5648 (1828-1903)
 Arthur , 5649
 Gurney , 5650
 Charles , 5651
 Rachel , 5652
 Elizabeth , 5653
Notes for Joseph PEASE
Joseph Pease (22 June 1799 – 8 February 1872) was involved in the early railway system in the UK and was the first Quaker elected to Parliament.[1]

Pease joined his father Edward and other members of the Pease family in starting the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. Pease was married to Emma Gurney, daughter of Joseph Gurney of Norwich in 1826. They had sixteen children, amongst them was Arthur Pease (1837-1898). Pease's ninth child, Elizabeth Lucy married the agricultural engineer and inventor, John Fowler. Fowler was a pioneer in the application of steam power to agriculture.
In 1829 Pease was managing the Stockton and Darlington Railway in place of his father. In 1830 he bought so many of the collieries in his area that he became the largest owner of collieries in South Durham. That same year Pease, Joseph Gurney, and some other Quaker businessmen bought a large tract of land at Middlesbrough. They turned it into a port for exporting coal. In December 1830 a new railway line was opened on the Stockton and Darlington to Middlesbrough to get Pease's coal there.

In 1832 Pease was elected as a Member of Parliament for South Durham. As a Quaker, he was not immediately allowed to take his seat, because he would not take the oath of office. A special committee considered the question and decided that Pease could affirm, rather than swear, and he was accepted into the membership of the Parliament. He was also unusual in that, like most Quakers of the day, he refused to remove his hat as he entered the House of Commons.

Pease supported the Whig governments of Earl Grey and Lord Melbourne. He joined Thomas Fowell Buxton in the anti-slavery movement. He supported the removal of bishops from the House of Lords. He was also in favour of shorter Parliaments and the secret ballot. He retired from politics in 1841.
In 1860 Pease became the president of the Peace Society, a post he held until his death.

Like his father before him, he is buried at the Friends Burial Ground, Skinnergate, Darlington, County Durham.

A statue to Joseph Pease stands at the junction of High Row and Bondgate in the centre of Darlington. It was unveiled in 1875 to mark the Golden Jubilee of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

From http://www.pennyghael.org.uk/genealogy.htm

The mantle of the family businesses was then to pass to Edward's son Joseph (1799-1872), who expanded, with his brothers into the colliery business, iron ore mining, limestone quarrying, railway locomotive construction, iron foundries, banking and textiles, and made the transition from private life into public politics, to become the first Quaker to be elected to Parliament. He was MP for South Durham during the course of four Parliaments, during the years 1832-1841. He was a founder of the Middlesbrough Estate in 1829 and a fervent supporter of his father in promoting the railway interests of the family. The entry into politics set a precedent for the family to follow in the next two generations. Indeed in the latter part of the 19th century, no less that 7 members of the immediate Pease family were to sit as Members of Parliament, along with at least another 36 who were linked by marriage and four were raised to the House of Lords, (Gainford, Beaumont, Daryngton & Wardington). Joseph married into the Gurney family of Norwich ( He married Emma Gurney).
Last Modified 20 Aug 2011Created 4 Mar 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh