John Fritchley and Eliza Brewster Fritchley were born in England -- possibly Derbyshire, but that has not been absolutely verified. There is a village in Derbyshire named Fritchley, near Crich, which may be a link. He was born about 1824, she was born about 1826. The Fritchley's came to the United States sometime before 1852 when their eldest son was born in Pennsylvania. John and Eliza settled in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

This story, which comes from a new found cousin, explains why John & Eliza came to the U.S.: "John Henry was an apprentice in England and was supposed to take over the business. He was being cheated, so he packed up and came to New York City. He asked there where he could find blacksmith work and he ended up in Lanesboro, Pennyslvania making tools that were used to build the Storrocca Viaduct."

In 1870, John and Eliza's children were: John, 18; David, 12; Louisa D., 11; Albert, 9; Frank, 6; and Sarah, 4.

Sometime between 1910-1920, one branch of the family moved to Stark County, Ohio.

You can search my family tree for the Fritchley surname on RootsWeb's World Connect database. The following pages will provide more in depth information on my family tree.

Descendant tree of John Fritchley

Biographies: