Ancestor Quests

William Duke (1796-1847) is my 3^rd great grandfather. His life from approximately 1829/30 on can be documented in original records. It is not difficult to determine his residence and some of his movements. His early life in Derby can be documented through his parents’ locations and up to young adulthood his likely residences are not in question. The decade of the 1820s is different. William would have been in his mid-20s to mid-30s, and two unsourced US histories state he spent some or all that decade in New York.[1] However, there is no documentation for William in the US that decade. To discover if he instead spent the 1820s primarily in England, a search was made in English records for William.

W. Duke in 1829 Derby Mercury Article

Was William in an English college during the decade? The short answer is no. A 2 December 1829 Derby Mercury article stated a Bachelors of Arts was conferred on a W. Dod and W. Duke,  from Magdalen Hall.

“University and Clerical Intelligence. Oxford, Nov. 19,” Derby Mercury, 2 December 1829, page 4 column 2; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England,) Find My Past (www.findmypast.com : accessed 17 June 2024).

Internet Archive’s 1715-1886 Alumni Oxonienses has only one William Duke who graduated from Magdalen Hall that year. He was from the town of Battle in Sussex (a long way from Derby), and was listed as a gentleman, a distinction immigrant William Duke (also referenced hereafter as 1796 William Duke) did not have.[2] The William Duke in the Derby Mercury entered the college on 7 Mar 1826, aged 20 and received his BA in 1829, his MA in 1832, his B. Med in 1833 and his D. Med in 1836. He was ten years younger than 1796 William and his last three degrees were completed after 1796 William moved to New York. W. Dod, also mentioned in the article, was of Mortimer, Berks and was also a gentleman. He matriculated in 1825 at the age of 17 and got his BA in 1829.

Clearly, the men who were named in the Mercury were not local to Derby. As in the US, newspapers in England printed news of interest to their newspaper-buying and reading public. In 1829, those individuals were the literate men and women of the upper and middle classes, so the Mercury probably assumed any college graduations from Oxford and Cambridge would be of interest to their readers. The upper class was a select group with generational ties. News for the largely landed class was of interest to others in their class no matter where they lived. It is also possible 2 December 1829 was a slow news day. The one thing that can be said with confidence is the William Duke who graduated in 1829 from Magdalen was not 1796 William Duke.

The Game Certificates

A search of the Derby Mercury from 1820-1840 produced five mentions of William Duke, all of them on lists of men who received game certificates. They were in 1822 and 1823 (William Duke of Derby) and 1826-1828 (William Duke of Normanton).[3] While it is not possible to be certain those certificates belonged to 1796 William Duke, there are good reasons to think they did. There were very few Dukes in Derby in the early 1800s, nearly all of whom can be linked to William’s family. Additionally, a search of the period from 1829-1840 found no William Duke on any game certificate list, an indication he may have left Derbyshire.

Directories

Although William Duke himself did not appear in trade directories for the Derby area from 1818-1829, mentions of his family and other William Dukes were found. The primary reason for checking the directories was to see how many Dukes were in Derby or nearby and where the William Dukes in that area were located. Directories can show, to a certain extent, how prevalent a surname is within a town or city. Another reason for checking the directories is to see if William’s family members were involved in the lace trade, which the two US histories mentioned was the occupation of 1796 William Duke’s father.

• 1818 Universal Directory- No William Duke anywhere in Derbyshire, though two were in other counties. Sarah Duke, the only Duke in the directory in Derby, was the widow of John, 1796 William’s brother.[4] She continued operating her deceased husband’s chemist business in Derby. A Wellington Duke was in Halifax, Yorkshire (tavern owner) and a William Duke was in Halifax, Yorkshire (also a tavern owner/manager). One more William Duke was a tavern owner/manager in Leicestershire, the county south of Derby.

