Unlike many surnames derived from a trade or occupation, it is fortunate that the surname GILBEY is relatively unique. This made the task of tracing its origins much easier. The surname has evolved over the centuries with the chief variants being GILBEY, GILBY, GILBEE, GILBIE and GYLBY.
Although documentary records indicating lineage fade out about the beginning of the 17th century, it is still possible to trace usage of the surname prior to this time using the vast data resources of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. (LDS). I conducted lengthy research over different time periods doing a demographic survey of usage and location of the name over time. The further back in time I went, the geographic area covered by usage of the name also shrank in size. A broad area of North Lincolnshire was the smallest and earliest area that could be identified.
The earliest occurrence of the surname so far traced was the recorded birth of a Thomas Gylby in Ashby, Lincolnshire in the year 1320. Ashby was one of four villages which now form the town of Scunthorpe. About 10 miles from Ashby is site of the now disused Gilby Village just south of the village of Pilham. Gilby Village was first mentioned in documents in 1138/9.
This was an area that the Vikings settled in and research indicates the word ‘Gilby’ is probably Norse in origin. There are three possible derivatives of the name in ancient Norse.
1. Gilby means ‘pledge’ in ancient Norse.
2. The word ‘BY’ in ancient Norse means homestead and Gil-by could mean the home of Gil.
3. Gilby was apparently also an ancient Norse god of grumpiness.
Although it is not possible to establish a definitive answer, the strong circumstantial evidence indicates that Gilby Village is probably the English source of the name and that Gilby is Norse in origin.
The circumstantial evidence is also strongly reinforced by another member of the Gilby/Gilbey family and a contributor to this site who reports he has undergone a genetic mapping test indicating the presence of a Norwegian/Finnish connection in his gene pool.
The demographic survey also proved useful in identify migration trends of people with the Gilby surname over the centuries. In broad terms it appears that in the main, the name spread southwards down through Suffolk and then divided probably about the late sixteenth century and spread into Cambridgeshire and Essex. There was some northwards migration of the name but the main trend was southwards.
The Gilbey Family Tree 
October 19, 2011 at 1:26 pm
very interested in origins of the name gilbey as it was my paternal grandmothers maiden name and they spead out to the east end of london .
October 19, 2011 at 2:32 pm
That’s quite interesting Poppy. Are you able to advise me of your grandmothers details like her name, place and date of birth? It may be possible to trace which branch of the Gilbey family she descends from unless you have already done this. If you grandmother is still living, please do not publically add her details to this board but send me an email at micktweet@hotmail.co.uk
Michael
October 20, 2012 at 11:30 am
ho we look for hicks family from canningtown
November 7, 2013 at 2:40 pm
The surname IS Norse. GIL was-and is( especially in Yorkshire ) a pasture. GILBYR means pasture dwelling. Did my DNA recently=y-chro is Scandanavian.
regards
David Gilbey
November 7, 2013 at 5:16 pm
David, Many thanks for that information, it does seem to nicely dovetail in with the conclusions I came to. Although there is no documentary evidence and I understand the Viking settlers were notorious for their dislike of documentation preferring to commit things to memory, your DNA evidence is the most positive link yet.
December 11, 2013 at 3:07 pm
I possess a crooked little finger; accepted by “scholars” as “claw hand”,synonymous with scandinavia. My blood group is A pos..as above. So all in all…….
July 21, 2015 at 8:27 pm
David – very interesting to read – I also have a crooked little finger – and my blood group is A pos. I had no idea our name was Scandinavian in origin
October 20, 2015 at 11:46 am
Hi Michelle
yes the Norse is Ghillisbyr or Gilbyr, meaning High Pasture Dweller. My DNA marker ( I1) goes back to 4200 BCE to the aborigines of Norway. Today 45% of eastern Norwegians and 35% of western Swedes have this.
many regards
David Gilbey
December 1, 2013 at 11:44 am
my grandmother was originally Mary Gilbey but married into the Gold family they lived at Gorsefield which became a childrems home I remember it in the 50’s on the road going out to Elsenham from Stansted. They were living next door in a house called Ravens I used to visit as a child my grandmother lived in Ravens with my auntie molly and uncle Donald We lived in Henham a village next to Elsenham Ravens is now a nursing home to the best of my knowledge as my aunt died in 1999 there are a lot of family connections around that area I remember Elsenham Hall my father used to drive past it when he was taking us to visit Hatfield forest as children Elsenham Hall had a high wall going all around it my 2nd cousin James Gilbey lived at Ugly a few miles from Elsenham and later became involved in the famous “Squidgy” business re Diana. I never met him but he looks remarkably like my elder brother and was friendly with some people who owned a small garage on the road going from Elsenham to Broxted and Thaxted an interest in cars they had in common. My father didn’t seem very close to the Gilbey side of the family as it seems odd having a cousin living a few miles away and I didn’t know of him until this business with Diana but my father was always going on about” Great uncle Wally” we would be giggling about this great uncle he was always late according to my dad.I don’t know which Walter he was referring to( as Wally being a diminutive of Walter) it could have been Sir Walter as he died when my father was 2 years of age in 1914 there is a plaque in Elsenham dedicated to Sir Walter he was friendly with the King there seems to be a connection with royalty along the line as my aunt knew the Harewoods who along with Princess Margaret had places in Suffolk My father decided to move there eventually when I was 14 and settled in a small village near Southwold Its interesting all this stuff I like looking up all these things hope the info sheds some light on things
January 21, 2021 at 12:13 am
Maryann! x I remember you at Molly’s all that time ago! I called you Marigold. xxx So lovely…. have always remembered you and Molly and Ravens at Christmas time! xxx
December 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Maryann, We are undoubtedly related but at the moment it is not possible to pinpoint where. My particular branch of the family can be traced backed to c1709 in Finchingfield in Essex which is close to the Suffolk border. Your particular branch which I know can be traced back even further and again into Suffolk. It’s likely that the two branches of our family came together somewhere in Suffolk probably in the 15th century but I stress that is only a good guess, not proof. At the moment I have not been able to locate the birthplace of my earliest known ancestor. The person I believe to be his father named Edward Gilby first appears in parish registers in 1709 at the christening of one of his children. This ancestor was not however born in Finchingfield and I cannot as yet trace his marriage or birth.
One of the problems is this persons generation would have been the generation following the Civil War and was also a time when parish record keeping left a lot to be desired. However as you say genealogical study is very interesting. One thing you can be almost certain on is that your original ancestors probably came from the now disused Gilby Village in Lincolnshire. David Gilbey also recently kindly revealed that the Y chromosome of his blood confirms a Scandinavian origin.
