1747
John leased eight acres of land northeast of Birmingham where he built a house, ‘Easy Hill’ and workshops. He named it “Easy Hill,” and built a mansion on the land at a cost of what would be millions of dollars today. It was his little Eden. Sarah Eaves came to live with him as a housekeeper shortly after the purchase of Easy Hill, and for all intents and purposes, as a wife. They married in 1764, after her estranged husband, a convicted forger, died. 1791: ‘Easy Hill’ was burnt during the Priestley Riots.