Deborah (Barnard) Darby (1754 - 1810)

Born 25 Aug 1754 in Upperthorpe, Yorkshire, England

Wife of Samuel Darby — married 2 Aug 1776 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England

Descendants

Died 14 Feb 1810 at age 55 in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Deborah was a Friend (Quaker)

Deborah was the daughter of John Barnard (a tanner of Upperthorpe near Sheffield, Yorkshire) and Hannah Wilson. She was born at Upperthorpe on 25 August 1754.^[1][2]

On 2 August 1776 Deborah married Samuel Darby 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.^[3][4] They had the following children:

• Abraham, born in London on 8 September 1777,^[5][6] died there "of convulsions" on 27 April 1778 and was buried on 1 May at Bunhill Fields Quaker burial ground, Middlesex^[7][8]
• Samuel, born at Madeley, Shropshire on 16 April 1779^[9][10]
• Hannah, born at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire on 4 August 1780,^[11][12] died the next day and was buried at Coalbrookdale Quaker burial ground on 7 August^[13][14]
• Edmund, born at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire on 22 April 1782^[15]

Initially Deborah and her husband lived in London, where he had charge of a London iron foundry which was part of the Darby family's iron industry business. After a few years they moved to Coalbrookdale, Shropshire.^[1]

In 1779 Deborah commenced a diary which she continued to write for the rest log her life. From 1782 she was a recognised Quaker Minister, travelling in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and North America. When she spoke she did so extempore. It was in America that she convinced Stephen Grellet, who was a refugee from the French Revolution, to become a Quaker. At the end of the 1790s she encouraged Elizabeth (Gurney) Fry to take her Quakerism more seriously, helping to propel Elizabeth onto the oath which led to her becoming a prison reformer: Deborah predicted that Elizabeth would become active in Quaker ministry.^[1]

Deborah's husband died in 1796.^[16][17]

In her final years Deborah was increasingly frail, and she was housebound by the time she died on 14 February 1810.^[1] She was buried on 22 February at Coalbrookdale Quaker burial ground, Shropshire. Her Quaker death and burial record describes her as a widow of Coalbrookdale, age 56.^[18][19]

Deborah's will, dated 9 February 1810, was proved on 20 June 1810. In it she:^[20]

• described herself as a widow of Sunniside in the parish of Madeley, Shropshire
• named, among others:
  • her son Edmund Darby, residuary legatee
  • her brother Robert Barnard and his wife Hannah
  • her brother Daniel Barnard
  • her brother John Barnard of Sheffield, Yorkshire
  • her sister Rachael, wife of Robert Fowler
  • her sister Sarah Darby
  • her nephew Barnard Dickenson and his wife "my niece" Ann
  • her niece Hannah Darby
  • her nephew Richard Darby
  • her granddaughters Frances Ann Darby and Martha Darby
• appointed as executors her son Edmund Darby and her brother Robert Barnard

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Elizabeth Baigent for 'Darby [née Barnard], Deborah, print and online 2004
2. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FW8S-XGM : 11 December 2014), Deborah Barnard, 25 Aug 1754, Birth; citing p. 78, Balby, Yorkshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
3. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/152, YORKSHIRE: Monthly Meeting of Balby (comprising Sheffield, Doncaster, etc): Marriages, FindMyPast
4. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJDC-GJ8 : 11 March 2020), Samuel Darby, 1776
5. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/966, LONDON AND MIDDLESEX: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Births, FindMyPast
6. ↑ "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
7. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1168C, LONDON AND MIDDLESEX: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Burial notes, FindMyPast
8. ↑ "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
9. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/966, LONDON AND MIDDLESEX: Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex: Births, FindMyPast - the linked image gives the birthplace
10. ↑ "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
11. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1002, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Births, FindMyPast
12. ↑ "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
13. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/457, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Burials, FindMyPast
14. ↑ "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
15. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1002, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Births, FindMyPast
16. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/241, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Burials, FindMyPast
17. ↑ "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
18. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/241, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Burials, FindMyPast
19. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F73W-8LK : 11 December 2014), Deborah Darby, 22 Feb 1809, Burial; citing p. 31, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London: mis-transcribes the year as 1809
20. ↑ The National Archives, ref. PROB 11/1512/325. Discovery Centere catalogue entry

• Labouchere, Rachel. Deborah Darby of Coalbrookdale 1754-1810: Her Travels as a Quaker Minister in America and Great Britain, William Sessions, 1993
• Wikipedia: Deborah Darby