December 4, 2013 at 10:52 pm
Thankyou for replying Mick its interesting we could be related as I seem to have loads of relatives I don’t even know! They had large families in those days also a thankyou yo David Gilbey for being helpful also the Scandinavian slant is interesting there is also a strong Spanish connection as 3 of my greatuncles married Spaniards its rather an interesting family and always this connection with royalty along the line Finchingfield is not far from henham where I originally came from we used to drive thru it a lot on the way to Suffolk where we eventually lived there is a place called Spains Hall in finchingfield I think that was something to do with Sir Walter or something like that and his friendship with Edward the 7th I have a book about Gilbeys wine but its mostly about their drinks industry there is another book by Jane Kydd Gilbeys wine and horses which goes into the family side more but is hard to find I’ll keep looking!
January 23, 2014 at 12:05 pm
May I point out that the y chromozome is the paternal line. The Spanish link would be through the female line. My Grandfather once told me that his great-great uncle was concerned in the establishment of the Distillery.
January 23, 2014 at 4:02 pm
Hello David, There is a lot of family folk lore about descendants of the Finchingfield Gilby/Gilbey’s being related to the Gilbey’s wine and spirits empire. There is certainly no direct link and it is likely it would be necessary to go back further in time, probably to the 1600’s in south Suffolk to find a connection. That is only an educated guesstimate as documentation to support this theory has not yet been found.
There is however another member of our particular branch of the tree who did become an importer of Spanish wines. That is Stephen Gilby b1849 Finchingfield and who married Harriet Stroud and who later died in south Hornchurch in 1900. It is possible to trace his location in Spain by the birth of a son in 1877 in Jerez De La Frontera, Spain. This was Charles George Gilby who died 1898 in Romford.
Stephen Gilby was not long in Spain as his second son was born two years later in 1979 in Suffolk
July 15, 2021 at 11:08 am
That’s pretty cool Mick, I live about 3 hours north of Jerez del frontera in Badajoz, my son was born here too and here’s me thinking he may have been the only Gilbey born in Spain 🇪🇸
January 23, 2014 at 4:35 pm
My Father did mention something about Jerez when I was a young man. I never did any exploration on that.
January 23, 2014 at 10:47 pm
i didn’t know about the Spanish connection until an auntie who was married to my father’s elder brother told me she said about an Aunt Magara didn’t I know about my auntie said didn’t I know that I had an aunt in Spain? I said no as my father hadn’t told us then she said they were in Jerez and it was all to do with sherry and wine and they were like grandees or something high up and my grandmother’s 3 brothers had married into them i’m sorry I took so long to reply I managed to get the time to I appreciate your comment thanks
January 23, 2014 at 11:27 pm
Hello MaryAnn.
By co-incidence, which also adds to confusion, there are two links with Jerez in Spain and two unconnected branches of the Gilbey family.
I mentioned the Stephen Gilby connection (two messages above). The other is with Sir Walter Gilbey of the W.& A Gilbey wines and sprits empire.
With Stephen Gilby, although his first child was born in Jerez, all his children married and died in England as did their descendants suggesting that Stephen Gilby’s involvement with the wine trade was relatively short lived.
The are plenty of web sites with information on Sir Walter Gilbey’s family links with Jerez and I would suggest you Google the two words Gilbey and Jerez to obtain a list of these sites.
January 28, 2014 at 9:42 am
Mick thanks for that as the Spanish connection is interesting I managed to track down “Aunt Megara” My grandmother Mary Gilbey had loads of brothers and sisters I had heard that 3 of her brothers married Spaniards and one of them was called Marguerita I suddenly realized that “Megara” is a nickname or diminutive and there was quite a bit of that in my family e.g my father’s sister was constance Mary but known as “Molly” my dad’s father was called “wag” Gold etc.So I put 2 and 2 together and the time frame and where they lived seemed right I will certainly have a look as you have kindly suggested it will be easier with that to go on as the internet can take you in circles I cant always get the info /I am looking for /thanks
January 24, 2014 at 2:34 pm
Would anybody have knowledge of a Bennett John Gilbey who moved to Yorkshire near the end of the 19th Century from Great Sampford. I would be most interested.
January 24, 2014 at 4:09 pm
David, If you check my Descendant Chart page you will see Bennett John Gilby listed there. He moved to North Bierley, Yorkshire after marrying a Mary Holsworth in Bradford in 1889.Mary Holsworth was born in North Bierley which helps explain why he ended up living there.
He can be found in the 1911 under the name Benjamin Gilbey living in Bradford with six children where he also died in 1919.
In terms of social history large numbers of people moved north to find better employment. The area of north-west Essex where the Gilby/Gilbey family lived consisted of small villages based on a rural economy. In the mid-nineteenth century as the families grew more numerous over time, the local economy could no longer support them. There are stories of such people being given money for a one way journey essentially to get them off the local communities hands. This was about the same time the Industrial Revolution was well under way with fast growing cities like London, Sheffield and Newcastle rapidly absorbing people from rural communities. In the north there was the explosive growth of mining, railway and steel works and shipbuilding.
Transport was not easy at this time and most roads were in poor condition. Many of the families that made the journey north would have done so by canal taking several weeks to complete the trip.
January 24, 2014 at 4:36 pm
Bennett was my Great grandfather. He started a Horse carting business-horses again-but did not pass this onto my Grandfather for whatever reasons-my Grandfather galloped off to war, and came back to nothing.
January 24, 2014 at 10:43 pm
David, From what you say about your grandfather, I assume he is possibly Harold Gilbey. There is an army service record for him on Ancestry which shows he served in the West Riding Regiment and his number was 11747. The 1911 census shows your great-grandfather Bennett was a Carter and coal merchant.
January 26, 2014 at 10:05 am
Harold Gilbey was my Grandfather. I am very proud of the man. He came back after being twice wounded, with the MM for bravery in the field ( I have his medals). He never mentioned his siblings. and I never met them. In fact I have never met another Gilbey; which is a shame because i have so many stories.
January 26, 2014 at 1:09 pm
David, When your great grandfather’s parents, Thomas Gilby and Jane Rebecca Buttle moved from Great Sampford to the North Bierley/Bradford area, they took their eight known children with them. I did trace their descendants to the early 1900’s which included your grandfather Harold. I am aware of six children from Bennett’s marriage including your grandfather Harold.
Given that Harold had eight known aunts and uncles who also probably had their own descendants, there is probably still a reasonable grouping of that family in the area. Sod’s law dictates that one of their modern day decedents is probably interested in genealogy and should I come across one also researching their family history I can put them in touch with you should you so wish me to do so.
January 26, 2014 at 5:10 pm
Many thanks for this Mick. I would certainly be interested to know of any contactable relatives.
February 21, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Mick
when I asked my Grandfather where the surname came from, he said Wales. Looking at the Gilbey Family Crest it shows a Red Dragon eminating from a Tower on a forward facing Helmet. Have you any views on this?
Many regards
David
February 21, 2014 at 2:06 pm
Hello David,
The answer is quiet simple, there was originally no Gilbey Family Crest until Walter Gilbey born 1831 in Bishops Stortford and who founded was the Gilbey’s Wine and Spirits business was made a baronet in 1893. You will appreciate a baronetcy is not a peerage and was originally created by monarchs as a method of raising funds.
