Samuel Darby (1755 - 1796)

Born 16 Jan 1755 in Madeley, Shropshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Deborah (Barnard) Darby — married 2 Aug 1776 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England

Descendants

Died 1 Sep 1796 at age 41 in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, England

Biography

Samuel was a Friend (Quaker)

Samuel was the son of Abraham Darby and Abiah Maude. He was born at Madeley, Shropshire on 16 January 1755.^[1][2]

Samuel was apprenticed in 1771 in their Liverpool branch of his family's Coalbrook Dale Company, an iron foundry business. When his apprenticeship ended, he was given responsibility for a London foundry of the company. In 1779 he suffered a major illness which led to his moving to Coalbrookdale, Shropshire for a period. He went back to London, but the business there did not prosper and was sold soon after his return. He and his family then settled in Coalbrookdale. He acted as Treasurer for the Shropshire Canal Company, but suffered increasingly from mental instability.^[3]

On 2 August 1776 Samuel married Deborah Barnard at Sheffield Quaker Meeting House, Yorkshire. The Quaker marriage record describes him as an ironmaster of London, son of Abraham Darby (deceased ironmaster of Coialbrookdale, Shropshire) and Abiah; and her as daughter of John Barnard (of Upperthorpe near Sheffield, tanner) and Hannah.^[4][5] They had the following children:

• Abraham, born in London on 8 September 1777,^[6][7] died there "of convulsions" on 27 April 1778 and was buried on 1 May at Bunhill Fields Quaker burial ground, Middlesex^[8][9]
• Samuel, born at Madeley, Shropshire on 16 April 1779^[10][11]
• Hannah, born at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire on 4 August 1780,^[12][13] died the next day and was buried at Coalbrookdale Quaker burial ground on 7 August^[14][15]
• Edmund, born at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire on 22 April 1782^[16]

Samuel's wife was a noted Quaker minister, who travelled in Britain, Ireland and North America.^[3]

Samuel died at Bilston (now in Wolverhampton), Staffordshire on 1 September 1796.^[3] He was buried at Coalbrookdale Quaker burial ground, Shropshire on 6 September. His Quaker death and burial record describes him as an iron master of Coalbrookdale, age 42.^[17][18]

Sources

1. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1327, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Broseley Meeting, births, FindMyPast
2. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FW2H-TPD : 11 December 2014), Abraham Darby in entry for Samuel Darby, 16 Jan 1755, Birth; citing p. 35, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Edward H Milligan. British Quakers in Commerce and Industry 1775-1920, Sessions Book Trust, 2007, pp. 141-142
4. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/152, YORKSHIRE: Monthly Meeting of Balby (comprising Sheffield, Doncaster, etc): Marriages, FindMyPast
5. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJDC-GJ8 : 11 March 2020), Samuel Darby, 1776
6. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/966, LONDON AND MIDDLESEX: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Births, FindMyPast
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVL4-78X : 4 February 2023), Samuel Darby in entry for Abraham Darby, 1777
8. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1168C, LONDON AND MIDDLESEX: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Burial notes, FindMyPast
9. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWCY-KMR : 11 December 2014), Abraham Darby, 01 May 1778, Burial; citing p. 196, London & Middlesex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
10. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/966, LONDON AND MIDDLESEX: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Births, FindMyPast - the linked image gives the birthplace
11. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQDZ-791 : 4 February 2023), Samuel Darby in entry for Samuel Darby, 1779
12. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1002, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Births, FindMyPast
13. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQJ8-5P2 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Darby, 04 Aug 1780, Birth; citing p. 45, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
14. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/457, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Burials, FindMyPast
15. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWHJ-Q6X : 11 December 2014), Hannah Darby, 07 Aug 1780, Burial; citing p. 32, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
16. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1002, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Births, FindMyPast
17. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/241, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Burials, FindMyPast
18. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WF-XVW : 11 December 2014), Samuel Darby, 06 Sep 1796, Burial; citing p. 26, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Elizabeth Baigent for 'Darby [née Barnard], Deborah', print and online 2004
• Wikipedia: Deborah Darby