Kirkby (Berry) Family Tree

John is the First child of eight children born to William Kirkby and Elizabeth (Cape).
(John's siblings: Mary (1782), twins George & Agnes (1784), Elizabeth (1788), William (1792), Henry (1793), Elizabeth (1796))
John is born in Uldale in 1780 (though the Kirkby family are likely living at High Cragg in Underbarrow, Uldale is home to the Capes).
John’s early life is little known, but he doesn't seem to stay to enjoy his inheritance of High Cragg, Underbarrow.
Instead he leaves that job to his younger brother Henry (b. 1794).
His other brother George (b. 1784) lives at Tullythwaite House.
John likely meets the Fayrers in Westmorland who could well have helped shaped his later opportunities (Robert John Fayrer (1788–1869) is a Commander in the Royal Navy and brother to John's future wife, Nancy).
John follows a path to eventually becoming Chaplain of HMS Windsor Castle in Plymouth around 1824, aged 44.
In 1825 he marries Nancy Fayrer, aged 30, in Stonehouse, Plymouth.
They soon move to Sheerness where he becomes HM Dockyard Chaplain, a role he keeps until retirement while living on Naval Terrace, HM Dockyard, Sheerness.
In 1828 they baptise their first child William (who later follows his father into the faith and becomes a successful Chaplain in Wandsworth, London).
A daughter Nancy is baptised in 1829, then In 1831 twins Mary Jane and Jane Mary are born.
In 1832 another daughter Frances arrives, and finally in 1834 a second son, John, is born.
Mary Jane stays living with her father throughout the years, but Jane Mary is married off to a cousin Rev George - son of John's brother George - to keep both the Kirkby estates in the family (Tullythwaite House & High Cragg).
But life is not all perfect. Rev John’s wife Nancy dies in 1837, aged 43. Then in 1843 his daughter Nancy dies aged 14, and in 1847 he loses daughter Frances aged 15. Jane Mary also dies sometime before 1861 (though it might have been expected as his Will has provisions for the event).
Rev John is still the HM Dockyard Chaplain in Sheerness in 1851 aged 69.
By 1861 he has retired to 3 Westbourne Road in Islington with son John and daughter Mary Jane living there with him.
He dies in Westbourne Road in 1862 aged 82.

Rev John's first son, Rev William, barely features in his Will of 1862, but it is likely his success was obvious early on and he needed less.

Rev John's other son and youngest child, John Henry Kirkby, features prominently in the Will (getting High Cragg passed down to him over his sisters and William, though this is at the cost of marrying his cousin Elizabeth in 1865 - she inherits Henry's share (Rev John's brother) of High Cragg).

Rev John's son John doesn't seem to do very much in life until his father’s death in 1862 when he is aged 28, listing no occupation throughout that time and living with his father until his death, at which point he recieved the High Cragg inheritance.

Rev John's son John and his cousin/wife Elizabeth are married in 1865 then have a first go at farming their mutually inherited 103 acres at High Cragg, but in 1881 John and Elizabeth sell it off and retire (he is 55) to live off the proceeds in smaller accomodation in the Manchester area, seemingly never to work again.

Given that Rev John's daughter, Jane Mary, was also married off to her cousin George Kirkby (son of Rev John's other brother George who owned Tullythwaite House) one wonders if Rev John would have approved, given he went to such lengths to keep High Cragg and Tullythwaite House in the Kirkby family. It's possible monetary hardship forced son John and Elizabeth's hand (Kendal canal finished in 1850s caused hardship for local industry and farming) but it also seems possible they chose to live off the money. Either way, this marked the end of the Kirkby inheritance down this line of the family tree.

(More details of Rev John's Will can be found under his son John Henry Kirkby's notes)

Making head and tail of the Will notes is as interesting as it is challenging (JH Kirkby mentioned after 1862 are the son of Rev John Henry).