I assume it was probably Walter Gilbey that commissioned the creation of a coat of arms which anyone who is willing to pay high fees for can do via the College of Heralds. Anyone can ask for their own design but it is the College who have the final say as to what can or cannot be allowed. Why a Red Dragon, or perhaps it is a griffin was chosen I do not know why.
Years ago I once sent away to a company advertising the origins of surnames and associated coats of arms and quite frankly what I got back was a load of tosh. One thing they mentioned was a Scottish connection and I know from my research no Gilbey/Gilby’s originated in Scotland and the one that are there came from England. Wales has never figured in Gilbey origins.
Even before answering your question I checked one online commercial company who said the highest number of Gilbey’s shown in the 1911 census lived in Devon. I checked and found there were only four Gilbey and four Gilby surnames in total. Need I say more about the accuracy of some research.
Essentially like most family names there is lots of unfounded family folklore most based on myth rather than fact. At the top of this page I have given details of my own research and although it is in broad terms as it was a demographic study based on distribution of the use of the surname over time, it is never-the-less accurate.
February 21, 2014 at 3:08 pm
Many thanks for that Mick. I will send you later, by attachment, copies of some research done by a Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, specialist in Surnames; you may find it of interest. He identified the creature as a Dragon.
February 24, 2014 at 7:20 pm
Hello Mick,
Been some time since we spoke. Also lost your email, my apologies.
Wanted to thank you on all the help you have given me over the past few years thru your site and email.
I have written an article in the Newport News about my grand father, Edward P Gilbey and included info on our family tree. Some very interesting finds, twists. Goes to press March 15th (2014) so if your interested, please grab a copy. I also gave a mention and thank you to yourself.
Hope you are well,
James
March 4, 2014 at 11:14 pm
are you james gilbey from a small village near Elsenham near Stansted Essex ? There is a James gilbey who became famous with his friendship with Princess Diana my father Christopher,( whose mother was a Gilbey) her father was Alfred and Walter was her uncle they were the original founders of the Gilbey clan in Essex W&A Gilbey my father didn’t speak of them much but occasionally mentioned them .When I asked my father about james gilbey he said he was a 1st cousin of James gilbey’s father who the papers referred to as “Ralph” my father corrected me “No, Ray” ( Ray, could be a diminutive of Ralph). It seems nicknames or shortened versions are quite common in the family as my father called Walter “Great Uncle Wally” and my grandfather was “Wag” Gold the Golds and gilbeys were related they married into 1st cousins and the Spanish connection seems to be that . I have noticed James Gilbey bears a very strong resemblance to Ian my brother now dead. I don’t recall meeting James gilbey but might have met various gilbeys as a child without really knowing who they were as children then didn’t question things. James gilbey is friendly with Gordon Barker my stepmothers nephew. Her sister married a Barker who had a small garage on the road going from Elsenham to Henham same road went through to Stansted and onto Bishop’s Stortford. They had an interest in cars in common. You mentioned Newport so I wondered as Newport is v near Henham and Elsenham and Saffron Walden My father’s siter and brother lived in “Ravens” the family home on the same road I mentioned. It seems they used to live next door in a place called “Gorsefield” which I remember as a children’s home I don’t know what it is now as this is years ago and everyone mentioned passed away I hope this might be helpful to you
March 10, 2014 at 5:01 am
Hi Maryann,
No I am not “that” James Gilbey. I had a hell of a time at school with that. Oh well.
My line as Mick knows, comes from Newport Village. A stones throw from Elsenham and Finchingfield.
Reading thru David’s post I found the Y chromo quite interesting. Thinking I’d like to see where my bloodline goes or comes from. The whole Nordic side intrigues me.
Also Mick,
I found out that Albert Gilbey 1855 is the son of Emma Mahala Gilbey.
Albert was something of a mystery because I could not find the fathers name nor mothers. As Dan Gilbey had said it was theirs when really he was Emma’s.
I knew there was something going on.
FYI Emma married a Allen Harvey. Had daughter Fanny, think she may of became Fish later on. Still researching.
Not sure if you remember that conversation about “Fish”…….anyways, I’m rambling.
Talk soon, hope you get the Newport News this month.
March 5, 2014 at 12:13 am
Hello Maryann,
No I am not James Gilbey. My own line is traceable back to Finchingfield, Essex in about 1709 where records peter out and is not immediately connected to the Stansted/Elsenham line. These two branches of the family are obviously connected further back in history but there is no documentary evidence yet located to indicate where the link might be.
My best guess would be around the 1600’s in south Suffolk and it is likely that one side of the family naturally progressed into north Essex and the other via Cambridge and towards Bishop Stortford.
Because of the relative proximity of both branches of the family, areas like Saffron Walden and Newport is where offspring on both sides would have lived. This can sometimes cause a little confusion during research to determine who belongs to which family.
March 15, 2014 at 6:56 pm
Hi James I did reply but don’t know where it went to. I probably put it in the wrong box! I think because the areas mentioned are so near to each other way back the family split and branched out a bit one side to Essex an d others to Suffolk as all these places are part of East Anglia. Also my father moved from Essex to Suffolk so it almost seems a tradition in a way. Plus some of my fathers uncles married Spaniards and they settled around Finchingfield. There is a place called Spains Hall and that’s something to do with them. The name is a bit reminiscient of Spain and that’s where a lot of the Spanish connection seems to be. the 2 families have to be related in some way as my father belonged to the W&A branch that founded the Gin empire and Walter the founder was my father’s great uncle. I hope this might be helpful to you
March 5, 2014 at 11:49 am
Morning Mick,
as you know my Great Grandfather Bennett came from Great Sampford; would you know which branch of the family he came from.
Very obliged if you could say.
Regards
David
March 5, 2014 at 12:51 pm
Hello David,
There were two Bennett Gilby/Gilbey’s born in the Sampfords.
There was Bennett Gilby born 1863 in Great Sampford who was the son of Thomas Gilby b1838 Great Sampford and Jane Rebecca Buttle b1838 Great Samford. This is the Benett Gilby who moved north and married Mary Holdsworth in Bradford in 1889. His children were Florrie, Harold and Emily all born in North Bierley.
The other was Bennett Gilbey born 1879 in Little Sampford. He was the son of Job Gilbey b1841 Little Sampford and Harriet Gunn c1840 Finchingfield. This Bennett married Sarah Gilder in Little Sampford in 1902. Their known children were Ivy Mary, Arthur William and Walter Bennett all born in Little Sampford.
Both of the lines lead back to Edward Gilbey c1709 and Elizabeth Clements in Finchingfield.
The letter “E” in the surname was readily interchangeable and was really dependent on which official, vicar, census enumerator etc. was completing the relevant documents.
Another point to bear in mind is locals referred to Great Sampford as Old Sampford and Little Sampford as New Sampford.
March 5, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Hi Mick, many thanks for that.
