John Pearson (25 December 1771 - 16 April 1841) was a British Barrister and

Advocate-General of Bengal The Advocate-General of Bengal was charged with advising the Government of the British administered Bengal Presidency on legal matters. The Presidency existed from 1765 to 1947. Prior to 1858, when it was administered by the East India Company, t ...

Early life

Pearson was the eldest child of Thomas Pearson Esq. (3 May 1732,

Tettenhall Tettenhall is an historic village within the City of Wolverhampton, England. Tettenhall became part of Wolverhampton in 1966, along with Bilston, Wednesfield and parts of Willenhall, Coseley and Sedgley. History Tettenhall's name derives fro ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

- 25 August 1796, Tattenhall, Staffordshire) of Tattenhall, Staffordshire, and his wife Elizabeth Leake (6 June 1743,

Newport, Shropshire Newport is a constituent market town in Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It lies north of Telford, west of Stafford, and is near the Shropshire-Staffordshire border. The 2001 census recorded 10,814 people living in the town's parish ...

– 12 April 1832,

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives fr ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

). He received the earlier education under Rev. Robert Dean and Ref. Mr. Lawson. After graduation from

Wolverhampton Grammar School Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Wolverhampton, England. History Initially a grammar school for boys, WGS was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who ...

, he matriculated from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 24 October 1789. He was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

on 28 October 1790 and was called to the Bar in 1802. Pearson married Jane Elizabeth Matilda Hooke on 21 December 1802 and started practice as a barrister at Tettenhall and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Career

In April 1824 Pearson came to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

with his family and was appointed as the Advocate-General of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

in place of Sergeant

Robert Spankie Robert Spankie (17 April 1774 – 2 November 1842) was a Scottish-born journalist, barrister and politician who spent most of his career and life in England and India. Born in Falkland, Fife, he was the son of a Church of Scotland Minister. He ...

. He was elected by an anonymous vote of East India Board of Directors. Due to ill health, he returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1840, and died in 1841.

Personal life

On 21 December 1802 at Barwell, Leicestershire, Pearson married Jane Elizabeth Matilda Hooke (14 April 1784, Barwell, Leicestershire - 16 November 1833,

Bower Ashton Bower Ashton is a small district in south west Bristol on the western boundary with North Somerset, lying within the Southville, Bristol, Southville ward, approximately two miles from the city centre. Ashton Court estate, a recreational area ow ...

), the eldest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel George Philip Hooke of the 17th Regiment. They had seven children: #Elizabeth Mary (23 October 1804, Barwell, Leicestershire - 29 December 1848,

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

). She first married, at Calcutta, India on 26 April 1825, George Macartney Greville (died at

Berhampur Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...

, Bengal, India on 26 April 1834). She married secondly, at Hanover Square, London as his second wife,

James Loch James Loch (7 May 1780 – 28 June 1855) was a Scottish advocate, barrister, estate commissioner and later a member of parliament. Biography Loch was born near Edinburgh on 7 May 1780. He was eldest son of George Loch of Drylaw, Edinburgh. His ...

(7 May 1780 – 28 June 1855). She had children by her first husband. # Thomas Hooke (7 June 1806, Tettenhall, Staffordshire - 29 April 1892,

Sandy, Bedfordshire Sandy is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It lies to the east of Bedford, to the south west of Cambridge and north of Central London. The town has a population of around 13,400 based on 2015 estimates. The ...

). He married and left children. #Jane Frances Matilda (8 August 1808, Tettenhall, Staffordshire - 29 August 1887,

Coates, Gloucestershire Coates is a village and civil parish situated in Cotswold District,Gloucestershire, England. It is around west of Cirencester and close to Cirencester Park, part of the Bathurst Estate. It is the nearest village to the source of the river Tha ...

). She married, at Barwell, Leicestershire, on 27 February 1837, Lieutenant (later Lieutenant-General) George William Key (6 February 1812, Coates, Gloucestershire - 20 August 1883, Coates, Gloucestershire), and had children. #Hugh (7 November 1809, Tettenhall, Staffordshire - 20 February 1885,

Portswood Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley. Portswood W ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

). He married, at Calcutta on 22 June 1837, Jane Augusta Alkinson (26 May 1804,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

- 19 December 1893, Portswood, Hampshire), and had children. #Emily (September 1811 - 10 June 1823) #George (28 April 1813, Barwell, Leicestershire - 11 January 1838,

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribagh ...

, India) #Rev. Charles James (31 October 1814 - 10 June 1881,

Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly hou ...

). He married, at

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire in England on the north-eastern outskirts of Rugby, approximately from Rugby town centre. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,304. ...

on 8 December 1845, Mary Charlotte Moor (2 October 1818,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

- 26 August 1885,

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third l ...

), and had children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, John 1771 births 1841 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British East India Company people