For visitors to this site interested in the evolving Duggleby Family Tree, starting around the time of the Domesday book (1086), please see the special page by clicking here where you will find a copy of the latest update to the tree.
I have also provided some information about examples of the very old documents used to produce the family tree. If you are interested in these please take a look at my blog entries by clicking here, here and here.
Duggleby, in addition to being a rather unusual family name is also the name of a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Difgelibi‘ when detailing the lands and holding of Beringer of Cosney. The Domesday Book was a land survey and census from 1086. It was commissioned by William the Conqueror to assess the extent of the land and resources owned in England to determine what taxes he could raise.
The history of Duggleby can physically be traced back to about 3000 BC because it is the location of Duggleby Howe, one of the largest Round Barrows in Britain. The Barrow or burial mound is presumed to date from the late Neolithic period. It is 37 metres in diameter and aerial photographs show it is surrounded by a circular enclosure, 370 metres in diameter. There are two concentric bronze-age ditches one inside and one outside this enclosure. The origins of the Duggleby Howe are steeped in mystery. Its location is close to the source of the Gypsey Race, a ‘magical’ stream which rises through a series of springs and flows intermittently. This may well have influenced our ancestors’ decision to build Duggleby Howe. Folklore predicts that when the Gypsey race flows bad fortune is likely. Apparently it flowed in the year before the great plague of 1664!
A series of excavations were performed on the mound in the late 19th century revealing some of its secrets. It would appear that Duggleby Howe was used as a cemetery for a long period of time since the Late Neolithic. Some of the burials appear to have been of important people like chieftains who had flint weapons and ceramic articles buried alongside their bodies as well as tools and artefacts made from from flint, antlers, bones, boar tusk and beaver tooth. Other burials were cremations and the lack of any surrounding vessel or enclosure indicated they may well have been sacrificial offerings, possibly accompanying the burial of local chieftains. The broken bones of the ox, roebuck, red deer, fox, goat, and pig found at the site indicate the burials involved big ceremonial feasts. Interestingly among these were also human bones which had been broken and cooked. It would appear that at least some of the ancient English folk were cannibals (I have included a link for photos and more information about Duggleby Howe in the links section on the right hand side of the archives page).
Moving swiftly on from cannibals to my own ‘Duggleby’ history – it has been possible to trace my ancestors back to just after the time when the village of Duggleby was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The most notable early figure was Sir Henry Duggleby (born 1145). To give this some historical perspective this was around the time of the reign of King Richard 1 of England (Richard the Lion Heart, 1157-1199) and the third crusade. Sir Henry Duggleby was my GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER (23 ‘greats’). A major acknowledgement is due here to Ellen Reid for her painstaking work and dedication in uncovering much of the documentary basis for this trail.
Clearly some of the earlier dates are approximations. You will also see the variations in spellings of the name as it was registered in the documents over the centuries: it is not just today that people struggle to spell the name Duggleby correctly. A lot of the early information came from Last Will and Testaments. All except the last three generations lived either in Duggleby or villages nearby. The lineage from Sir Henry to myself appears to be as follows (for more detail take a look at the PDF version of the tree available from here):
Duggleby (possibly Difgelibi, first name unknown): Born approx. 1115 – died ? Wife’s name unknown?
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Sir Henry de Duggleby (de Dingelby) Born approx. 1145 – died ? (Brother Jollan): Wife’s name unknown?
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Adam Duggleby Born 1195 –? Wife?
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Adam Duggleby (de Dugleby) 1250 – 1300 (Brother Hugh): Wife Joan
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Ralph Duggleby (de Dugleby) 1275 –? (Siblings: John, Robert, Adam): Wife?
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William Duggleby (Willelmo de Dugelbi) 1305 –? (Siblings: John, Walter): Wife?
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John Duggleby (Dyngelby) 1345 –? (Siblings: William, Robert): Wife?
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John Duggleby (de Duggylby) 1370 –? (One unknown brother): Wife?