David
March 11, 2014 at 12:40 am
Never mind we could still be related as Newport ,Elsenham/Henham & Finchingfield are all near each other. There is a place called Spains Hall in Finchingfield which is something to do with the Gilbeys its all rather local so there must be a connection somewhere there is the Spanish connection ,my grandmother’s 3 brothers married into Spaniards I worked it out that there might be a connection the name of the hall and the fact that some of them lived around that way. I had an Aunt Megara who I didn’t know about until an auntie told me .Aunts can be helpful like that as my father didn’t tell us much. There was a Marguerita ,that’s who I think is “Aunt Megara” The Nordic line u mentioned sounds interesting Ive always had a “thing’ about Russia maybe there is something that goes way back. Anyway thanks for replying hope u can find out what u r looking for
March 11, 2014 at 7:58 am
Good day Maryann. My Father, my children and myself all bear the looks of the stereotypical latin; indeed my father bore a great resemblance to Anthony Quinn the actor.Yet the scientific evidence I personally have gained, is of a genebase in Scandinavia. In fact a certain Professor of Viking studies, has indicated to me by genetic mapping that it is from Norway/Finland.
Hope this helps
David
March 15, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Hi David. I find it very interesting that there is this Latin look as a lot of the Gilbeys have that look and people who are non-Gilbeys but are related. My father had that look in a photo of him in his younger days and my brother Ian and our second cousin James My daughter has that look as well. I am dark-haired but have a fair skin so I don’t think I do but there is a lot of it there. The Nordic link is very interesting Anthony Quinn also acted in a lot of these Spanish/Western type films he did have that dark look about him. I think there is obviously a root which stems from the Scandinavian countries over time the Spanish link would have produced this Latin type fatures into the clan. I hope you will find more interesting research as its good isn’t it? A lot of people are becoming interested in finding out about their roots and family trees as you have a lot of things on TV that is encouraging people to find their ancestry.
April 14, 2014 at 2:23 pm
Hi Maryann-Anthony Quinn was Mexican. My Grandfather was fair skinned and Auburn haired-crazy isn’t it.
David
April 15, 2014 at 11:32 am
Hi David Thankyou for replying just picked up your email yes it is a bit bizarre but there are a lot of fair skinned Spaniards as Italians so it could be something like that depends what genes come through as with families you can get a diversity in a family even to the extent that people don’t think they are related. Not just Spanish or Italians can be with anyone .Plus the Scandinavian link you have mentioned could very well be significant as the original Vikings had that kind of colouring then gradually moved to spain as the visigoths then you have the Moorish link as well in spain all around the middle ages producing different types of people fair skinned or dark etc. present day types could be a throwback to then different genes in the chain came through
April 15, 2014 at 12:21 pm
Hi Maryann
Maybe you are right. I have been told I have a damn attractive family, so that makes me happy
David
April 18, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Good to hear from you David and yes its nice to know that we are not a bad looking lot! Its also nice to meet relatives that I would never have heard of .As my father’s mother was a Gilbey and my father wouldn’t tell us much about it (I picked up bits and pieces from an auntie I got on well wiyh ,and my brother) I decided to look up about them on the internet and got onto this site, which is good. You never know whom you might meet. Sometimes I don’t always check my emails for a few days so its good to get a message. I hope you have a good Easter at least we have better weather!
October 22, 2014 at 2:54 pm
Hi Maryann,
if you would like to Google: callas and robeson revisited-you may be pleasantly surprised.
regards
David
May 6, 2014 at 2:13 pm
Would anyone have the knowledge of Henry Gilbey the famous angler. Somebody I know who is an angling fanatic, wished to know if I was related.
my thanks
May 6, 2014 at 3:08 pm
David, I don’t know the answer to your question but Henry Gilbey has his own website where you can contact him direct.
http://www.henry-gilbey.com/about
May 7, 2014 at 9:52 am
Thx anyway Mick
regards
June 20, 2014 at 9:57 am
Hi Mick
I made contact with Henry Gilbey, but did not get any indication of relationship.
regards
David
September 16, 2014 at 9:46 am
Hi Mick,
long time no hear. Did you ever manage to find contacts from my Grandfather Harolds siblings or relatives? I was never told of the whereabouts of any of them when I was young. Most intriging.
best regards
David Gilbey
September 16, 2014 at 12:44 pm
Hello David,
I never did research your grandfather’s siblings very deeply. Apart from you grandfather himself, the only credible marriage I can find is for his brother Stanley who married a Mary Thornham in Allerton in 1930.For the rest I can find no marriages that can be positively identified as being Harold’s siblings. There are a number of people with the same name in different parts of the country to where they were born but I have no way of telling if it is the same people that have moved.
September 16, 2014 at 1:08 pm
Many thanks again Mick.
September 16, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Hi Mick,
just for gilbey interest; if you google: callas and robeson revisited, you may be surprised.
regards again
David
September 16, 2014 at 3:43 pm
David,
I see what you mean. I have a singing voice too but normally I am having a long hot soak in a bath to get into the mood.
December 8, 2014 at 9:23 am
May I wish every sharer of my surname, the very best compliments of the season.
David Gilbey
January 13, 2015 at 11:25 pm
Hi david I havn’t checked my emails for ages also couldn’t get the messages up the computer was telling me to re-connet to the internet when I was already connected! seems daft, I fiddled about and eventually got the messages up in another window anyway you were asking about a Henry Gilbey, I know my father mentioned he had a cousin called henry. I remember when he said it ,he was 1st cousin to john and Henry Gilbey then he walked off it was as if he didn’t want to talk about them there seem to be a lot of cousins, but then his mother Mary Gilbey had 11 siblings from what I can see, there just seems to be a lot of them I hope that helps I will look up that link you mentioned, interesting as I love singing, at one time might have took it up as a career, but things went a different way, but I do love the karaoke! anyway, talk to you again ?
January 22, 2015 at 12:26 am
My husbands grandmothers name was Edith Gilbey. Her family came over from Ireland and most of them settled in Rutland in Leicestershire. She was born in Rutland approx 1890-1899 are there any Gilbeys out there that we may be related to.
Kathleen
January 23, 2015 at 11:55 am
Kathleen, The only probable Edith I can find is the one shown in the 1901 census. This is Edith Gilby born c1893 Manton, Rutland. Census records show her father was a Thomas Gilby born c1857 Oakham, Rutland and her grandfather was a John Gilby born c1814 Luddington or Liddington, Rutland.
A general census search does show a number of the Gilbey/Gilby family born in Ireland although I have none in the particular branch of my tree. Although I have no records showing the origins of these people, I think it unlikely their roots originated in Ireland. It is more probable that they are decedents of members of the Gilbey/Gilbey family that moved to Ireland for various reasons.
