A Kirby Family Genealogical Windfall From Susanne

The genealogy world is composed of some really - really! - wonderful people who don't mind sharing records, documents, photographs and more that they have in their possession.

One of them is Susanna Nisbet of Wake Forest, North Carolina.  She found the Ichabod Kirby profile on WikiTree (http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kirby-130) and wrote this note in a private message:

"I am in possession of original papers dealing with births, deaths marriages, etc. of Ichabod Kirby Jr. and Sr., David Kirby, Robert Kirby, Rachel Allen and her father and mother, Joseph Allen and Rachel (Wait ?). Included in my collection is the record of the marriage of Ichabod Kirby to Rachel Allen on "this first day of the first month called March and in the year according to the English account one thousand seaven hundred and thirty two or three" - It is signed by those who witnessed the event. These papers - among others - were in a leather - covered box shaped like a domed trunk and lined with newspaper dated 1710."

Susanna is a 7th great-granddaughter of Ichabod and Rachel (Allen) Kirby and I am a 6th great-grandson, so we are 7th cousins once removed.  

In a subsequent email, Susanne explained how she came into possession of them.  She wrote:

"When my Grandmother could no longer live by herself, she moved in with my Mother for 24/7 care.  When she died, my Mother found two shoebox-size boxes with her belongings, both full of tax receipts, wills, settlements of wills (including Ichabod), lists of births and deaths, etc.  The oldest were in the domed box I described."

Susanne offered photographs of these documents to me, and very kindly permitted me to use them in my blog and family tree, and has provided 22 images to date of wonderful material, including the 1733 marriage agreement between Ichabod Kirby and Rachel Allen.  

I need to transcribe some of these and I will use some of them in future Amanuensis Monday and Treasure Chest Thursday posts.  

Here are two examples of the records from this treasure trove:

1)  The top document says:

"Westport     may the 29  day  1793

then received of David Kerby Executor to the

Last will and testament of my onered

Grand father Ichabod Kerby late of sd Westport

decesed the some of five Dollers and one Shep

it being in full for a Lagarsie Given me

in sd will I say Received in full

by me                                        David Sowle

Peleg Potter

Robert Kerby  £1-17-6"

2)  The bottom document says:

"Westport may the 29 Day 1793

than Received of David Kerby Executor to

the Last will and testament of my onered

Gran father Ichabod Kerby late of sd Westport

decesed the some of five Dollers and one

sheep it being in full for Leagacie given

me in sd will  say Received by me

                                          Humphrey White

Peleg Potter                       Sibel White

David Sowle    £1-17-6"

Needless to say, I never expected to receive records dating back to about 1700 and up into the 1850 time for this or any other ancestral family.  

There is a lesson here - if you put your family history information online (in this case, the Ichabod Kirby profile on WikiTree), then wonderful people with a sense of history and some ancient records may find your family tree contribution and contact you.  

The best part of all of this is that Susanne found a distant cousin and shared our mutual family history!  Thank you to Susanne for her kindness, and to her mother, grandmother and earlier ancestors back to the 18th century Kirby family for saving them.  

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