• Pigot’s 1822 Directory-No William Duke was found anywhere in Derbyshire.[5] The Dukes in the directory were Wellington Duke (in Chesterfield), a tavern owner or manager, and Sarah Duke, a chemist/druggist in Derby. Also, Ann Brentnall was listed as a confectioner at the same address her parents, William and Ann (Barnes) Duke used earlier for their confectionary. Her husband, Charles Brentnall, appeared in the directory as a veterinary surgeon.

• Pigot’s 1822 Directory index mistake-There was a William Duke listed for Derbyshire in Ancestry’s database index, but the link went to a William Duke in Lincoln, Lincolnshire.

• Pigot’s 1828 Directory-No William Duke was anywhere in the town of Derby, but there was a John Duke in Normanton, a lace manufacturer.[6] No relationship for this John’s or any William’s birth family or other known relatives in Derbyshire was found. There were a total of eleven lace manufacturers and three lace warehousers in Derby in 1828, the year before William immigrated, an indication the lace industry was still doing well in Derby, which had a population of 13,043 in 1817 and likely around 14,000 by the late 1820s. The only other Duke in Derbyshire in 1828 was William George Fox Duke in Chesterfield, several miles north of Derby. He was a tavern owner or manager and may have been the William in the 1818 Universal Directory.

• Glover’s 1829 Directory-There was no William or John Duke in Derby, but there were ten lace manufacturers in Derby and three lace warehousers.[7] One of the warehousers was a Caleb Cockayne, but no connection was found between him and Elizabeth, 1796 William’s wife. Unlike the Dukes, the Cockaynes were in Derbyshire for generations so there were many entries for individuals with that surname in the directories. The only other Duke in the Derbyshire directory for 1828 was a William George Fox Duke in Chesterfield (tavern owner or manager).

Dukes in neighboring counties

William George Fox Duke and Wellington Duke may have been from the Duke families in either Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire. Neither William George Fox nor Wellington lived in Derby itself in the 1820s and there is no evidence of a tie between the Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire Dukes and the Hampshire ones, to which 1762 William, father of 1796 William, belonged.

Newspapers

A wider search was done in all Derbyshire newspapers for William Duke from 1820-1829. There were 492 hits for entries with both Duke and William within a few lines of each other, but only five instances of a William Duke as a man’s name, the ones which listed men who bought game certificates. If there were other men named William Duke in that area they may not have been mentioned in a newspaper or may have been indexed incorrectly or not at all, but clearly there were very few individuals surnamed Duke and a very small number, possibly just one, with the given name of William. Nearly all the instances of the word “Duke” in the Derbyshire newspapers in the 1820s was a title applied to an aristocratic Duke. Index searches for John Duke, Thomas Duke, James Duke, Jonathan Duke, and Henry Duke, family members known to be in the Derby and/or Winchester areas, found no mention of their names. William Duke was the only person with the Duke surname found in a search of Derbyshire newspapers in the 1820s.

A brief note about “Gentleman’s Certificates”

These certificates were purchased by an individual and not a manorial or employed gamekeeper, though they were required to purchase something very similar. Unlike New York which did not require a hunting license until 1864, Acts of Parliament in 1784 and 1785 required “all who kept dogs, guns, etc for taking game to register with the Clerk of the Peace and take out a certificate annually”.[8] After the acts went into effect, anyone caught hunting without a license (including a gamekeeper who was out of his boundary) faced a £20 fine, which was significant for that time. Even though the cost of a certificate was £3 13s. 6d., it was worth it to avoid the fee.[9] Unlike the American frontier, guns were few and far between in England and costly. They were mostly used by the nobility and gentry (and their gamekeepers), and by prosperous farmers who wanted to protect their crops. William Duke’s purchase of a gun and a certificate was a major expense and not one taken lightly. He must have had a good reason for it, and part of that reason might have been in preparation for a move to America where shooting game was the norm for supplementing farming.