In the documents we have for an 1866 Will amendment it says “1866 - extract from Will of William Kirkby of Little Tullythwaite. Exclusive of enclosure called "Intack" but inclusive of commonage of High Cragg. Original date of amendments is 1823 and 1827 to son Rev John. Amendments are to make 3 sons executors - John, George, Henry and are proved in consistory court lancaster in 1866” - This and other entries helped prove William (1745-1827) was father of Rev John as well as George and Henry.

The 1866 amendment is done after Rev John Henry dies in 1862, at which time he passed ownership of High Cragg to his son John.
This means the 1866 viewing is done by his son John (b. 1834) and his wife Elizabeth Kirkby (as together they had the full inheritance of High Cragg).

Rev John, George and Henry must have been made executors by their father William in those early entries of 1823, 1827, because Rev John died 1862, Henry is dead in 1864, and George died in 1860. So what was the point of this Will amendment in 1866? It seems to be about sorting out an indenture for a Mortgage between JH Kirkby and M J Kirkby (Mary Jane) (She already took a mortgage out with him for GBP 1000 @ 5% in 1865).

In 1867 a mortgage is transfered to Miss Helen Lodge from M J Kirkby who "borrows" GBP 1800 and pays off the previous mortgage she made from JH Kirkby in 1865 of GBP1000. MJ passes the mortgage to Miss Lodge and keeps GBP 800. (I have yet to locate Miss Helen Lodge or Mary Jane fully, tbd, but noted that Mary Jane pops up in 1881 living as "schoolmistress" at the address of her sister-in-law in Oxford (Kate Maria Anna Borroughs (Nash) Kirkby, widow of Rev William at the time).

In 1880 there is an entry noted in the Will of Rev John Kirkby (that must have been made prior to 1862) that mentions if Jane Mary (Mary Jane's twin) wife of Rev G Kirkby is "predeceased" to pay her part of the Will split between the other children. (When Rev George and Jane Mary get married is not yet known but occured before 1860 and Jane Mary's death occurred before 1861 when George enters "widower" on his 1861 Census). This part of the Will suggests it was known that Jane Mary might die young.

In the Sept 1880 entry discussing Rev Johns Will to all the children, Jonathan Cape and George Fayrer are listed as the executors. (I am still figuring out George Fayrer's father as there are conflicting records (Rev Joseph or Commander Robert) but he is certainly an MD Surgeon born in 1811 and nephew to Nancy Fayrer (Rev John's wife). Jonathan Cape is also unknown what relation he is, but comes from Rev John's mother's side (Elizabeth Cape).

(Further research ongoing, but more Will info can be found in the High Cragg and Tullythwaite House entries, as well as the relevant sons)

An interesting connection is Nancy Fayrer (Rev John's wife). Her father was the infamous maritime Captain Joseph Fayrer (1743 - 1801) owner of the ship the Golden Age, and her nephew - via her brother Commander Robert John Fayrer (1788-1869) - was the famous Sir Joseph Fayrer (1824 – 1907) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fayrer

I will expand on these at a later date as the Fayrer connection was likely influential on the Kirkby family during Rev John's time and possibly later. Suffice to say around this time Milnthorpe was still a busy port, Captain Joseph Fayrer part-owned a local gunpowder factory at Levens, and the slave trade was an influence on the economy and livelihood of the area. (Research ongoing but a short book worth reading on the Fayrers is "A South Lakeland Nautical Dynasty: Captain Joseph Fayrer of Milnthorpe" by Leonard Smith)

Nancy's other nephew, George Fayrer (1811 - 1868) was a freemason in Apollo Lodge No 301 and a proprietor and surgeon at two Warwickshire Lunatic Asylums. He was either the son of Nancy's brother Rev Joseph (of St Treath, Cornwall who married Sarah Clay) or of her brother Commander Robert (conflicting links must be researched). Either way, this George seems to be the one to become executor of Rev John Kirkby's Will on at least two occasions.

(Fayrer research ongoing)