August 29, 2015 at 7:28 pm
My great grandfather came over from Ireland in the 1800s and settled in Hull, East Yorkshire, my grandfather (their son) John had 13 brothers and sisters and grew up in Waterloo Street, Hull. (He was born Nov 1910, died 2000/2001). My mother was one of two children, her sister is Jennifer-Ann.
I don’t know much else except like most of the people here, I’ve never met another Gilbey.
June 16, 2015 at 4:53 pm
my grandfather was a bare fist fighter in Kilburn london john [blackie] gilbey my father told us he was born in hampstead london. and my great greatfather. was born in london if that helps
June 16, 2015 at 5:48 pm
Hello Frances, many thanks for your message.
I am not able to identify this particular persons details from your brief description alone. I was hoping to check you birth out which might help me to work backwards through your tree but there are another seven people who also bear your name making you difficult to identify.
If you could let me have a little more detail like your parents and grandparents names, I now know your grandfathers and when and where they were born, I will try to find out a little more.
November 12, 2015 at 9:08 pm
Hi
I’ve just come across this site as my grandmother was Gilbey and I’d love to know more. I have the family tree going back to 1200
My grandmother Joan Gilbey Akroyd in 1933/4 married my grandfather Gerald best ( who was originally Biederman)
I have snips of information… Sir Walter Gilbey founded the booze business in 1810,
The Gilbey’s produced gin and whiskey, they married Watney ( beer) and Mann (beer) Gonzales bias in Spain ( sherry and brandy)
June 17, 2015 at 11:14 am
Hi Frances
my father boxed for the RAF. We must be a pugnacious bunch.
David Gilbey
October 8, 2015 at 6:29 pm
Hullo to Maryann White- you’re my Great Uncle Christopher’s daughter aren’t you? ! Very interesting to stumble upon this page. Kate Kimber, Leslie Guy Gold’s grand-daughter
November 12, 2015 at 10:51 pm
I wondered if anyone had a picture of the Gilbey crest reading over your messages, there was a mention of the coat of arms, I’d love to see a picture of this!
From what I can see on the family tree… And there’s allot covering, Gilbey, gold, Blyth, and Grinling…
My grandmother Joan Gilbey AKroyd brothers and sisters where pam Betty and Bill, where children of Nina and Arthur Bayley Akroyd, Nina’s parents where Beatrice Gilbey Gold and Arthur Nockolds.
November 14, 2015 at 10:04 am
Hi Rebecca
I have a picture of the crest and DNA results I have had personally. I will send these to your email as an attachment if you send your address to dave.gilbey@ntlworld.com
David Gilbey
November 20, 2015 at 5:30 pm
Gilby from Nova Scotia, looks like Henry Gilby immigrated here from England in early 1800s ?? Born England 1794, died Nova Scotia 1871. Anyone know anything else ?
Thanks
Ritchie Gilby
November 20, 2015 at 7:15 pm
I have seen the Henry Gilby (Gilbe) on a number of family trees on Ancestry. Unfortunately now contain details of his birth other than England in either 1794 or 1820. I have seen the 1971 Canadian census where he gives his age as 77.
If one of the trees I have seen is correct, his wife is a Grace Elliot born c1813 in Nova Scotia. Apparently the couple were married 17 Dec 1844 • Rawdon, 1654153, Nova Scotia, Canada.
I have not been able to find any Immigration, Emigration or Naturalisation documents that might indicate his place of birth in England.
November 20, 2015 at 7:17 pm
that is correct
I have seen all that but that’s as far as I can go
January 12, 2016 at 1:56 pm
Just wondering are any of us Gilbey’s part of the East Yorkshire branch of the family?
January 12, 2016 at 3:35 pm
Hello Jonathan. I am most certain that Gilbey/Gilby’s in Yorkshire are all part of the same family. That is because of the uniqueness of the name. I know some of the Essex Gilby’s moved to areas like Bradford. However I am also aware of another branch of the family living in places like Hull. I have never researched these so I am unable to pinpoint their migration from the main tree. It is quite possible while groups of the family gradually migrated south from their origins in North Lincolnshire, there are equally those that are likely to have moved north from Lincolnshire or even Suffolk.
January 20, 2016 at 1:35 pm
Hi Mick,
for your interest, and all the Gilbey’s out there, I am copying information from a book called “Family Names and Their Story” published in 1913 by Seeley & Co, written by The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould.
Early French Names:
GILBEY, the great wine-merchant, whose crest a dragon issuing from a tower is on every bottle he sells, may derive from Quilleboeuf in Normandy. There is ,however, a Kilby in Leicestershire; and in the Oxford University Register for 1571 is an entry of Richard Gilbye or Kelby of Lincolnshire.
Roll of Battle Abbey:
GILEBOT, from Quillebeouf in Normandy. The family won lands in Brecon, but ruined itself by extravagance. The name became Walbeoffe, and still more recently Gilby.
Fascinating stuff i think
regards
David Gilbey
February 3, 2016 at 10:00 pm
Hello my name is Sharon Gilbey my father was Fredrick Gilbey he was the youngest of 19 children of which 11 survived including dad, his father was John Gilbey nickname Jack, he married Maud Frances Bristow, I can’t tell you when as I do not know, m dad had 8 sisters Doris, Rose, Ivy, Florence, Mill, Violet, Frances, Margaret & 2 brothers Arthur & George. Dad was born in Kilburn 1934 & the family lived in Willesden, Harlesden, Hertfordshire. Grandad was in WW1 he looked after the horses during his time out there! I was told grandad died in the mid/late 50’s. Would any of you be related?
February 3, 2016 at 11:58 pm
Hello Sharon,
I have found a marriage for a John Gilbey and Maud Francis Bristow in 1909 in Hendon. I know your say your fathers name is Frederick but is not uncommon for people to use a different first name other than their birth name often leaving their children believing that their adopted name is their real name.
I think this is reasonably clear these are you parents as children born to this couple after 1911 number 12. There may be others prior to 1911 but before that date, birth records did not record the mothers maiden name against the birth. Of the 12 children, four of them are shown to be twins.
I have looked for his family line using census information and also Family tree information on Ancestry. As the research on the Ancestry trees is not mine I cannot vouch for its accuracy. However having said that it appears your father was born John Gilbey 05 Oct 1899, Willesden, Middlesex. His parents were William Henry Gilbey born 04 Mar 1855 Hampstead/Kilburn and Ann Holiday born about 1856 in Marylebone.
His grandparents were Henry Gilbey born about 1829 Stansted, Essex and Elizabeth Brown born 23 Sep 1829 Hampstead/Kilburn.
That is far as the family tree information runs. There are two main branches of the family tree, my one which is traceable back to Finchingfield, Essex in the early 1700’s and another in the Stanstead area. Branches of both trees also lived in the Stanstead/Saffron Walden Area which sometimes makes things a little confusing. The Stansted branch of the Gilbey family spread their roots there via Cambridge and Suffolk and it is likely the Finchingfield branch also came from Suffolk but records have not yet been located which shows where the two branches are joined. This is likely to have been in the late 1500’s – early 1600’s and a civil war around this time does not help.