Church Records

There were several results from a check of all the Church of England parishes and non-conformist records in Derby from 1785-1840. All Duke christenings/births, marriages, and burials/deaths in databases at Ancestry, FamilySearch, and FindMyPast were extracted. The following is a list of the entries found. It should be noted that every Duke christened, married, or buried in the town of Derby during the target time was linked to William’s family. There were no other Duke entries in accessible church records for the city of Derby.

• 1786 Mary christened, 1788 John christened, 1790 Ann christened, 1793 William christened, 1793 William buried, 1796 William christened, the children of 1762 William and Ann (Barnes) Duke in Derby St. Peter parish records.[10]
• 1794 James Duke & Mary Firth (his first wife) married in Derby St. Peter.[11] This is the brother of 1762 William born in 1770 in Hampshire.
• 1803 William buried in Derby St. Peter.[12] This is 1762 William as proven by his 1803 administration carried out by widow, Ann (Barnes) Duke.[13]
• 1803 Elizabeth christened in Derby St. Alkmund, daughter of 1770 James & Ann Duke.[14] Ann (nee Meats) was his second wife. James moved north to Derby around the same time as his brother, William. His first wife passed in 1797 as noted in the Independent Chapel’s records and he married Ann in 1798 in Brailsford.[15] Ann’s death has not been found, but it was before 1806. This 1803 Elizabeth had an older sister, Mary, whose birth/christening has not been found.
• 1806 James Duke & Mary Oldham (his third wife) married in Derby St. Alkmund.[16]
• 1806 Matilda Duke christened in Derby St. Alkmund and named in the Independent Chapel records.[17] She was the daughter of 1770 James Duke and his third wife, Mary.
• 1807 Jonathan Oldham Duke born in Derby St. Alkmund, son of James & Mary Duke. He was in the Quaker records.[18]
• 1808 Ann Duke born in Derby St. Alkmund, daughter of 1770 James & Mary Duke. She was in the Quaker records.[19]
• 1809 Ann Duke & Charles Brentnall married Derby St. Peter.[20] This is 1796 William’s sister who took over the confectionary business.
• 1811 John Duke & Sarah Merry married in Derby All Saints.[21] John was the brother of 1796 William and was listed as a druggist on his marriage license.[22]
• 1811 Thomas Duke born Derby St. Alkmund, son of 1770 James & Mary Duke. He was in the Quaker records.[23]
• 1812 Joseph and 1814 Charles, sons of 1788 John and his wife, Sarah (Merry) Duke were christened in Derby.[24] Unfortunately, they did not live for very long. Joseph was buried in 1815 and Charles in 1816, both in Osmaston by Derby St. Osmond records.[25]
• 1813 James Duke born Derby St. Alkmund, son of 1770 James & Mary Duke. He was in the Quaker records.[26]
• 1817 Jane Duke born Derby St. Alkmund, daughter of 1770 James & Mary Duke. She was in the Quaker records.[27]
• 1819 Sarah Duke & Thomas Waterfield married.[28] This Sarah is the widow of the John Duke who died in 1815 and was buried in Osmaston by Derby.[29] She appeared in the directories as Sarah Duke even after her marriage to Thomas, but that was likely due to time lag in publication or a simple transfer of entries from past directories.
• 1821 William Duke born Derby St. Alkmund, son of James & Mary Duke found in the Quaker records. He appeared a few pages after his older siblings, who were grouped together on one page.[30] He was buried in the Quaker burying ground in 1822.[31]
• 1821 Mary Duke married George Draper in Osmaston.[32] Mary was the daughter of James & Ann (Meats) Duke.
• 1828 Jonathan Duke & Mary Stone married in Derby St. Alkmund.[33] This is the son of James and third wife, Mary (Oldham) Duke.
• 1832 Thomas Duke & Ann Stone’s marriage Derby St. Werburgh.[34] This is 1811 Thomas, son of 1770 James & Mary (Oldham) Duke.
• 1838 Death of Mary Duke (widow of 1770 James) in Derby St Alkmund.[35]

There were only a few Dukes in the Church of England and non-conformist records. All the events found belonged to a member of 1762 William Duke’s or 1770 James Duke’s families. It is clear Duke was an uncommon surname in Derby at that time and likely “migrated” from elsewhere because there were almost no Duke entries prior to the arrival of the adults William and James. There was just one entry in the eighteenth century before 1785, widow Ann Duke who was buried on 13 May 1780 in Derby St. Peter.[36] No ancestral Dukes in Winchester came north that early and this Ann was deceased five years prior to the Hampshire Dukes migration to Derby, so she was likely part of another group of Dukes in Nottinghamshire or Yorkshire. Although additional Duke entries may be found in the future, it’s unlikely they will be in Church of England records since three separate websites (FindMyPast, Ancestry, and FamilySearch) which indexed the Derby records were all checked and those same parish registers were thoroughly dredged at the Derbyshire Archives by co-researcher Celia some years ago.

Broadening the search, Phillimore’s marriage index was searched. There were no Dukes in Derby in that source which were not already identified by parish records. Duke events in other locations within the wider county were found, but none were in the immediate vicinity of Derby.

Poll Books

The first year after the reform that allowed more adult men to vote was 1832. Voting was still not opened to all men, but more voters from the middle class and tradesman were enfranchised.[37] In 1832, the only Duke in Derbyshire who was listed as a voter was Thomas Dukes in Chesterfield. No Duke or Dukes voted in the county from 1820-1832. The only men surnamed Duke who could vote in the 1820s were in York and Sussex. There were also no Dukes in the Derbyshire Land Tax Redemption of 1798.

1841 Census

The 1841 census was the closest enumeration with individual names to William and Elizabeth Duke’s immigration. Although England took censuses in 1821 and 1831, they were statistical only, with no names of residents. In 1841 there were only 1,752 Duke (exact spelling) entries for all of England, and 2,307 if variant spellings are included. The only individual surnamed Duke living in Derby in 1841 was 1796 William’s mother, Ann (nee Barnes), specifically in Alvaston in Derby St. Michael parish. She was in the household of her daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Joseph Parker. There was a Dukes family in the city, but their surname clearly ended in an S, and none were born in Derbyshire. The 1841 census has only a yes/no answer for whether born within the county of residence. The Dukes family were in the 1851 census, which showed all those still in the household were born in Staffordshire and they were still using Dukes as their surname.

General search

General searches were done in FamilySearch, Ancestry, and FindMyPast for anyone surnamed Duke in Derby records from 1820-1829. No Duke records were located which were not previously found.

Conclusion  

Unless another source points to other Duke families in Derby, it is unlikely additional Dukes will be found. Given that the game certificates identified William as living in Derby in 1822 and 1823 and in Normanton (now fully absorbed into Derby) in 1826, 1827, and 1828, it appears there is a good chance these are for 1796 William Duke. The only way a different William Duke could be getting the game certificates is if he went to Derby, and later Normanton, but left no footprint in Derby in birth/christening, marriage, or death/burial records nor any other source that was checked. It is interesting to note William purchased no certificates in 1824 or 1825. A page-by-page search of the certificates for those years failed to find William’s name on any of them, an indication he may have been outside Derby those years, and possibly in New York.

Why was Normanton important? 

To understand why 1796 William might have been in Normanton in the late 1820s, it’s important to consider the occupations of William’s relatives in the Derby area and William’s occupation after immigrating to New York. His father was a hairdresser/perfumer on his marriage license, in a commercial directory, and in the Derby Mercury after he moved to Derby.[38], and was later named as a confectioner in his probate administration.[39] William Duke’s only brother who survived to adulthood, John, was a druggist according to his marriage license.[40] William’s uncle, James Duke, was listed as a bricklayer in the Derby Quaker records, though he may have had another occupation before that.[41] William’s brother-in-law, Charles Brentnall, was identified as a veterinary surgeon in a directory and William’s other brother-in-law, Joseph Parker, was a farmer in the 1841 census.[42] William’s only other male family members in the Derby area were the sons of William’s uncle, James Duke, all of them younger than William.

