John "of Joseph" Hanby

• Probably a descendant of Richard Hamby/Hanby Richard Hanby, of Northampton , but descent is not provable due to the family having become landless and very poor by the mid-18th century.
• Birth date is guesswork. He was at least 21 in 1809.
• Probably related to the John Hanby who married twice-widowed Sukey Hunt on 12 April 1830.
• Had at least one son, John J. Hanby, born 1814.
• Probably had an older son named William, born c. 1810.

John Hanby "of Joseph" appears on Northampton County, VA tax rolls for the first time in 1811. Implies a birth date c. 1790 or a bit earlier (and another John Hanby with whom he should not be confused), but this is not a certainty.

A John Hanby - Ann K. Blomquist thinks he is this one - appears on the 1820 census with 1 son under 10 [John J. Hanby, born c. 1814], 1 son [the presumed William] under 16, 3 daughters all under 10, and self and wife between age 27 and 45. (Also 11 slaves!)

There were several John Hanbys on the Eastern Shore of Virginia during the early 19th century, none of them of much importance and most of them too poor to pay any taxes. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult to sort out the relationships among them, and between them and other persons with the surname Hanby (or for that matter Handy).

The will of Bridget Hanby (second wife of Joseph Hanby) provides a few hints. A John Hanby administered Joseph's estate in 1817 and witnessed her will in 1824; she left her Bible to "my grandson William Hanby" (who was almost certainly a step-grandson, as Bridget does not seem to have had any children of her own, at least not Hanby children). This suggests not only that John Hanby was Joseph's son, but that his own oldest son was named William.