Dr William Irby^{[1, 2]}

1625 - 1680  (54 years)

• Name	Dr William Irby
  Birth	2 Nov 1625	Bideford Parish, Devonshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Married	1659	, Charles City, Virginia, USA
  Death	1680	, Charles City, Virginia, USA
  Person ID	I25137	Master
  Last Modified	21 Feb 2017

  
  

  Father	Walter Irby,   b. 1602, London, London, England
  Mother	Olive Cooper,   b. 1590, Clerkenwell, London, England
  Family ID	F6491	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mary Elizabeth Ann Blunt,   b. 1644, Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA d. 1680, , Charles City, Virginia, USA (Age 36 years)
  Marriage	1659	Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA
  Children	1. Dr William Irby, Jr,   b. 1660, , Charles City, Virginia, USA d. 18 May 1726, , Charles City, Virginia, USA (Age 66 years) + 2. Dr Joshua Irby,   b. 26 Mar 1664, , Charles City, Virginia, USA d. 11 Dec 1746, , Henrico, Virginia, USA (Age 82 years)   3. Dr Edmund Irby,   b. 1666, , Charles City, Virginia, USA d. 11 Dec 1733, St Martins Brandon Parish, Prince George, Virginia, USA (Age 67 years)  [Father: Natural]  [Mother: Natural]
  Family ID	F6490	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Feb 2017

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 2 Nov 1625 - Bideford Parish, Devonshire, England Married - 1659 - , Charles City, Virginia, USA Marriage - 1659 - Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA Death - 1680 - , Charles City, Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Notes for William Irby, Sr., M.D. : Was in Charles City County, VA on 6-3-1665 practicing medicine. Owned property on James River in vicinity of Turkey Island near Shirley Plantation. William Irby was granted by the King of England a very large concession of land in Charles City County and lived and died there on the grant, leaving by his will much valuable silver. Judged by the standard of his time he was a man of very large wealth. He was related to the Baron of Boston, England, whose family name was IRBY. William Irby married the daughter of Baron Blunt, an English woman. The Irby family goes back at least to WILLIAM de IRBY, Knight, in 1251. More About William Irby, Sr., M.D. and ? Blunt : Marriage: Abt. 1660, Charles City County, VA. Children of William Irby, Sr., M.D. and ? Blunt are: +Joshua Irby, M.D., b. October 1664, London, England or Henrico, VA, d. May 19, 1746, Henrico, VA. From "The History of Halifax County (Virginia)" by Wirt Johnson Carrington, page 210-212 A Mr. W.G. Stanard, secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, made a chart of the Irby family starting with William de Irby, Knight, in 1251 and coming to Dr. William Irby, the first Virginia emigrant who settled in Charles City towards the end of the 17th century. He married the daughter of Baron Blunt, an Englishman. He was given a land grand by the King of England and then lived and died on that land, leaving in his will much silver, including plate. By the standard of the time he was a wealthy man. He was related to the Baron of Boston, England whose family name was Irby. Dr. Irby left a son, William (and Joshua and Edmund), and several daughters. His descendants moved first to Charlotte County and then to Halfiax County. There a William Irby, Gentleman, is found In about 1595, the long line of descendents of Ivo de Taillebois (visit Ivo de Taillebois) led eventually to the birth of William Irby, the Elder (Ted's 9th Great Grandfather) in Devonshire, England. William, the Elder had 5 children, 2 girls, Wilmouth and Patience and 3 boys, Edmund, William (Ted's 8th Great Grandfather), and Nichols. Nothing is known about Wilmouth, Patience, Edmund or Nichols, but a lot is known about William. At the age of 21, William decided to try his fortune in the new American Colony of Virginia. He left England in 1651 aboard a fleet of three ships, which were wrecked in a hurricane off the coast of Barbados. William survived the shipwreck and lived in Barbados for three years while they tried to put together one good ship from the wreckage of the original 3. They managed to do it and William finally arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in about 1655. While in Barbados, he apparently lived with or became a good fried of the pirate Captain Francis Morgan. He is listed in the Barbados Wills and Administrations as a witness in 1653 to a will being made by Captain Morgan. Captain Morgan had a son named John who was a surgeon and had been schooled in England. This is probably where William Irby picked up his medical training because the English Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons has no record of a Doctor William Irby ever attending any medical school in England, and their records go back to the 1400's! When William finally got to Virginia, he built his home not far from Jamestown, where the James and Appomattox Rivers meet, near Turkey Island. Shortly thereafter (in 1659) he married Ann Blunt who was only 15 at the time, half his age. He was 34. The Blunts were a well-established family in Jamestown, having come there with the original settlers in 1607. There is a story that in 1665 he was begged to come to the aid of a sick child. He was preparing to leave when Colonel Edward Hill, the county sheriff, arrived at the Irby plantation. He wanted to press Irby's horse into service to look for a run-away slave. Dr. Irby refused to allow the horse to be taken because he had to go to the aid of the sick child. When the Colonel insisted, William threatened him with his sword waving it menacingly at the sheriff. Their language soon became "opprobrious." Before long the officer had his pistol pressed firmly against the doctor's chest and it seemed that one would surely die. Thanks to the intervention of one of the Colonel's men, the problem was settled with the doctor allowing the horse to be taken as long as the colonel was not the one to ride it. Had the Colonel pulled the trigger that July day the following saga would have never occurred and one of the great American family histories of triumph and tragedy would never have been weaved. In the late 1670's, Nathaniel Bacon, led a revolt in Virginia. He led many colonists who were angry about the way they felt the then Governor Berkeley was siding with the Indians and preventing the colonists from moving into the western frontier. The revolt may well have succeeded had not Bacon died of an illness. Berkeley had fled and his wife had been kidnapped but Bacon's death soon spelled disaster to the poorly led rebels and they were quickly were subdued. Governor Berkeley went on a horrible rampage following the conflict putting many to death that he felt had been involved in the insurrection. King Charles II was bewildered in the way his far-away Governor had reacted and said that Berkeley had killed more people for their part in the revolt than he had for the beheading of his father (Charles I by Cromwell). Henry Isham (remember the name Isham - it comes up many times in this tail) was a leader in the revolt and he died for his part. He was a good friend of Bacon's and probably a good friend of William Irby too. Certainly the doctor must have fought beside Bacon and Isham but he apparently lived at least 2 years after the revolt was crushed. The last record that suggests Dr. William was still alive was written in 1679 when he brought suit to collect a debt. All three of the doctor's sons followed in their father's occupation. Doctors; William, Jr., Edmund, and Joshua Irby (Ted's 7th Great Grandfather), tried to heal the many agonies that afflicted the early residents of Virginia.

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=84360378&pid=271 [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=90667476&pid=240