I think it likely though that you are descended for the Stansted branch of the family..
February 3, 2016 at 11:07 pm
Hi Sharon
Horses seem to be a common denominator. My Grandfather was in WW1;he was Battalion galloper. He was awarded MM for bravery. His father came from around Great Sampford.
Coincidently my father was Jack.
best regards
David Gilbey
May 19, 2016 at 4:28 am
Hi Mick
I am researching Thomas Gilbey who was born about 1788 and married Ann Bunyon in 1812 at Southwark London. He later had a grocer/tea shop at 10 King St London. In an 1800 record of apprentices, Thomas Gilbey is apprenticed to Robert A Glover, a grocer of Uxbridge. His daughter Lucy married John Vanham Green who was an apprentice to Thomas.
I have been unable to locate his parents, although it is believed that he could be the illegitimate son of Martha Gilby of the Workhouse. and baptised on the 28th December 1787.
Can you shed any light to this family.
regards Peter Clarke
May 19, 2016 at 7:46 pm
Hello Peter, Many thanks for your enquiry. Unfortunately I have not been able to turn up anything more than you have already discovered.
I think you are probably right that Thomas Gilbey was the illegitimate son of Martha Gilby. Although you did not mention which workhouse I understand it was probably Uxbridge in Middlesex. That location at that time was not an area where the main branches of the Gilbey/Gilby family were likely to have been found and leaves question marks over who were likely to have been the parents of Martha Gilby. Other question marks are whether Gilby was Martha’s maiden name or whether she was already married but her son could still be illegitimate even then.
I am sorry I am unable to uncover any more leads.
May 22, 2016 at 9:50 am
Hi Mick
Thank you for the prompt reply. It is interesting that a son of my Thomas Gilby, also a Thomas Glover Gilbey born 1822 at Uxbridge married Caroline Kingston at Bangalore India in 1846 born, as did THOMAS GILBEY (Hezakiah3, Philip2 Gilby, Edward1 Gilby) was born in 1839 in Finchingfield, Essex, England. . He married LOUISE MURCH in 1864 in Madras, India. She was born in 1848 in Bangalore, India. My Thomas later settled on Jersey around 1900,
cheers Peter
July 15, 2016 at 1:58 pm
Hi – my name is Chris Gilbey and my dad was Ron. He was a gunner in WW2. He was born in 1921 in Harringay in London, I believe. My dad’ brother was Leslie and his sister was Phyllis. As far as I know the family were from Essex.
I really enjoyed reading that my genetic history appears to be Viking! And my wife thinks it’s extremely appropriate that there is a connection To the Norse god of grumpiness!
Good work!
CG.
July 15, 2016 at 6:56 pm
Hello Chris,
I have been able to trace your family back to a point.
The birth index shows the following births, all in the registration district of Barnet and all where the mothers surname is Robins.
Phyllis M Gilbey 1920
Ronald CG Gilbey 1921 (Probably your father)
Leslie E Gilbey 1922
Jessie PM Gilbey 1925
Tracing the marriage index there is the marriage in 1919 of John Gilbey, (probably your grandfather), to Annie M Robins again in the Barnet registration district. The full index reference is John Gilbey, Barnet, 3rd quarter, volume 3a, page 1121.
Unfortunately this is where the trail grows cold. To establish who John’s parents were, it would be necessary to purchase the marriage certificate above which should also contain the name of John’s father. The first event prior to the 1919 marriage where John Gilbey is likely to be recorded is the 1911 census. I have checked this but there are a number of potential John Gilbey’s listed in this census and without the fathers name it is not possible to determine which one would be him. Hopefully once the correct John Gilbey has been identified it should be possible to trace back your family tree from there.
I trust the above information is of some help to you.
Michael
October 21, 2016 at 8:15 pm
All very interesting. I have absolutely no idea where I fit into this . However a couple of bizarre coincidence’s . Many years ago I arrived at a garage in Grimsby to deliver some new cars . As I walked into the showroom an announcement said would Paul Gilbey come to reception . As that is my name I duly did just that thinking someone had left a massage ( before mobiles) . After a little confusion it became apparent that Paul Gilbey worked there and had to check the cars . I Paul Gilbey was delivering them . I am now in the process of buying a house in Holton Holgate Lincolnshire. Bizarrely I now find an adjoining property is called Gilby house . And going back to the original research an adjoining village is ashby . Obviously not Scunthorpe strange all the same . Not to mention there’s a Gilbey road in Grimsby. I would say it’s beyond doubt the name is embedded in north Lincolnshire.
October 22, 2016 at 5:15 pm
Hello Paul. Yes I am aware of a number of the extended Gilbey family in the North East but have never got around to trying to find out where they fit into the tree. I know in the mid-1800’s when families were moving from Finchingfield in Essex, some migrated towards London while others moved north to Sheffield with decedents moving onto Durham and Tyne & Wear. I think these might be separate from the Gilbey’s already in the area. In a way, your move to Holton is akin to moving back to your family home.
October 22, 2016 at 5:54 pm
Hi mick yes it is all very convoluted. I was in fact born on the isle of sheppey in Kent . The Gilbey name has been there for some time . The coincidence of life are incredible. The Viking theme is often there . My sister has the classic green and blue eye . I am six two . Having said that our mother was born in Doncaster South Yorkshire. Then again East Yorkshire has strong links to Vikings and Danes along with Orkney and Swale . The isle of sheppey being in Swale . And also claimed to be the first place in Britain where the Danes over wintered. Just to add to the endless coincidence the local town on sheppey is sheerness.until a month ago I had been living in Deerness Orkney and now the local main town is Skegness. ness allegedly is Viking for peninsula. I am sure it all means not much in itself but you sometimes feel that perhaps you are drawn by some gene you are unaware of . Anyway that’s enough hokum. Two other Gilbey anecdotes for you . I once went to Gilbey vintners in Harlow Essex . The site was customs bonded so had strict security. So when I gave my name the security guard refused to believe me ha ha . Thereafter Gilbey vintners moved to new premises just outside of Basingstoke. Shortly after moving there they suffered a huge fire which destroyed the building. Subsequently the damaged building stood for some time fire damaged and the product disappeared. I read that the building had not been insured when they moved forcing the business to close . Having said that recently a Gilbey’s gin has appeared although this does appear not to be the same brand design. I almost forgot this very afternoon I had a builder looking at our new home . I said the land ran across to the river and had frontage all along that side . Oh he said there is a lot of history here the Vikings used to navigate inland up that river . When we were at school we had to do field trips here . You just couldn’t make it up could you . Anyway I digress from the purpose of the page but I hope the above is at least entertaining regards Paul .
November 2, 2016 at 2:31 pm
Hi Paul
I had a DNA test done. They analised my specimen as I1. 45% of eastern Norwegians and 35% of western Swedes have the same.
regards
David Gilbey
November 29, 2016 at 1:58 pm
I am Keith Gilbey, son of Steven Gilbey, who is the 13th child of Alexander Gilbey – I have traced this family line back to Job Dent Gilbey of stanstead in Essex. Does anyone have anymore.
