John Pearse

  General Notes:

John was "Mr Pearse the village tailor" who, in the early 1790s, allowed a room in his house near the church (where the vicarage now stands) in Carhampton to be used by the first Methodists in the village, at the instigation of his friend Richard Jones, who had been converted at John Wesley`s chapel in Bristol. Under pressure from the established church, John was forced to withdraw his permission after a short time; but Jones then built a small chapel in his own house (now the village shop and post office). There is some irony in the fact that when the foundations for the new vicarage were being dug, traces of an ancient building were found, which was thought to be possibly Carantoc`s Oratory, the first Christian chapel built by the C6th Celtic saint after whom Carhampton is said to have been named.
John was married on the same day as his sister Frances (a double wedding?). Robert Leigh (plus the parish clerk) was witness to both.

1841 Census: Carhampton, Tan Yard Cottage

Cause of Death: Inflammation of the Bowels

John married Sarah Reed on 20 Jun 1785 in Carhampton Somerset. (Sarah Reed was born about 1765 in Somerset, England, died on 5 Mar 1842 in Carhampton Somerset, England and was buried on 13 Mar 1842 in Carhampton, Somerset, England ²⁶³.)