The family arrived on September 28, 1682, on the ship Friend's Adventure with their children, Thomas, Enoch, and William, and a servant, Andrew Heath (1667-1720).
Yardley subsequently purchased 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land in Lower Makefield Township in Bucks County from William Penn, who had received the land from Charles II of England to settle a debt owed Penn's father.
[1] He was raised as an agriculturist, but associated with the mystic religious community in Renaissance England called the Family of Love.
[1] Over the next twenty-five years, Yardley preached throughout England and was imprisoned several times along with many other Quakers, including William Penn.
[1] In one harsh imprisonment, Yardley's only resting place for three months was the bare, unheated floor of his cell.
[2] In March 1681, Penn founded the Province of Pennsylvania as a primary refuge for persecuted English Quakers.
[1] With plans to leave England, Yardley made an agreement with Penn to buy 500 acres (2.0 km2) for ten pounds (about nineteen U.S. dollars).
[1] On the ship, Yardley brought with him 2 bundles, 2 tubs, 3 chests, 1 pack, 2 boxes qty.
[1] The family eventually made their way to Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, arriving there on September 28, 1682.
[1] Thomas Janney (1633–1696), Yardley's brother-in-law,[5] wrote of him, about the time of his death: "He was a man of sound mind and good understanding.
The Yardleys faced further devastation during the smallpox epidemic of 1702–03, which spread to Bucks County and claimed the lives of all of William's descendants.
[6] Yardley's ferry soon after became an important point, and, later in the 18th century, when the three great roads leading to Philadelphia, via the Falls, Four Lanes end (now Langhorne), and Newtown terminated there, the ferry became a thoroughfare of travel and traffic for a large section of East Jersey.