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DDerry Family Archive
Derry Line — Oldest Known Ancestor

Daniel Derry

b. ~1782 – ?

Needs research
Kyle DerryWyn DerryJack C. DerryErnest A. DerryAlbert M. DerryThomas Derry Jr.Thomas Derry Sr.Daniel Derry

Life

Daniel Derry was born around 1782 and lived in Gresley Row, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is a historic cathedral city in the West Midlands, famous as the birthplace of Samuel Johnson and home to the stunning three-spired Lichfield Cathedral. "Gresley Row" was a street or area within Lichfield. Daniel was a farmer — as were his son Thomas Sr. and grandson Thomas Jr., continuing a farming tradition across three generations before the family eventually emigrated to America. His son Thomas Derry Sr. was born in 1808, also in Lichfield, which, if the family records are right, would place the family there across two generations. Daniel represents the English roots of the Derry name. One published reading derives it from the Norman-French "daree" (penny weight, recorded in 1200 AD); others point to an Irish origin (Ó Doiridh) or to other English sources, so the origin is not settled. No parish or census record for Daniel has yet been found; the Lichfield address and his place in this chain come from family records. A Daniel Derry was baptized at Cannock in 1785, and several other Daniels lived around Lichfield, but none is yet tied to this family.

Timeline

  1. 1782
    Born~1782 — Lichfield, Staffordshire, England

Claims in the record

~1782 — Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
Gresley Row, Lichfield, Staffordshire
Farmer
Thomas Derry Sr. (b. 1808, Lichfield)
Historic cathedral city, West Midlands — birthplace of Samuel Johnson
Unknown — research needed
Unknown — research needed

Places

England — Hartle OriginLichfield, Staffordshire, England

Research next

FreeREG (Staffordshire, 1770–1850) lists 20 events for a Daniel Derry, including a baptism at Cannock on 16 Jan 1785 and a marriage to Mary Pass at Shenstone on 3 Dec 1795; the index is incomplete. The Derry name is common around Lichfield (over 500 Staffordshire events 1700–1860), so the Staffordshire origin is plausible. Test with the 1841 census for Gresley Row and the baptism of Thomas Derry Sr. around 1808 (FreeREG shows none in that year, but its coverage is partial).