The KIBBEY surname (and its variants, such as KIBBY and KEBBY) is most prevalent in Somerset and Eastern Devon. In the course of my research I have attempted to extract all the KIBB(E)Y entries in Boyd's Marriage Index for Devon, Somerset and Dorset pre-1837, in the indexes of birth/marriage/death 1837-1903 and of Wills/Admons 1863-1940 for England and Wales. I am happy to use this information to assist other researchers.

My own ancestors come from Tiverton in Devon (see map and GenUKI page) and seem to have been a distinct family group since at least 1698 when Thomas KIBBEY married Susannah RAWLEY alias HOLLYDAGGAR. My earliest provable KIBBEY ancestor is Benjamin, a Tiverton weaver, who married Mary HAYMAN at Cullompton in 1754. They had 10 children, one of whom (John) became a soldier and fought in Portugal and Spain during the Napoleonic War. The eldest, Benjamin, married first Ann WORTH and later Elizabeth DODD. Ann's eldest surviving son was the third successive Benjamin KIBBEY, and he married an Irish girl called Catherine. By now (early 1800s) the woollen industry in Tiverton had given way to the production of mechanised lace. The KIBBEYs close association with the lace industry began in 1819 when both Benjamin 3rd and his son Benjamin 4th, and later his other sons William and Samuel, gained employment in the lace factory. Over the subsequent 140 years Benjamin 3rd's descendants retained an unbroken link with Tiverton and its lace factory as lacemakers, menders, bleachers, folders, accountants etc.

Benjamin 4th married a Barnstaple girl, Catherine POPHAM, and they had a large family. Their daughter Catherine married into the prosperous Tiverton HUXTABLE family. Their son Charles became a railway worker who left Tiverton for the Newton Abbot area. Charles' twin sons Samuel and Reuben respectively founded a branch of the family in New York State, USA, and became a successful builder in London. Another of Charles' sons, William Charles, became a Baker in West Teignmouth.

Benjamin 4th's son Benjamin 5th, a Wood Turner, married Jane GLENDINING before they left Tiverton for Peterborough together with his brother Edwin, an Engine Fireman. Edwin married Lucy KNIGHTON and raised a family in March, Cambridgeshire. Benjamin 5th's son, Benjamin 6th, became a Printer who eventually married Emma FLEMING from Epping and settled in Derby.

Benjamin 3rd's brother Thomas married Maria STOKER. His son William became a Tailor and settled in Dorchester, where his descendants can still be found today. Another son, Thomas, was a Tiverton shoemaker, and his sons included Walter and William who joined the Royal Navy.

A outline family tree for this family is available here.

I have written a history of this KIBBEY family (including all of their known descendants up to 1900) which was one of the prizewinning entries in the Insitute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies' Millennium competition. Copies were deposited in the following archives: The Society of Genealogists in London, the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies in Canterbury and Tiverton Museum in Devon. A limited number were also distributed by private circulation.

A list of links to some relevent websites (mainly U.S.) is maintained at "KIBBE Connections", and includes an interesting discussion of the origin of the surname.

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updated: 12 Aug 2007