John Darby
Events
Date of Birth: unknown.
Place of Birth: unknown.
Date of Burial: 25 June 1747.
Place of Burial: Kingswinford, Staffordshire.
The burial appears in the parish register.
Relationships
Father: unknown.
He was possibly the John Darby yeoman of Kingswinford who left a 1680/5 will.
Mother: unknown.
Spouse: Mary Watis. Married 12 June 1701 in Enville, Staffordshire.
Mary is recorded as John’s wife in their marriage record and in the will of her father. John Darby (of "Swinford Rs") signed the probate bond of Mary’s mother Anne.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Ann Darby (baptized 13 August 1702 in Kingswinford - buried 18 January 1718/19 in Kingswinford).
Mary Darby (baptized 10 January 1705/4 in Kingswinford).
John Darby (baptized 19 May 1713 in Kingswinford - buried 8 February 1768/9 in Kingswinford, aged 56) married Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Darby married James Baynton 15 May 1742 in Ombersley, Worcestershire.
Evidence
John Darby was an appraiser for the probate inventory of his wife’s brother-in-law Richard Grove, dated 11 April 1702 in Kingswinford.
In the 1713 administration bond of Anne Watis, widow, of Enfield, the bondsmen are:
Georgium Wattis de Enfield in Comitatu Stafford husbandman
John Darby paroch’ Swinford Rs in Comitatu pred’ husbandman
from the Kingswinford parish register (bishop’s transcripts):
1702
Eodem [August] 13 Ann the daughter of John Darby & Mary his wife was bap:
1705
Mary Daught.r of Jo.n & Mary Darby Bap.d Jan. 10
1740 Burials
[July] 21 Mary wife of John Darby
1747 June
25 John Darby buried
John’s will:
In the name of God Amen I John Darby of the parish of Kingswinford in the County of Stafford yeoman being sick in body but of sound Mind Memory and Understanding do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following (that is to say) First my will and desire is that all my just Debts and funerall Expences shall be paid and satisfied Item I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter Mary Darby the sume of Ten pounds Also I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter Elizabeth Baynton the wife of James Baynton yeoman the sume of Ten pounds and my will and desire is that the aforesaid Legacyes shall be paid by my Executor within six months after my Decease also I Give Devise and bequeath unto my Son John Darby and to his heirs and assignes All my reall and personall Estate of what nature or kind soever To hold the same unto my said son and his heirs for ever Subject to the payment of the aforesaid Legacies and Lastly I do hereby nominate Constitute and appoint my said son John Darby Sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoaking all former and other Wills by me at any Time heretofore made and Do Declare this to be my last Will and Testament In witness whereof I have hereunto sett my Hand and Seal this fifteenth Day of June One Thousand seven Hundred and forty seven
The marke of John Darby [seal]
Signed sealed published and Declared by the Testator John Darby as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who in his sight and at his request have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto
Thos. Hodgetts
The Mark of Samuel Davies
James Dunne[?]
[Proved 13 November 1747 in the Consistory Court of Coventry and Lichfield]
A true and perfect Inventory of the goods & chattles of John Darby the elder of Kingswinford in the County of Stafford Yeoman deceased
In the first places the goods in the Kitchen --- 02 : 00 : 00
The furniture in the Parlour --- 01 : 00 : 00
In the little lower room bedsteads & other odd things 00 : 10 : 00
In the Butteries potts & kettles & small things --- 01 : 12 : 06
In the Parlour chamber 2 pair of bedsteads a bedtrok & some linen Curtains & blankets --- 03 : 00 : 00
In the Kitchen chamber one pr of bedsteads, an old table & old coffers --- 01 : 03 : 00
One pair of small Harrows --- 00 : 05 : 00
And an old Tumbrile --- 00 : 07 : 06
One pair of old geers --- 00 : 01 : 00
Tot --- 10 : 07 : 06
Apparell --- 02 : 10 :00
In all --- 12 : 17 :06
Appraised by us this 22d day of July
George Grove
Thomas Pearsall Appraisers.