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William Duggleby (Willim Dogilby) 1402 –? Wife?
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Duggleby (first name unknown): 1424 –? Wife?
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Thomas Duggleby (Doggleby of Thornholme) 1460 – 1503 Wife Margaret
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Walter Duggleby (Doggleby) 1485 –? (Siblings: Joan, Alice): Wife?
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William Duggleby (Douglebi of North Dalton) 1510 – 1561 (Siblings: Cuthbert, John): Wife?
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Robert Duggleby (Dugleby, Dougelbe of North Dalton) 1535 – 1589 (Siblings: Roger, Ann): Wife Mabel
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William Duggleby (Dougilbie) 1575 – 1620 (Siblings: John, Matthew, Richard, John, Audrey, Issabel) Wife Margaret
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Robert Duggleby 1605 – 1678 (Siblings: William, Thomas, Isabel): Wife Elizabeth
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John Duggleby 1675 – 1728 (Siblings: Nickolas, Elisabeth, Margaret, Beatrice): Wife Elizabeth
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David Duggleby 1723 – 1806 (Siblings: John, Rachel, Ann): Wife Elizabeth
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William Duggleby 1750 – 1794 (Sibling: Rebecca): Wife Elizabeth
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John Duggleby 1775 – 1830 (Siblings: Michael, William, Mary, Betty, Rebecca): Wife Jane
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William Duggleby 1804 – 1876 (Siblings: John, David, Bryan, Mary, Elizabeth, Mary, Anne): Wife Ann
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John Duggleby 1834 – 1911 (Siblings: George, William, Mary, Ann, Elizabeth, Jane, Matilda, Hannah): Wife Ann
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John William Duggleby 1879 – 1950 (Siblings: Seth, Wilson, Fred, Seth, Tom, George, Barbara, Mary, Frances, Ada): Wife Annie
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Leslie Duggleby 1907 – 1943 (Siblings: George, Maude, Adeline, Annie): Wife Elizabeth
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John Leslie Duggleby Born 1937 (Sibling: June): Wife Christine Helen
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Christopher Leslie Duggleby Born 1958 (Siblings: Matthew John, Helen Louise): Wife Monika
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Alexander Duggleby Born 1983 and Pascal Duggleby Born 1989
Chris Duggleby 
Hello Chris. I am a Duggleby descendant also. I come from Alfred W Duggleby who left Cottam to move to Davenport, Iowa. I actually lived in Davenport for a short time myself as my husband attended Palmer Chiropractic College. At the time we lived there I was unaware that my Great grandma Gladys E Duggleby was from Davenport. My grandfather was Howard Kerr, I’m not sure but perhaps he is the brother of Ray Kerr mentioned above. My great Aunts are Ruth and Lois. I would love all the information that you are willing to share with me about the Dugglebys. I am fascinated with all of the comments that I have been reading on this site. It is great to find all who seem to have such a wealth of knowledge concerning our family heritage! Would you kindly include me on your continuing work. Thanks! Deborah
Welcome Deborah,
It is great to hear from you. I will add the info you kindly provided to the website and if any of our ‘Duggleby USA’ experts have anything which might be of interest I am certain they will let us know via the site. Please keep in touch.
Kind regards,
Chris.
I apologize for not sharing the meat of our Duggleby records with you earlier. I thought that it was pretty much common knowledge to all. I have some journal entries of the Dugglebys who came to the US, quite a bit of geneology on the Duggleby pedigree chart as well. I am more interested in what happened in England before they came here. If you would like the info. I would be happy to share. This line has made geneology easier than others as they were very good record keepers.
Talk to you Soon,
Sincerely, Deborah
Hallo again Chris and others, especially Adam who filed about six months ago re the Bishop Wilton link which you share. The reason for this note is that a very interesting DNA result recently turned up on the Coverdale family DNA Project website. I am in contact with the co-ordinator and although he is not able to reveal the identity of the sample kit, it would suggest that the father (or grandfather) of the mysterious Thomas Duggleby (born 1780) may in fact be a Coverdale as the sample is identical to Henry Coverdale (1706-1776)(and by extension to his sons) who lived in Cottingham. There is plenty of evidence that the Dugglebys of Cottingham were living cheek by jowl with the Coverdales and there are certainly some unexplained Duggleby illegitimates around 1780. There were also at least three later marriages with Coverdales including Adam’s great grandfather Alfred Wilfred Duggleby who married Ada Hannah Coverdale in 1909.
Not everyone approves of or agrees to DNA testing, but I wonder if you, Chris or Adam, knew that you might hold a very important key to whether the Willerby Ebberston/Cottingham branch is directly connected further back to the Beswick Dugglebys. We already know (courtesy XXXX) that those Dugglebys whose oldest ancestor is John Duggleby (1638-1714) of Beswick are genetically related. We also know that those whose common ancestor is Thomas Duggleby (1780-1846) are not genetically related to the Beswick Dugglebys and belong to a different haplogroup.
But while one branch of the Dugglebys was established at Beswick in the 1600s, another distinct branch was located at Willerby/Ebberston notably John Duggleby (1675-1728) who had two sons, Bryan (1712) and David (1722). So far as I can check, these two brothers had four direct male descendants born in the late 1940s and early 1950s who in turn produced male descendants, living today. If the readings were the same as the Beswick Duggleby then genetically (leaving aside the possible Coverdale connection) we are indeed one family. Equally it is possible that the division took place between 1100 and 1500 Since there was no recognised system of surnames before the middle of the 14th century, it is impossible to draw any firm conclusions although I would hazard a guess that the Willerby/Ebberston/Cottingham line (if it is indeed distinct) was in Yorkshire before the Beswick line evolved. Perhaps some of us are indeed pre 1066 Vikings and others came over with William the Conqueror. Best wishes to all Vincent D.
Fascinating Vincent,
I did actually participate in the DNA testing carried out by our dear mutual friend just prior to the Duggleby.info site going off line. However I did not receive much detailed information about the results before losing contact. I do know that one of the problems at that time was actually getting many Duggleby volunteers to participate in the project. As usual with these DNA projects the full picture is only given to the project ‘owner’. If we could get hold of those results it might help to shine more light on your questions. Did you also participate in the testing (I seem to remember it occurred around 2007 just after I returned from living in Asia)? Should any visitors to the site be able to furnish more detailed information regarding the testing I am certain the extended global Duggleby clan would be very interested.
Please keep up your endeavours Vincent.
Kind regards,
Chris.
PS. Let us not forget that William the Conqueror, like his Anglo-Dane opponent Harold, was also a Viking (despite the modern misconception that he was a Frenchman, William was descended from the Norse warrior Rollo, who was granted Normandy by the French king Charles the Simple in 911). I suspect we are not going to escape our Viking heritage. Certainly my Father John and his sister June both have Dupuytren’s contracture, the inherited disease of the hands known as the ‘Viking Disease’ – an affliction common among Scandinavians and shared with prince Joachim of Denmark. It prevents the fingers from being straightened out and makes it difficult to grip things. I wonder how many members of the global Duggleby clan also have this ‘Viking’ condition – it tends to show itself when we are in our 40’s and is initially more predominant among males but later the distribution between the sexes becomes equal.
