John or William of Peterborough or Baston

Finally I've managed to complete the Word document of the three generations of Kisbys from John and Eleanor Kisby of Peterborough. You can open it at https://kisby.one-name.net/kisby-family-lines.htm. Awkwardly it's called N4AB, being a merging of two family trees, because at one point John Kisby (1761-1839) moved to Baston, Lincolnshire, where he was known as William Kisby. Who knows why! But fortunately one of his sons (baptised as son of William) remarries in middle age and describes his father as John Kisby, a shepherd "formerly of Baston, late of Peterborough". So as I suspected, John and William were the same person.
Somewhat controversialy for the times, James (the aforesaid son) married the widow of his brother Joseph (died 1848). James and Sarah Kisby marry by license (to avoid 'banns' announcements) in a busy town church 8 miles from where they live. Many of the family of John and Eleanor Kisby live long and apparently healthy lives. John himself lives to 78, Eleanor to 77. Eldest son William (born 1794) emigrates to Illinois, USA and is still alive in 1870. James lives to 76. Their elder sister Elizabeth lives to 86. Their younger brother Robert lives to 90.
It is Robert Kisby (1804-1894) that has descendants who carry the Kisby name into the 20th century. He marries Mary Chambers, then Harriet Chambers (who I suspect were related) and, between them, they have 12 children. His son John (1827-1904) moves to Lancashire to work in a cotton mill, hence Kisbys could be found in the Rochdale area. Robert's son James William Kisby (1846-1918) moves to Yorkshire to work in the mines. His sons move to Fulwell, County Durham, where several of their children carry the Kisby name to the present day.

Living on the edge

One of the few advantages of the UK Covid-19 lockdowns is the availability of the Ancestry genealogy website at home, via my local library catalogue, while the libraries have been closed to the public. Instead of enjoying the longer daylight hours on long walks or exercise, I've been hunched over my computer searching through old documents.

Ancestry seem to have excellent coverage of Northamptonshire parish records, This is great for me, because the Kisby heartlands straddle the northern borders of this county, around Peterborough in particular. Unfortunately within a couple of miles are the borders of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Huntingdonshire, which mean roving Kisbys can go off the radar quickly (though radars hadn't been invented yet) by travelling only a relatively short distance.

Some of the parish register records are wonderful, filled with fascinating anecdotal detail. In one parish, the curate records the young men that have been "killed by a cart" - at least one per year! Another tells of the tragedy of the vicar's wife accidentally killing her two young sons by poisoning, while treating them for worms.

One tiny village I'd never previously discovered, Etton, has been a key to me making a few more links. Clement Kisby, the caretaker of Peterborough Cathedral (see previous post) baptises a daughter there in 1645. Just over a century later, William Kisby and Elizabeth Bennington marry at St Stephen's Church, Etton, and it turns out they are the parents of the Kisbys of Langtoft, Lincolnshire - William and Robert, who bequeathed us many modern day Kisbys. Etton is a one and half miles south of the Lincolnshire border, while Langtoft is a similar distance north. I even found one of the most itinerant Kisby's (a test for genealogists), John aka William Kisby - a shepherd who moved between Peterborough, Baston (Lincs), Whittlesey (Cambs), Gedney Hill (Lincs) and back to Peterbrough - baptising his oldest children in Etton.

Hopefully Covid-19 is now behind us, we can start visiting libraries and record office again and I can re-subscribe to Findmypast to scour the Cambridgeshire records.

Scales of Gray

One mystery solved and another mystery raised, this time involving Kisby ancestors of mine. My Great-times-four Uncle William KISBY died in 1897 leaving a last will and testament, in which he named two of his daughters Susan and Eliza GRAY. This was strange because I couldn't find any record of a GRAY/KISBY marriage, let alone two. I put the mystery to one side and only came back to tackle it recently.

As luck would have it, Susan and Eliza GRAY were living next door to one another in Peterborough in the 1881 and 1891 Censuses, with their husbands George GRAY and David GRAY. Fortunately both couples were around in 1911, when the census asks for detail about how long husbands and wives have been married.

It transpires that Eliza KISBY married in 1870 age 17 to David Gray CODD, in the area of his family's home village of Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. Susan KISBY had also married age 17 in 1866 to a George CODD, though this was in London (shortly before her sister Martha married in nearby Stepney).

Why the CODD brothers became GRAY is the new mystery to be solved. Their mother was born Ann Milson GRAY, so it was a family name but not the birth name (or marriage name) of George and David. George and Susan returned to live in her home village of Coates, Cambridgeshire, where their first child was born Martha Ellen CODD, but their subsequent children were GRAY's. Something ...erm ...fishy happened in the late 1860's in the Fenland area that I've yet to discover...

Cathedral Kisby Caretaker

Peterborough Family History Society have done a marvellous job in transcribing the registers of the Cathedral in Peterborough, from the 1600's to the 2000's. This 400 years of history is all available on CD for the very reasonable sum of £10 (of which £1 goes to the Cathedral funds). Peterborough is the major city in the Kisby heartlands, so I couldn't resist investing some of my savings in this purchase.

Peterboro' Cathedral, West Front (1600's)

The Cathedral was of very major importance. It is known for its imposing (and unique) west facade, built in the 1200's. Henry VIII's first wife Katharine was buried at the Cathedral. Mary Queen of Scots was also interred here. Despite its size, christenings, marriages and burials were not common because, until the 1530's, the building was used as a monastry. It didn't have a font until 1615. Marriages and burials were often of people with a link to the Cathedral ...in contrast, the nearby parish church of St John seems to have been incredibly busy!! But to my delight I found there were a small number of Kisby's who appear in the Cathedral registers. 

Most prominent is one Clement KISBY. Clement, it turns out, was the Sexton for the Cathedral. As far as I understand, a sexton is a glorified caretaker with a key role in running and maintaining the building and its grounds. Clement lived a long and honourable life, it seems. His first wife, Faith, dies in 1668. Later the same year Clement gains a new wife, Ann, at a Cathedral marriage. Clement's son (also called Clement)  marries at the Cathedral too. In 1699 Clement "Sexton of this Church above 50 years"dies in his 80th year and, more impressively still, is "Buryed in the body of the church near the west door." It will be interesting to know whether there is a marker of any kind!

Ann, his widow, seems to have been given a place in an almshouse and dies in 1719.

Well, maybe the parish registers of St John's will reveal where Clement and Faith came from. Clement KISBY isn't a name I've come across until now. But nice to find a KISBY playing such a long and prominent role in city life!

Eight Kisby Lines

Computer is on the blink, which has spurred me to get some of my Kisby records in order. I've been writing up some of the Kisby lineages from which we all descend. In fact, we Kisby's seem to descend from a surprisingly few 18th century families.

The Kisbee's across the world all descend, by one route or another, from Thomas Kisbee of Barnwell, Northamptonshire.

There were Kisby's in Ulster during the 19th century, they may be linked to the 18th century Kisbey's of Dublin. Or maybe not.

From what I can see, the remainder of us seem to result from only eight English Kisby families from the 1700's. Three of them have strong links to the Fenland market town of Whittlesey and may, in turn, be connected to one another. Two families originate from close to the city of Peterborough. There is then another cluster around the east of Northamptonshire and neighbouring Huntingdonshire, which may have a connection at some point (I expect they moved down from the Peterborough area).

All in all, not many families at all, which is useful for yours truly when I write them up.