The inventory from the 1768 will of John’s son John Darby:
An Inventory of all and singular the goods & chattels of John Darby late of the parish of Kingswinford in the County of Stafford nailor deseased taken this vj day of Mary 1768
In the first place - In the Kitchen one Grate & other irons- 0 4 6
one Dresser of Drawers & pewter shelf – 0 8 6
Ten pewter dishes six pewter plates old ones – 0 10 0
One square table four chairs & a screen – 0 7 6
In the parlour one feather bedasteads & hangings – 1: 4. 0
one clock old one – 0 . 12 0
In the chamber over the Kitchen one feather bed & steads – 0 12 6
one old coffer one old table – 0 2 6
In the Chamber over the parlor one feather bed & steads - 0. 12 6
Two chests one box – 0. 9. 6
In the cellar two barrels one pot & kettle & rocker – 0. 10. 6
One tub & other lumber – 0. 2 6
Wearing apparel & money in purse – 1. 10 0
L - 7. 10 0
Taken & appraised by us
Richd Taylor
Henry Pitts
Commentary
If the 1747 and 1768 inventories are compared, it is clear that they refer to the same house.
Rooms mentioned in 1747:
kitchen
parlour
parlour chamber
kitchen chamber
little lower room
butteries
Rooms mentioned in 1768:
kitchen
parlour
chamber over the parlour
chamber over the kitchen
cellar
The John Darby who was buried in 1768/9 is recorded in the register as aged 56. This makes the construction of the family clear. John’s father is recorded as John and his mother as Mary. There were two families in the period with John and Mary Darbys as heads:
Family 1: the Shut End Darbys
A John Darby married Mary Fellow of Sedgley, the widow of William Pershouse, 10 March 1696/7 in Kingswinford. Their first child, Elizabeth, was baptized in Sedgley in 1698. In 1698, there was this indenture connected to a marriage of John’s sister Mary:
22 June 1698
Counterpart of indenture between John Willetts, son of John Willetts late of Rowley Regis, co.Staff., yeoman, deceased, Margery Willetts, sister of the said John Willetts, deceased, John Darby the younger, of Sedgley, co.Staff., yeoman, and William Gilberts of Rowley Regis, turner, being a settlement previous to the marriage of the said John Willetts and Mary Darby, daughter of John Darby of Shuttend in the parish of Kingswinford, co.Staff., yeoman, of a messuage, lands and appurtenances at Hocum Oakham in the parish of Rowley Regis. [Birmingham Archives, description from the National Archives catalogue.]
Here we see the connection between the Shut End Darbys and Sedgley. John Darby of Shutend senior died in 1724 and his son died in 1728, leaving a will naming his wife Mary (executor), his son John (executor), and his other children, Thomas, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary. From the parish registers, we get these baptisms which I think are these children:
Baptisms:
Elizabeth 13 June 1698 Sedgley
John 9 November 1699 Kingswinford
Thomas 3 September 1702 Kingswinford
Mary 25 Februrary 1704 Sedgley
Sarah 25 January 1708 Kingswinford
In all cases, the parents are recorded as John and Mary.
Family 2: the other family
The other John Darby of Kingswinford married Mary Watis of Enville in 1701 in Enville. From the parish registers, I think these are their children:
Baptisms:
Ann 13 August 1702 Kingswinford (buried 19 January 1718)
Mary 10 January 1705 Kingswinford
John 19 May 1713 Kingswinford (buried 1768 in Kingswinford. His age is recorded as 56 in the register.
In all the baptisms, and Ann’s burial, the parents are recorded as John and Mary.
The father John Darby left a 1747 will, in which he names his children: his daughter Mary, his daughter Elizabeth the wife of James Baynton, and his John (executor). There was also an inventory.
The son John left a 1768 will and inventory. From the inventories, you can see that in 1768, John was living in the same house where his father had been living in 1747. The 1728 will also has an inventory, which describes a clearly different house.
One point of possible confusion is that Mary Watis’s brother George is an appraiser of the 1728 inventory. The connection, however, was probably not through Mary. Mary’s brother George seems to have married a sister of the John Darby of the 1728 will in 1701.
References
Administration of Anne Watis of Enville, Staffordshire, widow, 24 November 1713, Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk.
Administration of Richard Grove of Kingswinford. 1702. Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry. Digitial images on Findmypast.co.uk.
Bishop’s transcripts of the parish registers of Kingswinford. Digital images on FamilySearch.org accessed 10 May 2020. There are many missing pages.
Indexes of the original parish registers of Kingswinford on FreeReg.org.uk. (I haven’t been able to track down digital images.)
Will of George Watis of Enfield, Staffordshire, yeoman, proved 30 May 1706 in the Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk.
Will of John Darby yeoman of Kingswinford. Proved 13 November 1747 in the Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk accessed 10 May 2020.
Will of John Darby of Kingswinford, nailor, proved 1768 in the Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk.