Eleven generations in America. A family that started in colonial Massachusetts around 1650, moved through Connecticut and New York, and settled in Iowa by 1864. The name itself goes back to 13th-century Lincolnshire, England.
Edward Darby arrived in Boston around 1650. His 11th-generation descendant, Jacob Richard Darby, was born in Waterloo, Iowa in 1987. Click or tap any name to read more.
Key dates from the earliest English records to Iowa, in chronological order.
The Darby name is the spine, but the branches run through Connecticut, London, Bristol, Hampton, the Polish highlands, Germany, and Switzerland. Every name below entered the family through marriage. These are factual findings from active research across each line.
Several branches of this family left documented records in England before emigrating. The Darby name appears in Lincolnshire as early as 1200. The Whitney line, confirmed through the Whitney Research Group, goes further back, to a Norman knight who came with William the Conqueror in 1066. Other lines came through London, Bristol, and Surrey.
Darby Hall stood as the family seat in Leake (partly Leverton), Lincolnshire for several centuries. The family were "considerable proprietors in this and the adjoining parishes," allied by marriage to the Dymocke family. Documented members include Ralph Darby (1346), Thomas Darby (1346, 1353), Robert (1357), Roger of Leverton, Ralph of Leake (1517), Thomas of Bennington (1536 to 1544), William (1571), Thomas (1597 to 1659), Dymoke Darby (died Leake 1701). Memorials survive in the Leake church chancel floor.
Ralph Shepard was born c.1606 in the Limehouse district of Stepney, Middlesex, a neighborhood named for its lime kilns along the Thames. A tailor by profession, he was brought before the Court of High Commissions as a religious nonconformist in April 1634. He married Thankslorde Perkins at St. Bride Fleet Street, London on May 21, 1632, then left England June 30, 1635 aboard the ship Abigail. He helped found Dedham, Massachusetts, signing the Dedham Covenant. He died 1693 in Malden, Massachusetts, aged about 87.
John Whitney Sr. was born c.1589 and lived at Isleworth-on-Thames, 8 miles upstream from Westminster, where his eldest children were christened. He later lived on Bowe Lane in the City of London, near St. Paul's Cathedral. A member of the Merchant Tailors' Company, he sailed in April 1635 and arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts in July 1635 on the ship Elizabeth and Ann. He was granted 16 acres on arrival and 198 more by 1642. Town Clerk of Watertown until his death June 1, 1673.
Agnes Derby of Bisley, Surrey made a will on May 20, 1650 leaving money to Henry Collier, "He to pay Edward Derby, in New England, ten pounds when he shall come and demand the same." Bisley is about 30 miles southwest of London. This is the strongest English record connecting your direct ancestor Edward¹ Darby to a specific place. He married Susanna Hooke in Boston on January 25, 1658/59 and settled in Braintree, Massachusetts.
Humphrey Hooke of Bristol was a Member of Parliament and prominent Bristol merchant. His son William Hooke (c.1612 to 1652) emigrated to Salisbury, Massachusetts and became Governor of New Somerseshire. William died in 1652, buried at St. Stephens, Bristol. Humphrey's will dated June 25, 1658 names grandsons William, Jacob, and Josias, calling two of them "the most stubborn and unruly boys." Susanna Hooke who married Edward Derby in Boston five months later is the probable granddaughter or niece.
The Whitney family's documented English ancestry begins with Turstin the Fleming (c.1045), who came from Flanders with William the Conqueror in 1066 and received lands at Pencomb and Whitney in Herefordshire. The family held Whitney Castle at Whitney-on-Wye for over 600 years, facing raids from Wales and serving in England's power struggles throughout the medieval period. Eustace de Whitney received a grant of free warren in 1283 and was knighted under Edward I. Sir Robert de Whitney was Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1377, Member of three Parliaments, and Knight Marshal at the Court of Richard II. Thomas Whitney fought at Agincourt in 1415 and was granted land in France. The Whitney coat of arms (azure, cross checkered gold and gules) is held to have originated during the Crusades. John Whitney, baptized July 20, 1592 at St. Margaret's Westminster, was the son of Thomas Whitney of Lambeth Marsh, who married Mary Bray in 1583. John emigrated to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635, ending the family's English chapter. His descendants connect through Eleanor Whitney to the Darby line. Source: Whitney Research Group (whitneygen.org); Melville, The Ancestry of John Whitney (1896).
Ella Podhaski's surname is a Polish topographic name meaning "from the Podhale," the highland plateau at the foot of the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland, near Krakow, in the Malopolska region. Polish immigration to the American Midwest concentrated in the 1880s to 1910s. Finding Ella's parents' village of origin would connect this line to Central European records and open a separate branch of research.
Erwin Clarence⁹ Darby (b. 1924, Plainfield, Iowa) was the son of Clarence Arthur⁸ and Katie Sutter. These are his four siblings.
Lucius Edwin⁷ Darby (b. 1868, Clarksville, IA) was the only documented child of Thomas DeWight⁶ and Frances Elizabeth Bement. Thomas DeWight⁶'s parents (Thomas⁵ and Urana M. Peck) had other children who are collateral relatives: Cordelia⁶ (b. 1833), Nathan P. Darby (b. 1838, with descendants in McLean, NY), and Lucius Darby (b. 1845, died August 4, 1865, Cortland, NY).
The family record explicitly confirms eligibility: "Chester Chauncey Darby was eligible for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution through the Darby, Grow and Salisbury lines." Chester's eligibility flows through the same Joseph⁴ Darby as your direct line. America's 250th anniversary is July 4, 2026.
Thomas Grow of Hampton, CT (Anna Grow's father, b. c.1740 to 1750) was 25 to 45 during the Revolution. Hampton men marched through the night after hearing of Lexington in April 1775. Town records note "all able-bodied men were away in their country's service." First step: search the DAR GRS free ancestor database at dar.org for "Grow" in Connecticut.
Research needed, high confidenceYour direct ancestor, born 1731 in Canterbury CT, was 44 to 52 during the Revolution. Connecticut was "The Provisions State" and even farmers supplying goods or signing loyalty oaths qualified. The Connecticut State Library holds 37 volumes of Revolutionary War records (1763 to 1789). Search Canterbury/Windham County for "Eleazor" or "Eleazer Darby."
Research needed, direct lineRalph Shepard (1606, London, arrived Dedham MA 1635) and John Whitney (c.1589, London, arrived Watertown MA 1635) are both documented Great Migration immigrants. Their descendants fought in the Revolution. Check whether any SAR or DAR member has verified Revolutionary War service in the Connecticut branches that connect to the Shepherd family.
Documented immigrantsCynthia Salisbury (Lyman⁵ Darby's wife) is the third line the family record names for SAR eligibility. Captain Abraham Salisbury is now primary-source confirmed through Connecticut SAR records: "Warner and approximately 900 militiamen he had rounded up with the assistance of Ira Allen, James Mead, Colonel William Marsh and Captain Abraham Salisbury, were at the Lake Champlain forts" by July 5, 1777. The open question is whether Cynthia Salisbury of Cortland, NY descends from him, which requires Cortland County records.
Patriot confirmed in primary sourceSearch the DAR GRS at dar.org for "Grow" in Connecticut (free). Check the SAR Patriot Research System at sar.org. Contact the Iowa SAR chapter to have a chapter rep assigned at no cost. Search the CT State Library Revolutionary War archives for "Darby" and "Grow" in Windham County. Iowa SAR membership is approximately $255.
Active research has confirmed or extended several lines. The Whitney family now traces to Norman England c.1045. Captain Abraham Salisbury is primary-source confirmed. The Bement, Sutter, Philippi, and Steinbron immigrant origins are identified. These are the remaining hard gaps.
Finding Thomas Grow's father closes the SAR Grow line. Search the Hampton CT Barbour Collection (FamilySearch, free), Hampton Town Records 1786 to 1856, Hampton First Congregational Church Records 1723 to 1858, and Hampton Baptist Church 1770 to 1853, both at FamilySearch Digital Library.
Connecticut State Library holds 37 volumes of Revolutionary War records (1763 to 1789). Search Canterbury CT town records, militia rosters, and oath lists for "Eleazor" or "Eleazer Darby." Also worth checking: Jesse Darby, Eleazor's brother, who was 38 to 45 during the Revolution and may also have service records.
Agnes Derby's 1650 will (Bisley, Surrey) names "Edward Derby, in New England." Search Surrey and Bisley parish records for Derby families c.1620 to 1650, London parish records for Stepney, Southwark, or Surrey, and Port of London passenger lists 1640 to 1658. If Edward arrived in 1630 per one early record, check the 1630 Winthrop Fleet passenger lists.
Iowa State Historical Society records, Waterloo-area Catholic and Orthodox parish records from the 1880s to 1920s, and Polish immigration records at Ellis Island (free at Ancestry and FamilySearch). The Podhale region includes villages like Nowy Targ, Zakopane, and Bukowina Tatrzanska. Finding Ella's parents would open a separate branch of European research.
Frederick W. Todd's book Humphrey Hooke of Bristol and His Family and Descendants in England and America During the Seventeenth Century is available through NEHGS or Godfrey Memorial Library in Middletown, CT. The question is whether Susanna Hooke who married Edward Derby in January 1659 appears as a granddaughter, niece, or other relation of Humphrey Hooke MP of Bristol, whose will was dated just five months earlier.
John Whitney (1592 to 1673) had nine children. The Connecticut branch that produced Eleanor Whitney, who married Samuel Shepherd and became the grandmother of James² Darby's wife Eleanor Shepherd, needs to be traced through the Pierce 1895 genealogy (free at Internet Archive). Once found, this opens possible SAR eligibility through the Whitney line's Revolutionary War descendants and closes a three-generation gap.
Captain Abraham Salisbury is now primary-source confirmed as a Revolutionary War patriot at Lake Champlain, July 1777. The next step is the Cortland, NY 1820 federal census and Cortland County marriage records from 1780 to 1823, to establish whether Cynthia Salisbury of Cortland (who married Lyman⁵ Darby in 1823) descends from him. That connection closes the third SAR line the family record explicitly names.
The marriage of Ralph Shepard and Thankslorde Perkins was found in 1992 at St. Bride Fleet Street, London (May 21, 1632). Both sets of parents remain unknown. The Anderson Great Migration Study Project is the lead resource. Ralph's father has been tentatively suggested as an Isaac Shepard, but this connection is disputed in peer-reviewed genealogy. This is the hardest wall in the Shepherd line.
The Steinbron name is so rare in America (about 60 total US bearers, 23 percent in Iowa) that the family almost certainly descends from a single immigrant. Steinbronn is a real village in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Finding the specific immigrant and ship record would trace Cynthia Jean Steinbron's German ancestry. Iowa vital records after 1880 and naturalization records are the starting point.
John Grow of Ipswich is confirmed as the founder of Grow Hill, Hampton, CT (1723). The published genealogy by Michael Grow (Genealogy House) covers his American descendants but the European origin before Ipswich has not been established. Grow/Groh is Germanic in origin. Ipswich town records and Essex County Massachusetts records from the 1680s to 1720s would establish when John Grow arrived and from where. This would open an entirely separate European genealogy.