The Pease family was a prominent English and mostly Quaker family associated with Darlington and County Durham and descended from Joseph Pease of Darlington, elder son of Edward Pease (1711–1785). They were 'one of the great Quaker industrialist families of the nineteenth century, who played a leading role in philanthropic and humanitarian interests'. The family earlier came from Fishlake, Yorkshire. They were heavily involved during the 19th century in woollen manufacturing, railways, coal mines, and politics. Notable events in their history include the establishment of the in the 1820s and the failure of the family bank in 1902. The latter forced several of them close to bankruptcy. Nine members of the family were Members of Parliament, including the first Quaker Member of Parliament.
Joseph Pease (1737–1808) founded Pease Partners Bank (1761). His children included
Edward Pease had five sons and three daughters, including:
The second Joseph Pease married Elizabeth Beaumont of Feethams and had two children:
Related Peases, but not considered Darlington Peases, were descendants of the first Joseph Pease's brother, Thomas Pease (1743–1811). His granddaughter, Hannah Ford née Pease was mother of Isabella Ford, the reformer, and Emily Susan Ford, the painter. His grandson Thomas Pease (1816–1884) married thrice and had many children, with his third wife, Susanna Ann Fry, sister of the judge Edward Fry and aunt of Roger Fry. These children included
Joseph Pease's sister Ann (died 1826) married Jonathan Backhouse (1747–1826) founder of Backhouse's Bank in 1774 and was mother of
She was also great-grandmother of
and ancestor of, among others,