William Everard Pedley (16 June 1858 – 9 July 1920) was an English civil engineer and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who played first-class cricket for Sussex. After emigrating to the United States he became a well known irrigation engineer in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. He gave his name to the community of

Pedley, California Pedley was a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 12,672 at the 2010 census, up from 11,207 at the 2000 census. On July 1, 2011, the CDP became part of the City of Jurupa Valley. Histor ...

, now a neighborhood within the city of

Jurupa Valley, California Jurupa Valley ( Serrano: ''Hurumpa'') is a city in the northwest corner of Riverside County, California. It was the location of one of the earliest non-native settlements in the county, Rancho Jurupa. The Rancho was initially an outpost of the ...

England

Pedley was born at Stubbing Court,

Wingerworth Wingerworth is a large village and parish in North East Derbyshire, England. Its population, according to the 2011 census, was 6,533. Wingerworth is southwest of Chesterfield, south of Sheffield and north of London. Tupton, Clay Cross, Gra ...

, Derbyshire, the son of Thomas Humphrey Pedley and his wife Mary Gully, daughter of

John Gully John Gully (21 August 1783 – 9 March 1863) was an English champion prizefighter who became a racehorse owner and, from 1832 to 1837, a Member of Parliament. Early life Gully was born at Wick, near Bath, the son of an innkeeper who became a ...

. He joined the Royal Engineers and in 1877 became a member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

. In 1879 Pedley played two matches for Sussex against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Surrey. Against Kent he took 7 for 36 and was not out on 16 in his second innings to help Sussex to victory. He also played for the Royal Engineers and Gentlemen of Sussex. Pedley next appeared playing for his native

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in the 1888 season.

California

Pedley went to America where he was manager of the San Jacinto Land Company, who developed part of the Sobrante de San Jacinto land grant at

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. He was the designer, builder, and engineer of the irrigation system that was installed. He gave his name to the settlement of

in 1903 or 1904 when the Union Pacific Railroad Company installed a switch and a railroad station at the location. His name was also given to the nearby

Pedley Hills The Pedley Hills are a low mountain range of the northern Peninsular Ranges System, in northwestern Riverside County, California. They are named for William Pedley, a civil engineer, who emigrated to the United States from England. Geography The ...

, a low lying mountain range, also within the Jurupa Valley city limits.

Sports

In Cricket, Pedley was a right-hand batsman and played four innings in two first-class matches with an average of 15 and a top score of 16 not out. He was a right-arm medium pace bowler and took 10 first-class wickets at an average of 13.80 and a best performance of 7 for 36. In California Pedley became a regular Polo player on the local fields and a member of the Riverside polo team, keeping his own stable of polo horses. His son,

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

became a professional player and a three-time winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship.

Death

Pedley died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at the

Good Samaritan Hospital Good Samaritan Hospital or Good Samaritan Medical Center may refer to: India *Good Samaritan Hospital (Panamattom), Koprakalam, Panamattom, Kerala *Good Samaritan Centre, Mutholath Nagar, Cherpunkal, Kottyam, Kerala United States *Banner - Univer ...

. He was 62. While on a road trip he took ill and was taken to the Los Angeles hospital where he was diagnosed with

ptomaine poisoning Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease ...

, and died shortly thereafter. His funeral services were held at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Riverside, and he was interred at the

Olivewood Cemetery Olivewood Cemetery, in Houston, Texas, lies near a bend in White Oak Bayou, along the rail line to Chaney Junction, where the First and Sixth wards meet just northwest of downtown. The cemetery is an historic resting place for many freed sla ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedley, William 1858 births 1920 deaths Jurupa Valley, California History of Riverside County, California People from Riverside, California Burials at Olivewood Memorial Park Sportspeople from Riverside, California American polo players 19th-century British engineers 20th-century American engineers Sussex cricketers Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers English civil engineers Royal Engineers officers Cricketers from California British emigrants to the United States