| Notes |
- John is the grandson of Peter Eachus (1570-1632) of Minshull Vernon, Cheshire, His Probable father is Peter to date, his baptism as yet to be found. He was a farmer and a piller of the community in which he lived. and in 1669 was made a constable.
Kinderton Court Book: 8th Oct 1669 John Darlington & John Echuse (sic) are made constables for the coming year.
He was the the Auther's great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather.
John`s Marriages do not appear in the Parish records of Cheshire, Staffordshire or Shropshire. the reason could be a Couple- Beggar. A Couple-Beggar was an itinerant priest who performed marriages irregulary i.e. without Banns or Licence. Hardwicks Marriage Act of 1754 legalised such marriages, but the officiating minister was declared a felon.
Time Line:
John was born into a world that was to face many changes. The King, Charles the First was imposing many unpopular Taxes, including Custom Duties, tonnage and poundage and the increased fines on Catholics were raising very large sums. The split between County and court was steadily widening. add to that two very poor harvests in 1629 and 1630, which saw bread prices soar, leaving most of the population in poverty, and the country in social unrest. On May 29th 1630 King Charles I and his queen had a son, who would become Charles II.
In the June of 1630 a fleet of 11 ships carrying over a thousand puritans arrived in Massachusetts Bay to establish a colony in the area. The new colonists led by John Winthrop intended to find Religious freedom, in the new world. In 1700 a close descendant of John's, Robert Eachus would follow them, to start a new Eachus dynasty in the "New World"
To give some idea of crime and punishment in those days, it was reported that one Alexander Leighton, a Presbyterian preacher wrote a pamphlet called "Sion's Plea against the Prelacy" in which he called the Bishops "caterpillers, Moths and Cankerworms"
The Court of the Star Chamber found him guilty of attacking the Bishops and sentenced him to be Defrocked, fined ?10,000 and jailed for life. While he was in jail he was whipped at the pillory, had his ears cut off, his nose slit and was branded on both cheeks with "SS" (Sower of sedition). Is it any wonder that just 12 years later England was fighting a civil war.
Before the middle of the 18th century there was no formal spelling of the English Lanquage, and most people who could read and write, wrote sounds, so you find the name Eachus written in Various ways such as Eachuse, Eachewes or Eachouse, all clearly spoken as Eachus
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Abt 1630 - 1693 (~ 63 years)
