Abraham Darby the Elder

Wikipedia Biographical Summary:

"...Abraham Darby I (14 April 1678 – 8 March 1717) was the first, and most famous, of three generations with that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal. This was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution..."

"...Abraham Darby was the son of John Darby, a yeoman farmer and locksmith by trade, and his wife, Ann Baylies. He was born at Wrens Nest, Woodsetton, near Sedgley, Staffordshire, just across the county boundary from Dudley. He was descended from nobility, his great-grandmother .geni.com/people/Jane-Tomlinson/6000000010457704198 Jane] having been an illegitimate child of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley..."

"...Darby was apprenticed in Birmingham to Jonathan Freeth, a malt mill maker and fellow Quaker. Freeth encouraged Darby to become an active member in the Society of Friends, and he remained so all his life. In 1699, when he completed his apprenticeship, he married Mary Sergeant (1678-1718) and moved to Bristol, where he set himself up as a malt mill maker..."

"...Abraham Darby died in 1717, at his home, Madeley Court, Madeley, Shropshire, after 18 months' illness. He was only thirty-nine. He had built a house for himself in Coalbrookdale but did not live to occupy it. He was buried in the Quaker burial-ground at Broseley, Shropshire. His widow died only a few months later..."

"...Darby's death left the affairs of the business in a mess. His own shares were mortgaged to Thomas Goldney, who then exchanged the debt for eight shares (of 16) in the business. Richard Ford, who married Abraham's daughter Mary had two shares and became manager, but on the widow's death Baylies took out letters of administration as a creditor and sought to sell the works. Darby’s eldest son, Abraham Darby II, was only six years old and his two brothers younger still. Accordingly their uncle Joshua Sergeant bought back some of the shares on behalf of the Darby children. The children were sent away to school, and Abraham II began assisting in the management of the works in 1728 and he was awarded four shares in the company in 1732..."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'Abraham Darby I', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 May 2011, 14:15 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_Darby_I&oldid=429...> [accessed 26 July 2011]

eponym of David C. H. Austin's Abraham Darby rose cultivar (links here and here) and Abraham Darby Climbing rose cultivars (link here)

li.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalbrookdale#Industrial_Revolution

inventors.about.com/od/britishinventions/a/AbrahamDarby.htm .sedgleymanor.com/people/abraham_darby.html
sedgleymanor.com/people/dud_dudley.html
www.cottontimes.co.uk/darbyo.htm

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• Source: pennyghael.org.uk