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THE NAME AND FAMILY OF
DERBY OR DARBY
Compiled By
edia Research Bureau
ashington, D. C.
The name of Derby or Darby is said to have been derived from the residence of its first bearers in the city and county of that name in England. It is found on ancient records in the various forms of Dereby, Derbey, Darbey, Derbye, Darbye, Dorby, Darbie, Derbie, Darby, and Derby, of which the last two are the forms most generally in use in America today. Families of this name were to be found at early dates, not only in the County of Derby, but also in the English Counties of Kings, Lancaster, York, Leicester, Dorset, Salop, Lincoln, Devon, Suffolk, Buckingham and London. They were, for the most part, of the landed gentry and yeomanry of Great Britain. Among the earliest records of the family in England are those of Robert de Derby of Lancashire in 1332, Ralph and William de Derby in 1346, William de Derby of Derbyshire, in the time of King Edward 1, Robertus, Johannes and Nicholaus de Derby of Yo9rkshire in 1379, Edward and Lilias Derby of Leicestershire in the latter 16th century, Jonathan Darby of King's County in the early 17th century (father of Jonathan, Geroge, John, William, and Mary) and John Darby of County Salop in the latter half of the 17th century, who was the father of a son named Abraham. The ancient Lincolnshire line of the family was represented in the later 15th century by one Roger Darby, who married Elizabeth Strange, and was the father of Ralph, who was the father of Thomas, who married Alice Langton, and was the father, by her, of a son, William, and possibly others. While it is not definitely known in each case from which of the lines in England the first emigrants of the name in America were descended, records show them to have been among the very early colonists in the New World. Probably the first of the name in America were the brothers of John and Richard Derby or Darby, who settled at Plymouth, Mass. in 1637 and are believed to have been the sons of one Christopher Derby of Dorsetshire, Eng. Of these brothers, John had among others, a son named Matthew, but no record has been found in the family of Richard. Edward Derby of Darby was living at Braintree, Mass. sometime before 1660, and in that year was married to Susanna Hooke, by whom he had Mary, Eleazer, and probably Edward, and others, of whom Eleazer was the father of a son of the same name, and Edward resided at Weymouth and was the father by his wife, Ruth, of Edward and Samuel. Francis Derby of Warwickshire, R. 1. sometime before 1660, was the father by his wife, Ann, of Francis, Eleazer, and Tristam, of whom the first removed to Southold, on Long Island. In 1671, Roger Derby of Darby, came from Devonshire, Eng-1. to either Ipswich or Salem, Mass. By his wife, Lucretia Kilham or Hillman, whom he married in England in 1668, he was the father of Charles, Experience, Samuel, Roger, John, Richard, Lucretia, and Ebenezer. By his second wife, Elizabeth Haskeft, he had further issue of Elizabeth, Margaret, and Martha. John Derby or Darby possibly a brother of the immigrant, Roger, settled at Marblehead, Mass. about 1677, and was the father by his wife, Alice, of Alice, John, Mary, Joseph and Benjamin, of whom the first son John, was the ancestor of the Westminster, Mass. family of Derby or Darby. As early as 1678, one Samuel-Darby made his home in Maryland, and it is thought probable that he was the father of that Joseph Darby of Anne Arundel Co. who was the father, by his wife, Rebecca (Rebeka) of 4 sons, Joseph, Samuel, Benjamin and Josias or Josiah. It is probable that he was related to the others of the name in the South at early dates--Francis, John, James, Thomas, and Peter Darby or Derby, who were all settled in Va. and Md. before the end of the 17th century. The descendants of these and other later branches of the family have spread to practically every state of the Union and have contributed substantially to the material and culture developments of the county. The record of the family in America is that of an industrious, conservative, straight-thinking race, of high integrity, and intellectual ability, which has demonstrated itself particularly in the fields of science, law, literature and the Church. Among those who fought as officers in the War of the Revolution were Ensign Nathaniel Darby of Va; Lt. Regimental Quartermaster Ephriam Darby of NJ.; Capt. Samuel Darby of Mass.; Capt. Henry Darby of Del.; Major Samuel Darby of Mass. William, Robert, Jonathan, Thomas Edward, Francis, Roger, Samuel, John, Joseph, Benjamin, and Richard are some of the Christian names most favored by the family for its male progeny.
A few of the many members of the family who have distinguished themselves in America in recent times are
Geo. Horatio Darby (1823-1861) of Mass.-American humorist(pen nameJohn Phoenix)
Orville Adelbert Darby (1851-1915) of N.Y. -American Geologist
Stephen Hasket Darby (b. 1877) of Mass. -Maritime lawyer
Geo. McClellen Derby (b. 1856) -Army Officer
Ada Claire Darby (b. 1883) of Mo. -Author
- Wm. Lambert Darby (b. 1875) of Ind. -Clergyman and Religious executive.
One of the most ancient and well known coat of arms of the English families of Darby and Derby is described as follows (Burke, General Armory, 1884)
"ARMS"Argent (sometimes Vert), a chevron between 3 garbs sable, bander or.
"CREST"A heraldic antelope's head erased guides, maned, tufted, armed and attired or."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bardsely-English and Welsh Surnames, 1901
Burke - Landed Gentry, 1875
Harleian Society - Leicestershire Visitation, 1876
Savage - Genealogical Dictionary of New England, 1860
Austin - Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, 1887
Cooke - The Driver Family, 1889
Peabody - Derbys of Salen, 1908
Hughes - American Ancestry, 1890-91
W. D. Derby - Derby Genealogy, 1903
S. C. Derby - Perby-Darby Genealogy, 1909
Heywood - Westminster, Mass., 1893
R. C. Darby - Genealogy of Darby Family, 1914
Bromley - Derby Genealogy, 1905
Heitman - Officers of Continental Army, 1914
The Americana
This work was made for Dr. Taylor E. Darby in 1939 and copied by Virginia D. Ward, 1951
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