I know very little about the Kirby family and the research I did was many years ago but intend to do more soon.

William Kirby was my 3x great grandfather and he was born about 1800. There is a bit of confusion as to where he was born as of the three censuses that returned details of him only one said he was born in Northampton. The 1841 census just records he was not born in the county he was living in which was Northamptonshire. This is all that was asked in 1841 – whether or not the person was born in the county or not. In the 1861 census it is recorded he was born in Super Blechington but I cannot find this place on today’s maps and unfortunately the county was not recorded. However it might have been Bletchingdon, in Oxfordshire. [Wikipedia states that it is also known as Bletchington].

In June 1819 he married Sarah Croon who was born in Peterborough. The entry, in the original parish register, 6 days before their marriage, shows he was a witness to that wedding. Most probably he was a friend. His signature was quite distinctive.

They had at least nine children of whom their eldest girl and second child was Elizabeth. She was my great great grandmother.

William was recorded in the 1851 census as a Boot Maker and all his children were in the shoemaking trade including Elizabeth who was a Boot Binder then. It also says he was a Staff Sargent in the Militia. In 1860 he was living at 25 Wellington Place, Northampton, near his son, Francis Croon Kirby, at No. 20 Wellington Place.

The 1861 census shows him as a shoemaker and still in the Militia. He is stated to be a Chelsea Pensioner as well. [I cannot find any record of him on the Chelsea Pensioner website]

He died on 11 December 1867, of heart disease and bronchitis, and was buried on 15 December at the church of St. Sepulchure, Northampton. [this church is now known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchure]