William Duke lived his adult life in Derby, but he wasn’t born there. We were lucky to have two sources that specify his origin. One of them was his marriage license which stated he was of the parish of St. Swithin in Winchester in 1785.[1] The other source was Stephen Orchard’s article in the Derbyshire Family History Society’s Journal of March 2011. In this, Stephen stated how his grandfather’s notes indicated our shared ancestral Derby Dukes were originally from Winchester.[2]
To search for a Winchester baptism, a range for William’s possible birth had to be determined. William’s age did not show up on his 1803 burial, and his marriage license stated only that he was age twenty-one or older. No other record on him in Derby gave an indication of his age or birth year. Searches in the Winchester area began with the assumption he was born some time before 1764. One other clue to William’s birth family came from Derby. Research for the Duke Family Association by Celia Renshaw determined the James Duke living in Derby when William resided there was his brother.
The family of John and Martha (Lucas) Duke who baptized their children in Winchester St. Maurice fit the criteria. They had a son named William baptized in 1762 and a son named James. There were very few children surnamed Duke being baptized in the Winchester area in the later 1700s, and John and Martha Duke’s family was the only one that qualified. Baptism records for the family included:
Dec. 14 [1758] Elizabeth Daughter of John Duke Junr was baptized
John Lucas Duke baptized 22 May 1760
William Duke baptized 25 July 1762
Henry Duke baptized 14 Nov 1764
Molly Duke baptized 20 Nov 1766
Thomas Duke baptized 29 Jul 1768
James Duke baptized 22 April 1770
| Baptism Date | Child’s name | Parents’ names | Additional data |
| 14 Dec 1758 | Elizabeth | John Duke Jr | |
| 22 May 1760 | John Lucas | John Duke | |
| 25 Jul 1762 | William | John Duke | |
| 14 Nov 1764 | Henry | John Duke | |
| 20 Nov 1766 | Molly | John Duke | |
| 29 Jul 1768 | Thomas | John Duke | |
| 22 Apr 1770 | James | John Duke | Deceased |
Death of John Duke
Sadly, as can be noted in the christening of his last child, John Duke was deceased by 22 April 1770. Mathematically, that placed his death between May 1769 and April 1770. His burial was found in the Winchester, St. John’s parish register dated 10 Dec 1769.
John Duke’s tombstone is in the St. Giles Hill Cemetery in Winchester and an image of it was taken and posted to FindAGrave by descendant, David Duke.[3]
What happened to Martha Duke?
Martha outlived John by almost twenty years. She married Abraham Stacey on 21 December 1773 and had four more children with him, Abraham (b. 1774), Martha (b. 1776), Edmond (b. 1780) and Narcissus (b. 1782).[4]
Martha Stacey was buried 25 January 1789 according to the parish register of St. John’s in Winchester.[5]
Martha’s burial was also noted in Winchester St. Peter Chesil’s register.[6] No tombstone has been found for her.
Marriages for the siblings of 1762 William Duke
William’s 1785 marriage record can be seen in another post on this blog titled Marriage of William Duke and Anne Barnes (linked). Some of William’s siblings married in Chichester as he did, and others married in Portsea, Winchester, and Derby.
Elizabeth Duke married Joseph Larner 4 April 1790 in Chichester.[7]
Their marriage bond and license were also found, sections of which are included below.[8]
The marriage of John Lucas Duke and Deborah Frampton occurred in Portsea St. Mary in Hampshire on 30 Nov 1783.[9]
No marriage or definite burial record was found for Henry Duke. He may have died 12 Aug 1794 and been buried in Winchester St. Maurice parish as there is an entry for a Henry Duke buried that day. Unfortunately, there is no identifying data such as age or parents’ names, as often appear for the burial of a child. None of the St. Maurice burials of that time have parents or ages, though some include “(Hospital)” as a possible indication of where the person died. There was also a Henry Giles Duke in the St. Maurice burials with a date of 2 Jan 1796 with no additional clues.
Molly Duke married John Smith by banns on 19 Nov 1786 in Chichester.[10]
Thomas Duke married Jane King on 13 May 1790 in Winchester, St. Maurice.[11]
Back in Derbyshire, the three marriages of 1762 William’s brother James Duke all took place after they had moved north together.
James’ first marriage was to Mary Firth (or Frith, as it appears both ways in documents) on 5 Jul 1794 in Derby St. Peter.[12]
Mary died 17 May 1797, her death noted in the Brookside Non-conformist Chapel records.[13] She was admitted to the congregation before her marriage, which is why her maiden name was used. The admittance record is in chronological order, with a column for notations on moves, deaths, and other events which is where Mary’s death was found.
The second wife of James was Ann Meats who he married 9 August 1798 in Brailsford, Derbyshire.[14]
Ann Duke’s death record has not been found, likely due to non-conformity. She had two children with James, Mary and Elizabeth, who later accompanied their father and step-mother to the United States.
The third marriage of James Duke was to Mary Oldham by banns in Derby St. Alkmund.[15] Their children: Matilda, Jonathan Oldham, Ann, Thomas, James, John, Jane Oldham, and William were all born in England.
| Location | Date | Names | Age | Condi-tion | Rank/ Profes- sion | Resi-dences | Witness-es |
| Chich-ester St. Peter (by license) | 4 Apr 1790 | Elizabeth Duke & Joseph Larner | 21+ 21+ | Spinster Widower | Servant of the Duke of Rich-mond | OTP Of West Hampnet | Elizabeth Norris, James Cole, Robert Holt[16] |
| Portsea St. Mary | 30 Nov 1783 | John Lucas Duke & Deborah Framp-ton | |||||
| Chich-ester St. Peter (by license) | 27 Jan 1785 | William Duke & Ann Barnes [17] | 21+ 21+ | Bachelor Spinster | Hair dresser | Winches-ter St. Swithin Cathedral Close, Chiches-ter | Elizabeth Duke, James Cole, Robert Holt |
| Chich-ester St. Peter (by banns) | 19 Nov 1786 | Molly Duke & John Smith | Single-woman Bachelor | “the Close” Chiches-ter St. Peter | Samuel Great-orex, Mary Cockayne | ||
| Winches-ter St. Maurice (by banns) | 13 May 1790 | Thomas Duke & Jane King | St. Maurice St. Maurice | Robert Buney & Sarah King | |||
| Derby St. Peter (by banns) | 5 Jul 1794 (1st) | James Duke & Mary Firth (x)[18] | St. Peter St. Peter | Mary Hallam & John Bromley | |||
| Brails-ford (by banns) | 9 Aug 1798 (2nd) | James Duke & Ann Meats (x) | Widower Spinster | Brick-layer | Brails-ford Brails-ford | John Meats & Wm Smaells | |
| Derby St. Alkmund (by banns) | 14 Oct 1806 | James Duke & Mary Oldham | Robt Shilling-ton & Hannah Bilson |
Deaths in the family
Elizabeth (Duke) Larner was buried in Boxgrove, Sussex on 29 May 1793.[19]
Molly (Duke) Smith died in Chichester on 4 November 1839.[20] Her death certificate is definite about her being the widow of John Smith and her age is reasonably close for a death record.
Her burial record in Chichester has similar information.[21]
John Lucas Duke was in the burial records for Winchester St. Maurice. He was buried 13 November 1842.[22]
His death certificate has the date of death, 6 November 1842.[23]
As mentioned in the post on the Birth Family of 1796 William Duke his father, 1762 William, died in 1803 in Derby.
There is a burial for a Thomas Duke on 3 June 1821 in the Winchester St. John records.[24]
James immigrated with his third wife, Mary (Oldham) Duke, to the United States on the Eliza Grant in 1829.[25] Thereafter he lived in New York and later in Pennsylvania, where he is presumed to have died in or near Johnstown about 1849. No death records were kept in Pennsylvania until 1893, and the Johnstown floods of 1894, 1907, 1924, 1936, and 1977 wiped out both the possibility of finding a tombstone for him and many local church records. His death information has come through family sources.
[1] 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
[2] Stephen Orchard, “The Dukes of Derby,” Derbyshire Family History Society, March 2011, 16; scan of article sent by Derbyshire FHS in September 2011 to Keri-Lynn Kendall.
[3] FindAGrave, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 Dec 2024), John Duke, (2454275544).
[4] “Hampshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 December 2024), search terms: “Martha Duke, 1773” as wife; citing Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
Their children were Abraham (1774), Martha (1776), Edmond (1780), and Narcissus (1782), all christened in either Winchester St. Maurice or St. Michael parishes.
[5] “All Hampshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1536-1812,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 December 2024), search terms: “Martha Stacey, 1789”; citing Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
[6] “All Hampshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1536-1812,” database with images, Ancestry, search terms: “Martha Stacey, 1789”; citing Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
[7] “West Sussex, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 June 2014), search terms, “Elizabeth Duke, Joseph Larner, 1790”; citing West Sussex Record Office.
[8] Marriage bond of Joseph Larner with John Smith, 31 March 1790, Cathedral Close Collection, Epw|3 MF 1022, procured from West Sussex Archives by Alexandra Barford August 2013.
Marriage license of Joseph Larner and Elizabeth Duke, 31 March 1790 to marry at St. Peter the Great, Chichester, Cathedral Close Collection, Epw|3, MF1022, procured from West Sussex Archives by Alexandra Barford August 2013.
[9] “Hampshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1536-1812,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 December 2024), search terms: “John Lucas Duke, 1783”; citing Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
[10] “West Sussex, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 December 2024), search terms: “Molly Duke, John Smith, 1786”; citing West Sussex Record Office and West Sussex County Council.
[11] “Hampshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 December 2024), search terms: “Thomas Duke, Jane King, 1790”; citing Hampshire Archives and Local Studies.
[12] “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.
[13] 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.
[14] “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.
[15] “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.
[16] Robert Holt signed as a witness to many different marriages in Chichester, possibly as an employee of the church or nearby resident.
[17] See post Marriage of William Duke and Anne Barnes
[18] An (x) denotes person signed with a mark.
[19] Boxgrove, Sussex, England parish records; imaged, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 12 December 2024), image group number (IGN) 004428117 > image 171 of 534.
[20] “West Sussex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 December 2024), search terms: “Molly Smith, Chichester, 1786-1837 (burial)”; citing West Sussex Record Office and West Sussex County Council.
[21] “West Sussex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 December 2024), search terms: “Molly Smith, Chichester, 1786-1837 (burial)”; citing West Sussex Record Office and West Sussex County Council.
[22] Image from the register of Winchester St. Maurice taken by unknown researcher for the Duke Family Association of Utah.
[23] England, General Register Office, PDF copy of an entry of death, for John Duke, died 6 November 1842, registered 11 November 1842, copy of an entry in the certified copy of the register of deaths in the superintendent registrar’s district of Winchester and Hursley 7/165, registrar’s district of New Winchester Union.
[24] Research which found this burial was done by unknown Hampshire researcher between 2011 and 2012. This copy was obtained by Celia Renshaw from the Duke Family History Association of Utah who passed it on. Presumably the original record was the Winchester St. John parish register or Bishop’s transcripts.
[25] “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 1 Jul 2024), search terms: Jonathan Duke, 29 August 1829 arrival date, Eliza Grant.