November 29, 2016 at 2:09 pm
By the way, the Spanish look is actually Portuguese according to my research. Descended from the Ryall family (formerly Corte Royale) . John Ryall is commemorated by a plaque at Avonmouth church.
April 6, 2017 at 5:22 pm
Hello all,
I have just been testing the veracity of my extensive family history against my DNA results. I have a 4th cousin match to a Peter Gilbee. I recalled that the name Gilbey appeared in a family line on my mother’s side, and decided that, as both names are relatively uncommon, they would probably be variations of the same. The location for a Bell/Gilbey link is Southery in the fens, a place where I have many family links and it fits with a likely drift from the parish of Pilham in links. I therefore think it highly probable that Gille, who may have founded the deserted village of Gilby in Lincs accounts for some of my reported Scandinavian/ and possibly Finish/Russian / DNA. On the whole I am impressed with the consistent links between pre-ancestry co.uk results and recent DNA test.
April 7, 2017 at 7:12 pm
Hello John, Many thanks for your input.
Your contribution is most interesting and tends to confirm the growing synopsis that it is likely that the Gilbey/Gilby family as we know it did spread from Gilby Village and Pilham in Lincolnshire after first settling from Scandinavia.
Although Gilby Village has long since gone, I believe the field it stood in is still called Gilby.
April 7, 2017 at 8:50 pm
Hi all just a note . I went and found the site of Gilby village last December. I cannot confirm the name of the field . However the adjacent farm is called Gilby farm . So pretty much the same thing .
April 7, 2017 at 9:40 pm
From my perspective the link between DNA and previous research-not led initially by ancestry.co.uk is compelling. I really believe this to be the most likely scenario.
July 29, 2017 at 6:51 am
My entire family were born in North Lincolnshire. Suppose we never travelled far. Although some of us have made up for lost time. We now live in Canada
July 29, 2017 at 1:05 pm
i see you spell Gilby the same a shift my family Darren
where do you live in Canada
we are in NS
i am 7th generation since coming to canada
Henry Gilby is as far back as i can trace
July 29, 2018 at 5:19 pm
Sorry for the long time in responding.
Our Gilby clan emigrated to Victoria BC. My two sisters offspring don’t carry the Gilby name and I only have a daughter who is also now married. Therefore the Gilby name is not likely to advance in Victoria. My Uncle David, who emigrated to Victoria in the early 1970’s has a son Christian, who now lives in Southern California. His boy’s will continue the lineage down there. Also a daughter Helen (lives in Victoria and married).
Where about in England did your ancestor, Henry Gilby, emigrate from?
My Great grandfather, Alfred Thomas Gilby is reported to have been from Great Yarmouth I believe. He traveled to Grimsby and became a successful fish merchant. His son Alfred Thomas II continued in the business but died prematurely at 46. His eldest son Alfred Thomas III (my fathers eldest brother) was killed while coming home after WWII when the plane he was travelling home in was struck by lightening and crashed. He is buried in Avignon southern France. This appears to have started the chain of events which lead to the death of all 3 Alfred Thomas’s within 18 months. Circa 1955ish. I am the eldest of the next generation of Gilby’s. But it was felt that the Alfred Thomas name had become jinxed with misfortune therefore I wasn’t chosen to continue the name.
I am the only son of Colin Gilby who lives in Victoria district, born 1936. He was the 3rd son of Alfred Thomas II. His older brother John, who passed 3 years ago, has a son Alan, presently residing in Grimsby (no Children) and a daughter Micheala (also no kids) married and changed names. The 4th son of Alfred Thomas II was David Gilby. The uncle I mentioned who 1st travelled to Canada. Finally there is Steve Gilby the 5th son who still resides in Grimsby. He has 3 sons. Richard, Philip and Robert. I know they all have kids but I don’t know much about where they live or how many children they have. Some of the kids are old enough to also have started families. I haven’t seen Richard and Philip since I emigrated in 1982 when they were about 12-14 years old.
September 25, 2021 at 2:59 am
It is good to see another Darren Gilby in the world. I am from Victoria but in Australia.
My Gilby line traces back to around Cambridgeshire (Castle Camps area)
October 5, 2021 at 10:58 pm
Hi Darren, I am Natalie Gilbey- from NSW, Australia 🙂 I’ve never met another (indirectly related) Gilbey in Australia. Do you have any information as to when we came from Essex to Australia?
October 6, 2021 at 12:29 am
Well I suppose I am going to have to stop singing “there’s only one Darren Gilby” lol. Ironical how we both live in a place called Victoria even if one is a city and the other a state.
July 28, 2018 at 1:24 am
My nan surname was Alexander then she married Charles Gilbey they got married in barking Essex then they had four children which one was my dad dennis Gilbey who was born 15/08/1934 who had four children with Elizabeth Williams i am Michael Gilbey 15/12/1962 i yhen married ria nunez 13/12/1975 we had a child Michelle gilbey 16/05/2010
July 29, 2018 at 12:12 am
Hello Michael, many thanks for your message. I have been using the information you supplied about your family to try to trace where your branch of the family sits into the main family tree. Your grandfather Charles Daniel Gilbey married Lilian Gladys Alexander.Charles Daniel was born in Plaistow, West Ham in 1901 and was the son of Henry Gilbey c1863 Plaistow and Kate Elizabeth Tansley c1863 Westminster.
Henry Gilbey was the son of Esau Gilbey c1831 Stansted, Essex and Mary A (Surname unknown).
That is where I come to something of a brick wall at the moment. I do have the family of Esau and his descendants as a separate branch on my family tree, (not on this site), but I do not have further information to link them to the main tree. Also there were two main branches of the Gilby/Gilbey tree that moved south from Suffolk in about the 1600’s. One branch moved into north west Essex which Is my branch and the other moved through to the Stansted area via Cambridgeshire The Stansted area tends to create some research difficulties as it is where these two main branches of the tree impinge on one another.
I trust this information is of some use to you.
January 15, 2020 at 11:48 am
Hello Michael
I can supply a little more information. Esau Gilbey married Mary Ann Lawrence in 1862. .
My Grandfather William George Gilbey b1894 was also the son of Henry Gilbey and Elizabeth Kate Tansley. His sister was Kate Elizabeth Butterworth nee Gilbey b1902
William married Caroline Louisa Hodder in April 1918 and had 5 children including my mother Ethel Lillian Gilbey b 1923. My mother married James Gallacher and had 4 children of which I am the third. I am only beginning to research the Gilbey family tree so thank you for the information.
March 27, 2019 at 6:20 am
Hello,
My grandmothr was an Australian Gilby. The line goes like this.