By 1840, William was engaged in agriculture in Broome County.[43]  He may have been a farmer before that, but no occupations were listed in the 1830 enumeration. William’s much-younger relatives were unlikely to give him training for that. Although he might have learned farming after moving to America, it’s more likely he learned the basics before immigrating. If he did visit Broome County or Allegany County in the 1820s, he would have realized southern New York was rural. By the early 1830s, much of the employment in both counties related to the Erie Railroad and extensions of the Erie Canal. There was very little industry outside that plus its supporting occupations such as sawyer, surveyor, and farmer.

While it was possible for William to get by in the town/city of Derby if he had an occupation that netted a paycheck, he needed skills that were valued and useful in Broome County if he planned to live there. Unless his goal was to work on the railroad or the canals, he needed other skills to support his family. Confectioners and hairdressers probably weren’t in much demand in Broome County, and even brick layers might not have had a lot of work then since so many structures were being built of wood and brickmaking was an industry as yet under-developed in that area.

The question is where and when did William learn farming? The answer is likely Normanton, Osmaston, Alvaston or the periphery of Derby where farms and market gardens still existed. Joseph Parker may have taught William to farm, but his farm was likely smaller than the estate of Willam’s maternal uncle, Thomas Barnes, who left a will that covered many pages and included a bequest of lifetime property for his sister, Ann (William’s mother), which would have needed to be worked.[44] Thomas’s will started with the statement that he was a farmer in Normanton. He likely needed several employees to run his operation. Given the length of his will, he was a prosperous farmer, and he may have had William living with him in the late 1820s. Even if William did other work in America, it’s clear he farmed in Broome County, and moved over to Allegany County where his family continued farming and began lumbering as well. Even after the sawmill business was going, various members of the Duke family continued to farm into the late 1800s either as a primary or supplementary occupation. It is only reasonable their farming occupation began with 1796 William and continued through subsequent generations.

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[1] John S. Minard, author: Georgia Drew Merill: editor, Allegany County and its People (Alfred, NY: W. A. Ferguson & COmpany, 1896), 403-405.

Edward Harold Mott, Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie (New York, New York, John S. Collins, Publisher, 1899), Men of Mark in Erie Towns, William Duke, 103.

[2] Hon. Joseph Foster for the University of Oxford, Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 vol. 1 (Oxford, England: James Parker & Co., 1891), 393, 375; imaged by Internet Archive (www.archive.org : accessed 27 Aug 2024).

[3] “Gentlemens’ Certificates,” Derby Mercury, 11 September 1822, page 1 column 1; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England), Find My Past (www.findmypast.com : accessed 17 June 2024).

“Gentlemens’ Certificates,” Derby Mercury, 10 September 1823, page 1 column 3; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England), Find My Past (www.findmypast.com : accessed 17 June 2024).

“Gentlemens’ Certificates,” Derby Mercury, 6 September 1826, page 1 column 3; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England), Find My Past (www.findmypast.com : accessed 17 June 2024).

“Gentlemens’ Certificates,” Derby Mercury, 10 September 1827, page 1 column 2; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England), Find My Past (www.findmypast.com : accessed 17 June 2024).

“Gentlemens’ Certificates,” Derby Mercury, 10 September 1828, page 1 column 2; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England), Find My Past (www.findmypast.com : accessed 17 June 2024).

[4] “UK, City and County Directories, 1766-1946,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 August 2024), search term William Duke; citing p. 146 of Pigot’s Directory 1818, 1819, 1820.

[5] Unknown author, Derbyshire Directories, Pigot’s Directory 1822-3 (title page not photographed), 39; photographed by Celia Renshaw: accessed 12 June 2024 from shared file.

