Summary
Yet to be summarised.
Parents and family
Birth
Census records suggest that John
was born in
North
Benfleet, Essex, in about 1815.
He appears to have been Christened at North Benfleet on 29 Oct 1814, as John son of John and Elizabeth KIRBY
Childhood and education
On 12 Dec 1811 one John KIRBY married
Elizabeth LEE in North Benfleet, Essex. On 1 Dec 1816, his father
re-married Sarah WOLF in South Ockendon,
Essex. It
therefore appears that John lost his mother in the first years of his
life.
Employment
I have as yet been unable to find John on the 1841 Census.
- Missing, presumed mis-transcribed!!!
Marriage to Susan Sullings
On 25 Sep 1842 John married Susan
SULLINGE from Rochford at
Downham,
Essex. The marriage registration (1842 Sep Quarter,
Billericay, 12, 7) gives the following details -
Groom: John KIRBY, full age,
Bachelor, Labourer of Downham, son of John KIRBY, Labourer, Bride:
Susan SULLINGE, full age, spinster, of Downham, daughter
of Thomas SULLINGE, Sawer.
Witnesses were John MARSHALL and
Ann MARSHALL, both made their mark. John KIRBY made his mark
but Susan signed for herself.
Years on the move
In about 1843 his son Thomas W. KIRBY was born in Runwell, Essex. Runwell was about 3 Km SW of Downham, Essex.
In about 1845 his son Charles KIRBY was born in Wickford, Essex. Wickford was about 1 Km SW or Runwell, Essex.
In about 1849 his son
Samuel
John KIRBY was born in
North
Benfleet, Essex
In about 1850 his son William KIRBY was born in
South
Ockendon, Essex
On
the 1851 Census he is listed at Hall Cottage,
North
Benfleet, Essex. The family comprised:
- John CURBY, head, 36, ag lab [i.e. Agricultural Labourer],
born Northbenfleet, Sx
- Susan CURBY, wife, 28, , born Rochford, Sx
- Thomas CURBY, son, 8, , born Runwell, Sx
- Charles CURBY, son, 6, , born Wickford, Sx
- Samuell CURBY, son, 2, , born Northbenfleet, Sx
In about 1852 his daughter Mary Anne KIRBY was born in
North
Benfleet, Essex
On 7 April 1854 his daughter Eliza Elinor KIRBY was born
in
South
Ockendon, Essex. Her birth certificate, registered 17 May
1854 in Orsett Grays, gives the following details -
Name Eliza Elinor, Father John
Kirby - Occupation Husband Man, Mother Susan Kirby formerly SULLINGS.
Informed by Susan KIRBY, Mother, South Ockendon. Eliza
later married Nathaniel GURNETT (14 Sep 1878, South Ockendon), a son
from a neighbouring family.
On 2 Feb1857, his son Edwin Henry KIRBY was born. His birth certificate
give the following details:
Edwin
Henry, Boy, father John KIRBY
, Agricultural Labourer, mother Susannah KIRBY
, formerly SULLINGS. Reported by father John KIRBY
of South
Ockendon, registered 10 March 1857 in Orsett Grays.
On
9 May 1857 John KIRBY may have been one of the witnesses on the
marriage of his wife's sister Martha in [unknown location] Essex. The
details were
Groom: Henry LEWIS, son of William LEWIS (Labourer), age 24, batchelor of South Ockendon.
Bride: Martha SULLINGS, daughter of Thomas Sullings (Dead), age 21, spinster of South Ockendon.
In the presence of John CURBY, Sarah LEWIS, Sarah SULLINGS.
On the 1861 Census he is listed in
South
Ockendon, Essex at unit 51, the
previous unit with a name against it being unit 41 ('The Prince of
Wales Inn', presumably the one still in West Road, South Ockendon, RM15
6PA, i.e. near the old centre of South Ockendon).
The family comprised:
- John KIRBY, head, 44, ag lab, born
Northbenfleet, Essex
- Susan KIRBY, wife, 39, , born
Rochford, Essex
- Thomas KIRBY, son, 18, Ag Lab, born
Runwell, Essex
- Charles KIRBY, son, 16, Ag Lab, born Pickford
(sic), Essex
- Samuel KIRBY, son, 12, Ag Lab, born North
Benfleet, Essex
- Mary KIRBY, daughter, 9, scholar, born North
Benfleet, Essex
- Eliza KIRBY, daughter, 7, scholar, born South
Ockendon, Essex
- Edwin KIRBY, son, 4, , born South
Ockendon, Essex
- Sarah KIRBY, daughter, 2, , born South
Ockendon, Essex
On 16 Mar 1862 his son Frederick John KIRBY was
born. The details of the birth registration are -
Frederick John, Boy, Mother
Susan KIRBY formerly SULLINGE, Father Farm Labourer, John
KIRBY of South Ockendon (left his mark), registered 26 April 1862 in
Orsett, Grays.
On the 1871 Census he is at 7 Romford Road, South Ockendon, Essex.
- John KIRBY, head, 56, Farm Labourer, born
Northbenfleet, Essex
- Susan KIRBY, wife, 49, Farm Labourer's Wife, born
Rochford, Essex
- Edwin KIRBY, son, 14, Farm Labourer, born South Ockendon, Essex
- Sarah KIRBY, daughter, 11, Scholar, born South Ockendon, Essex
- Fred'k KIRBY, son, 9, Scholar, born South Ockendon, Essex
- Alfred KIRBY, son, 6, Scholar, born South Ockendon, Essex
Living next door at 6 Romford Road was the family of his wife's brother-in-law Henry LEWIS (widower of her sister Martha).
- Henry LEWIS, Head, Wid[ower], 38, Farm Labourer, Great Baddow, Essex
- Emma LEWIS, Daug'r, Unm[arried], 13, Scholar, S Ockendon, Essex
- Mary Ann LEWIS, Daug'r, Unm[arried], 11, Scholar, S Ockendon, Essex
- William LEWIS, Son, Unm[arried], 8, Scholar, S Ockendon, Essex
- Martha LEWIS, Daug'r, Unm[arried], 6, Scholar, S Ockendon, Essex
Romford
Road was not in South Ockendon, but in nearby
Aveley, Essex,
perhaps 'South
Ockendon' sounded more up-market. It lay just next door (to the east)
of the
pit where the famous ‘Aveley
Elephants’ were
to be found in 1964 (I used to
collect fossils from this
clay pit, never realising how close to my family roots I was). The old
houses have all gone now, replaced by a 20th C estate or consumed
in the expansion of the pit.
On 8 Aug 1876 his son, Samuel John KIRBY, married at which time John KIRBY gave his occupation as 'Farmer'.
On 8 Aug 1876 his son,
Samuel John
KIRBY, married.
Last Will and Testament
Unknown.
Death
Exact date unknown but it was within days of the marriage
of his son Samuel John Kirby. The marriage record of his daughter Eliza
Eleanor KIRBY confirms that he was dead by 14 Sep 1878. His wife survived him and her story is continued in the
biography of Susan SULLINGS.
His death registration would appear to be that of John KIRBY, aged 60,
i.e. born about 1816, and registered in the Sep Quarter of 1876 in the
Orsett, Essex, registration area (Vol 4a, pg 114)
Burial
15 Aug 1876, at South Ockendon, Essex.
Descendants and notable relations
See
descendants section for his wife Susan.