1882 Henry F – Australia
1850 Frederick – Weston Colville, Cambridgeshire
1816 William – Weston Colville
1779 Thomas – Ashley cum Silverly, Cambridgeshire
1753 Thomas – Kirtling, Cambridgeshire
1727 William – Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire
1682 George – Castle Camps
1649 Francis – Castle Camps
1601 Peter – Shundy Camps
1558 John – Shundy Camps
Although I am not convinced about the last 2 but I think it is probable.
So this is the Cambridgeshire line. I am assuming, from reading some of the above messages that they don’t come directly from your Essex line?
Any other Gilby’s here that might be related?
Thanks
Marcia
March 27, 2019 at 11:24 am
Hello Marcia, many thanks for your message and information. Yes you are correct that this particular family line is a different one from my own but only up to a point. Your pre-1700 ancestors are the ones that I believe are the most likely to be connected with my part of the Gilbey/Gilby tree. I have looked for possible records in Kirtling and the Shundy and Castle Camps areas. So far I have found no documents to support this but that does not mean they were not connected. There have been various attempts at record keeping of B,M,D’s since Henry VIII but not always that successfully. Many records were originally kept on parchment and these have been lost, destroyed or subject to deterioration over the years. Another main factor was the English Civil War where the maintaining of Bishops Transcripts was often neglected.
What I am looking for is a person named Edward with a son also named Edward born around 1680-1700 to establish that link. There is one such couple in Kirtling, but other records show the son named Edward marrying someone else and the dates eliminate the possibility him being my missing link. I shall not stop trying to find that link though.
Regards
Mick Gilbey
September 25, 2021 at 3:16 am
Hi Marica
I am the great-grand son of Fredrick Gilby. My Grandfather was Henry’s brother Ernst.
October 5, 2021 at 11:02 pm
I could be related, Marcia. Am I reading correctly that there is a Cambridge and an Essex lineage?
August 25, 2019 at 2:02 pm
This is awesome reading all the effort gone into the history. My name is Natalie Elizabeth Gilbey and I’m in Australia.
My grandafther, Barry John Gilbey (b. 1948), has researched his bloodline extensively and everything that you have all written matches with what he had shown me before he passed. I’m trying to get a hold of the rest of the lineage, though can anyone help me make connections?
August 25, 2019 at 3:44 pm
Hello Natalie, many thanks for your enquiry. I have already tried researching details of your grandfather and it would appear the Australian Government no longer allowed this information to be researched online for free. If anything, to me, it now appears to have transformed into a money making exercise. It also appears there is a 100 year embargo on researching births records. This means any hope I had of finding who you grand fathers parents were and researching backward from there have become non-existent.
I have not found your grandfather in any existing family trees on Ancestry which might have offered an insight. The only other possibility open for research would appear to be your personal knowledge. If you have any information as to your Gilbey great grandparents, their names, when and were they were born etc that would be useful. Ultimately the objective would be to try and find a emigration/immigration record, shipping record or the like, showing who your ancestor was that originally emigrated to Australia, presumably from England. Hopefully if that information can be located, then it may be possible to link them in to the appropriate branch of the family tree.
October 5, 2021 at 11:04 pm
Hi Mick, I’ve found my history. I’m just replying now so when I get a reply the email notification will remind me to upload what I have haha I believe my grandfather had everything up to his grandparents, plus maybe one more generation
November 14, 2019 at 12:53 pm
Hi there I have noticed a few times that a English man who died in 9/11 was a John gilbey if my memory doesn’t fail me does anyone know if this is a relation I wonder every year around that time
Thanks
Lynnette martin
November 14, 2019 at 4:42 pm
I think it was a Paul Gilbey . I have been mistaken for him by a couple of people who I knew Years ago and thought it was me at the time . He was from Brentwood in Essex U.K. I believe. So quite possibly in the loop as it were . I don’t know if that helps .
November 14, 2019 at 5:47 pm
Hello Lynette & Paul. It was a Paul Gilbey that died in the twin towers incident. I did look him up and although I cannot remember the details off-hand, he was a member of our greater tree.
I also remember there was a national outcry when US immigration officials wanted to deport his wife as the work permit Paul had died with. They also had a child born in the US but I think authorities wanted to deport her alone as the child had US rights. I found the following link below which gives details of the case.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/9-11-heros-widow-can-stay-in-us/
May 23, 2022 at 12:04 pm
Hello, I am just curious where you got the information about Gilby apparently being an ancient Norse god of grumpiness? I have not been able to find any information in my research and I would like to do some more investigation about this.
May 23, 2022 at 12:44 pm
Hello Jason. I was once informed of this by someone who had read it in a book about the Vikings or Norsemen. I have never been able to find a reference to it either online, but then not everything in books is online. It was that long ago that I cannot remember the book that was mentioned.
May 23, 2022 at 1:56 pm
This may help Gil ,gille or gyl is a Norse name and Bu Byr is norse or old English for Homestead . So for Example gilbu is gils farm . So in lincolnshire there is a site of an abandoned medieval village founded by the vikings and abandoned during the black death Gilby village near Pilham . The name Gilbey is most prominent in the East of England where gilby village is located. It is generally accepted to be a person from this village who has the surname Gilby,gilbey, Gilbert . Paul from Gilby for example. The explanation for the variants in the spelling is that when the clergy recorded births and deaths most were people illiterate. ( some things never Change) hence the the E was added or excluded because of phonetics . This still happens to me regularly even know . I can’t say this is the decisive explanation but it is the most credible one . Gilbey is still a very rare surname in England even in the east it’s origin where I live and is almost nonexistent in most counties in the U.K .
May 23, 2022 at 6:05 pm
I’ve been fascinated by the research you have provided. Thank you. In my youth I travelled weekly from my home out side of Grimsby to Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, for work. I was once in a motorcycle accident in a village called Blyton which, it turns out, is near spitting distance to where Gilby was once located. Actually at the turn off to Gilby from Blyton. If I ever get the chance I will make that turn and look out for the fields where Gilby once was. Though now living across the world it’s not quite down the road as it once was. Darren Gilby
May 23, 2022 at 9:55 pm
Small world . many years ago I delivered a full load of Ford cars to a garage in Grimsby . As I walked into the showroom ( pre mobile phone days ) over the tannoy an announcement said would Paul Gilbey report to reception. I assumed my firm had phoned so headed to the reception desk. as I approached the girl said he’s just coming to check the cars in I replied someone is asking for me . she gave me a confused look and said who . I said I don’t know has someone phoned for me you asked me to come to the desk . looking a bit perplexed she said no I didn’t. so I said as I came in you called for Paul Gilbey to come to the reception . Yes to check your cars off at which point a chap arrives beside me and said How many for us , she said he’s Paul gilbey and I said so am I . HA Ha and when I left I passed Gilbey Road . you couldn’t make it up .
May 24, 2022 at 3:18 am
I know Gilbey road well and my cousin Allan worked in the auto industry in Grimsby for many years. Just as a small coincidence my middle name is Paul. No kidding