William Darby

     (For a brief history and context on the Darby family see this page)

NOTE: The information on this page is my research to date and is subject to change as I become better informed. I very much welcome any corrections or additional info you might have - my email address is at the bottom of this page. Whilst historical facts are not copyright, my writing about these facts are. If you wish to use any text from this site on Ancestry or on any other website, please ask me first - Tim Hill.


William was born on Sunday, 5 March 1809 at Hertford.¹ The city of Hertford dates back to at least 673, and was an important market town surrounded by agricultural land. From the late 16th century, it had access to the London corn markets via the Lea river.

He was the son of George Darby and Elizabeth Aylott. William Darby was baptised at Lady Huntingdon's Connexion on Tuesday, 21 May 1811 at Hertford. William was baptised on the same day as his sister Martha.² Lady Huntingdon's Chapel was one a series of chapels founded in the 18th century by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion as part of a Calvinistic movement within the Methodist church. She insisted that they should all subscribe to the doctrines of the Church of England and use only the Book of Common Prayer. It was apparently founded in 1800, and started keeping registers from 1806.



His mother died circa January 1821.³

At the age of 45 William Darby was indentured to Thomas Dew Boden as an apprentice ironmonger for a period of 7 years on 2 August 1824. William's father George had recently married Thomas Boden's sister.⁴

He may have attended the wedding of his sister in the marriage of Jerimiah Playl and Eliza Darby in a Church of England ceremony at St. Leonard's on Monday, 7 April 1828 at Shoreditch, London. Eliza was married on the same day as her older sister Lucretia, and they, along with their father, were witnesses for each other. Jerimiah and Eliza went on to have six children together.⁵

He may have attended the wedding of his sister in the marriage of John Warner and Lucretia Darby in a Church of England ceremony at St. Leonard's on Monday, 7 April 1828 at Shoreditch, London. Lucretia was married on the same day as her younger sister Eliza, and they, along with their father, were witnesses for each other.⁵

He may have attended the wedding of his sister in the marriage of John Speller Wright and Martha Darby in a Church of England ceremony at St. Pancras Parish Chapel on Wednesday, 11 January 1837 at St. Pancras, London. John and Martha went on to have two children together.^6,7,8

He may have attended the wedding of his sister in the marriage of Joseph William Peck and Ann Darby in a Church of England ceremony at St. Leonard's on Monday, 1 April 1839 at Shoreditch, London. They married seventeen days before they set sail for South Australia.^9,3 William sold his ironmongery and brazing business on 14 November 1840 to T. J. Cooper, no doubt in preparation to emigrate to South Australia to join his brothers and sister.¹⁰

He was found on a passenger list on the 'Dorset' on 18 February 1842 from Sydney to Port Adelaide, South Australia. He was bringing ironmongery for his business.¹¹

William Darby contibutted some money towards the construction of the Torrens Bridge on 24 May 1842.¹² He was active as an ironmonger in June 1842 at Birmingham and Sheffield House in Hindley Street, in Adelaide.¹³ He attended a public meeting against taxation on 18 August 1842 at Adelaide.¹⁴ He was found on a passenger list on 29 November 1842 from Adelaide travelling to Hobart or Sydney.¹⁵ He advertised as an ironmonger, successor to Roberts & Co. on 15 April 1843 at Adelaide.¹⁶

On an unknown place he shipped some ironmongery items to Sydney.¹⁷ He was the proprietor of the Birmingham and Sheffield Ironmongery House on 10 May 1843 at Hindley Street, in Adelaide. On 10 October 1844 he moved his business from one shop to another in Adelaide.¹⁸ He signed a memorial against the introduction of convicts to South Australia on 14 February 1845.¹⁹ He signed a petition against the introduction of royalties on 20 March 1846.²⁰

On 9 September 1846 William sold his business to Boord Brothers, another ironmonger and became an employee of them.²¹ William was employed as a manager in an ironmongery (Boord Brothers) in February 1847.²² He ws a witness in a case before the Police Commissioner's Court, but who sometimes found it impossible to attend due to an 'indisposition', most likely due to an serious illness that rendered him an 'invalid'. Another newspaper report suggested that he was "suffering from debility arising from spitting of blood, and that travelling into town during the present hot weather would probably be attended with serious consequences." on 13 February 1847.^23,22,24

He may have attended the wedding of his brother in the marriage of Thomas Darby and Jessie Nicholson in a Congregationalist ceremony conducted by Reverend Edward Knight Baker on Thursday, 23 November 1848 at Morphett Vale, South Australia. A week earlier at the same place, Thomas' brother John had married Mary Leonard. No parents of the bride and groom attended the ceremony.^25,26

William lived in March 1850 at Morphett Vale, South Australia.²⁷

William died on 1 July 1850 at Morphett Vale, South Australia, at age 41. William died in the house his brothers Thomas and John shared.^28,29,30