[6] Pigot and Co’s, compiler, National Commercial Directory for 1828-9 Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire (London, England: Pigot & Co, 1828-9), 79.

[7] Stephen Glover, The Directory of the County of Derby (Derby, England: Henry Mozley and Son, 1829), 57.

[8] Wikipedia, “List of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1785,” rev. 16:31 29 July 2004. Act passed 4 July 1785, repealed in 1861.

[9] “Gentlemen’s’ Certificates,” Derby Mercury, 11 September 1822, page 1 column 1; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England), Find My Past.

[10] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search terms: Mary Duke, 1786; William Duke, 1793; John Duke 1788; Ann Duke 1790; William Duke, 1796; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[11] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: James Duke, 1794; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[12] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: William Duke, 1803; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[13] Prerogative Court for the Bishop’s Court of Lichfield, B/C/11, Administration of William Duke, 1803 ; Staffordshire Record Office, Stafford, England.

[14] Derby-St Alkmund, Derbyshire, England, Parish Register, 1797-1813, unpaginated, Elizabeth Duke baptism, 1 Jul 1803; imaged, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 Aug 2024), image group number (IGN) 004451939 >image 666 of 829; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[15] Brookside Independent Chapel Records, Derby, Derbyshire, image of Admissions 29 Jul 1791-27 May 1794, privately held by Celia Renshaw [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Stirling, Scotland, 2024, photograph of original church records taken in 2012 contains note of death of Mary (Firth) Duke.

“England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: James Duke & Ann Meats, 1798; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[16] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: James Duke, 1806; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[17] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: Matilda Duke, 1806; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[18] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “Jonathan Oldham Duke, 1807”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[19]“England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “Ann Duke, 1809”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[20] Marriage Licenses, Bonds, Affidavits, Diocese of Lichfield, licenses 1809, Ann Duke & Charles Brentnall, 5 June 1809; imaged, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 25 July 2024), image group number (IGN) 7619080 >image 169 of 470; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[21] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: John Duke & Sarah Merry, 1811; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[22] “England Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944,” database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024), search term: John Duke and Sarah Merry; citing Marriage License, All Saints, Rangemore, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Archive Service, Stafford; FHL microfilm 7,619,084.

[23] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “Thomas Duke, 1811”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[24] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: Joseph Duke, 1812, Charles Duke, 1814; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[25] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: Charles Duke, 1816; Joseph Duke, 1815; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[26] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “James Duke, 1813”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[27] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “Jane Duke, 1817”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[28] Derby-All Saints, Derbyshire, England, Parish Register, Marriages 1810-1830, unpaginated, Thomas Wakefield & wid. Sarah Duke marriage, 14 October 1819; imaged, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 25 July 2024), image group number (IGN) 4450865 >image 418 of 654; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[29] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: John Duke, 1815 bur; Joseph Duke, 1815 bur; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[30] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “William Duke, 1821”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[31] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Burials 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 28 Aug 2024), search terms: “William Duke, 1822”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Burials.

[32] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: Mary Duke, 1821 marriage to George Draper; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[33] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 21 August 2024) search term: Jonathan Oldham Duke & Mary Stone, 1828; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[34] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search term: Thomas Duke & Ann Stone, 1832 (banns & marriage); citing Derbyshire County Council.

[35] England, death certificate (pdf) for Mary Duke, died 22 Feb 1838; registered March quarter 1838, Derby District 19/367, Derbyshire; General Registry Office, Southport

[36] “England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918,” collection with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024) search terms: Ann Duke; citing Derbyshire County Council.

[37] Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), “Reform Act 1831,” rev. 05:58, 27 August 2024.

[38] Marriage license of William Duke and Ann Barnes, 26 January 1785 to marry at St. Peter the Great, Chichester, Cathedral Close Collection, Epw|3, MF1021, procured from West Sussex Archives by Alexandra Barford August 2013.