Really interesting to have your comments, Chris. I did not participate in the 2007 test because I wasn’t asked. That in itself doesn’t matter because my brother and I are unquestionably part of Beswick line. The point at which the Beswick line splits into the “mainline” Beswick Dugglebys and the “breakaway” Waldby Dugglebys does not, thankfully, provide a problem. This is because the father of the (in) famous(?) John Waldby Duggleby was Stephen Duggleby. It was his mother Rebecca Waldby who has fascinated researchers over the years. As it happens I have done a lot more work and have now unearthed evidence which although not conclusive gives a much fuller picture of what was going on behind closed doors. John Waldby was oblilged to became John Waldby Duggleby (on his own admission) and he then set out to found the “Cottam” dynasty and perpetuate his mother’s surname–with considerable success it has to be said. However, Chris: it must be the case that you and Adam have virtually identical DNA so we should have corroboration of the link to your ancestor “Ebberston” John. What we then need is (say) two Beswick Dugglebys. I could certainly be one and we then need another volunteer (there should be plenty of possibilities). Do we match or don’t we? If we do we probably get another couple of hundred years, before the waters are muddied pre 1400. Yes, of course, you are right about the William’s Viking connections. I am curious about the migratory patterns from the 8th century which brought Dugglebys from Scandinavia via Scotland to Ireland. Ultimately they moved across to the York area and the village of Duggleby came into being, before William’s lot suppressed the potential Viking uprising in the 1080s. At which point it becomes very complicated but I have visions of a few Dugglebys heading north pretty quickly, while some “new”Dugglebys took over any land and assets which were up for grabs. Incidentally our family does not have a record of Dupreyrens. Could it be that William’s Vikings are less likely to carry the condition that the ones who remained in Norway and Denmark?
Hi Deborah. Contact Lois in FL. She has a copy of the CD “Relatively Speaking” and also one that was put together by Earl called “The Earl Duggleby Story”. I believe there is also one about the life of Alfred (Earls father). Some interesting stories about the escapades of Mike and Alfred.
Bonny
Cross fingers but I believe that by sheer chance I may have solved a mystery that has been puzzlilng me for many years: Who exactly were the first Duggleby emigrants to the USA in the 1820s–how did they get there and what happened to them. Of course I realise that someone else may have reached the same conclusions but if so I am not aware of it. Before setting out the evidence, could I please appeal to anyone who has been researching during the period in question(perhaps Bonnie or someone who knows the whereabouts of Ellen) to get in touch. It would be a pity not to have a thorough peer review before the full storycan be told–or maybe it already has been and I just haven’t been in the loop. Vincent D.
The earliest Duggleby that I am aware of (without doing a lot of research) is William Stephenson Duggleby b.August 14, 1803 in Beswick and migrated to NY on August 4, 1835. I have visited his grave at Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica NY. His son, John Thirsk Duggleby born in Beswick also migrated some years after his father. He was a civil war veteran and buried in the same cemetery. If Vincent can give me a name of a previous Duggleby who migrated, I will check to see if I have any information.
Thanks Bonny for checking in. It is a long and complicated story prompted by my quest over many years to solve the mystery behind the entry in the 1830 Ohio census, which included Bryan Duggleby and four unknowns. We know that Bryan was born in Patrington (about 1813) and that his brother John (b 1805) also emigrated (and settled) in New York but not at the same time. John was still in England when he married Dillah Pickering at Bishop Wilton in April 1833 (see Ellen’s note on rootschat 22 June 2012 when appealing for information on Dillah’s birth to which there was a positive response that she was born in Huggate). I believe John left for New York soon afterwards slightly earlier than William Stephenson D since their first child Mary J was born in the US in 1834. As WSD was from the Beswick line whereas John and Bryan were from the Ebberston/ Cottingham/Patrington line, they were probably unaware of each other. As you know the other early emigrant was William, one of Ellen’s forbears who married Sarah Voorhees in the USA and was the father of Henry H.Duggleby who connects with PapaDugg. I would like to share my findings first with you and Ellen which I believe you will find really interesting, However, they will have to be set out in far greater detail than can be accomodated here, so you have the opportunity to follow up the sources for yourself. Chris has my web address and he has my permission to pass it on to you so you can contact me direct if you so wish. Many thanks. Vincent D
Thanks Vincent,
as requested your contact details will be forwarded to Bonny. Let me know if I (or the site) can be of further help.
Kind regards,
Chris.