Person:Elizabeth Filby (1)

Elizabeth Filby was baptised on 25th March 1787 at Sandridge in Hertfordshire, daughter of Ann Filby, formerly Lawrence, and her husband Joseph Filby, a labourer. Joseph and Ann had married at Sandridge less than two years earlier, and Elizabeth appears to have been their eldest daughter.

Some time between Elizabeth's birth and 1789 the family moved to the neighbouring parish of Wheathampstead, where they had another four daughters baptised between 1789 and 1799.

In 1813, when she was 26, Elizabeth appears to have been the subject of a removal order under the poor laws, removing her from the parish of Chipping Barnet back to Wheathampstead. She was pregnant at the time with an illegitimate child, and claimed the father was David Ward, a labourer late of Chipping Barnet. She had the baby, a son, baptised at Wheathampstead in February 1814. Just over a year later, she married David Ward at Wheathampstead. They went on to have another three children together between 1816 and 1821. By 1819 they appear to have settled in Barnet.

David died at the start of 1826, being buried at Barnet on 1st February. He was said to be 41 years old. Back in Wheathampstead, Elizabeth's father died about the same time, being buried eleven days after David.

At the end of that year, on 30th December 1826, Elizabeth married again. Her second husband was a widower called John Gregory, and they married at St Pancras in the northern suburbs of London. It has not been possible to established what became of John as there were several people of that name in the area at the time. Back in Wheathampstead, Elizabeth's mother died in 1827.

The 1841 census finds Elizabeth living on Wellington Row in Barnet with two of her sons from her first marriage.

Elizabeth died in the Barnet Common area of Barnet on 17th July 1849, aged 62. She was described as a widow.

1. ↑ Church of England. Sandridge Parish Registers, 1558-1935. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   Bap[tize]d Eliz[abeth] the Daug[hte]r of Joseph & Ann Philbey March the 25 1787

2.   Removal Orders, in Church of England. Wheathampstead Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   FILBY, Eliz: Chipping Barnet to W'stead 27 Nov 1813

3.   Bastardy, in Church of England. Wheathampstead Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   FILBY unborn of Eliz of W'stead by WARD Dav, labr, late of Chipping Barnet
   Warrant issued to LATTIMORE Cha 1 Dec 1813

4. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 438; Book 4; Folio 15; Page 24, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Wellington Row, Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire
   Elizabeth Gregory, female, 50 [1786-91], born in county
   Will[ia]m Ward, male, 25 [1811-16], Ag[ricultural] Lab[oure]r, born in county
   Joseph Ward, male, 20 [1816-21], Shoe Mak[e]r, born in county
   Rich[ar]d Arowsmith, male, 30 [1806-11], Ag[ricultural] Lab[oure]r, born in county

5. ↑ Death register, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   Superintendent Registrar's District: Barnet Union
   Registrar's District: Barnet
   1849. DEATHS in the District of Barnet in the Counties of Hertford & Middlesex
   No. 184
   When Died: Seventeenth July 1849 / Barnet Common
   Name and Surname: Elizabeth Gregory
   Sex: Female
   Age: 61 Years
   Rank or Profession: a Widow
   Cause of Death: Asthma, to which she had been long subject, was found dead in Bed
   Signature, Description, and Residence of Informant: Signature, Description, and Residence of Informant: Fra[nci]s J. Osbaldeston, Coroner / Saint Albans Herts
   When Registered: Twenty ninth September 1849
   Signature of Registrar: William [illegible] Registrar