Belper, Derbyshire Historical & Genealogical Records, 1791 Universal Directory; transcription for Derby, (belper-research.com/directories/USB_derty_1791.html: accessed 17 June 2024).

“Resolutions Respecting the Stamp Duty on Hats, Gloves, and Perfumery,” Derby Mercury, 4 October 1792, page 4 column 1; imaged, “Derby Mercury, (Derby, Derbyshire, England,) Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 June 2024).

[39] Prerogative Court for the Bishop’s Court of Lichfield, B/C/11, Administration of William Duke, 1803 ; Staffordshire Record Office, Stafford, England.

[40] “England Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944,” database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 28 August 2024), search term: John Duke and Sarah Merry; citing Marriage License, All Saints, Rangemore, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Archive Service, Stafford; FHL microfilm 7,619,084.

[41] “England and Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841,”  database with images, FindMyPast (www.findmypast.org : accessed 29 July 2024), search terms: “Jonathan Oldham Duke, 1807”; citing Monthly Meeting of Nottingham, Dolby, and Castle Donnington: Nottingham Monthly Meeting: Births.

[42] Pigot and Co’s, compiler, National Commercial Directory for 1828-9 Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire (London, England: Pigot & Co, 1828-9), 128, 131; Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2024).

“1841 England Census,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 August 2024), database entry for Ann Duke (age 85), Derbyshire > St Michael > Shardlow > District 9 > image 4: page 6, Alvaston-Brackens, Joseph Parker; citing The National Archives, HO 107/189/8.

[43] 1840 U.S. census, Broome County, New York, population schedule, Conklin Township, p. 3 (penned), William Duke, imaged, “1840 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 March 2024).

[44] “Staffordshire, Dioceses of Lichfield and Coventry Wills and Probate, 1521-1860,” database with images, Find My Past (www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 20 August 2024), 1828 will of Thomas Barnes of Normanton. Of note, this property was originally left to Ann (Barnes) Duke by her and Thomas’s elder brother, Joseph Barnes in 1820. Thomas honored his brother’s wishes by affirming Ann’s continuing life-right to the property from Joseph.

The Derby Mercury newspaper listed a William Duke as the recipient of Gentleman’s Certificates (hunting licenses) in 1822-1823 (as a resident of Derby) and again in 1826-1828 (as a resident of Normanton).[1] No William Duke appeared in the newspaper in 1829 or the 1830s, an indication the man purchasing the certificates either migrated/immigrated, died, or stopped hunting after 1828. The locations given for his residences in the Derby Mercury are plausible for the immigrant, 1796 William Duke.[2] There were very few Dukes in Derby or Derbyshire at that time, (see William Duke in the 1820s part 1), so it is unlikely there were multiple men named William Duke in and near Derby in the 1820s. However, it is impossible to be certain the target William Duke was exclusively in Derbyshire up to 1829 when he immigrated. An effort was made to find him elsewhere.

Where else could William Duke have logically been?

William may have been in New York for at least part of the 1820s. Two histories, one of Allegany County and one about the building of the Erie Railroad, plus Duke and Norton family traditions mention William visited New York prior to his own statement he immigrated in 1829.[3] 

John Minard’s Allegany County and its People stated William came from England because the making of handmade lace, a profession handed down from his father, was in serious decline due to lace-making machines that caused the ruin of the hand-made industry by 1820.[4] While that statement is highly questionable, the book also mentioned William came to America not long after 1820 and between 1825 and 1830 he made his home in Binghamton before a return to England. Edward Harold Mott’s publication, Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie, stated William Duke arrived in “this country” from his native Derbyshire on April 26, 1820.[5] Duke and Norton family traditions both passed down the story that William made at least one trip to America before immigrating in 1829. William’s 1840 naturalization document backs up his immigration date of 1829.[6] There is no mention made of him arriving or visiting earlier, though that could have happened.

Continue reading “William Duke in the 1820s part 2”