Filby One-Name Study

(Click on picture to enlarge) The Filby Association

Filby
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Filby One-Name Study
Origin of the surname
Historical occurrences
Frequency of the name
Data
Links
Contact Details

About the Filby One-Name Study

The Filby Association

An organization of people the world over with the surname of FILBY or its variants, FILBEY, FILBEE, PHILBY or PHILBEY devoted to furthering the study of the name derived from the village of FILBY, Norfolk, England - the genealogy of the various families with this name and the support of the Parish Church at Filby.

There are no annual dues or assessments but anyone desiring to help the Association through donations should contact the Treasurer. Family data will be welcome as research is encouraged on a hobby basis.

The Association is not incorporated and is a not-for-profit organization.

Honorary Officers of the Association

Mary Elizabeth Filby President

James (Jim) Filby Manager/Web Master

Ruth Smith Secretary

Walter (Wally) Filby Treasurer

Marion Filby Researcher/Chronicle Editor/GOONS Rep

Christine Williams Researcher

Geoff Clark Researcher

Donald (Don) Filby USA/Canada Correspondent

Dr Donald (Don) Barry Australasian Correspondent

Origin of the surname

The Surname Filby

It is to be remembered that a name such as 'John de Filby' means John of Filby or John from Filby, and it is the SECOND of these alternatives which is the real meaning i.e. someone living in a place 'other than the village of FILBY ? but who has come from there. This probably explains why the name Filby is found all over England and the world, except in the village of Filby itself, as few return having spread their wings.

Earliest Parish Records of Filby’s

FILBIES MANOR was some 30 miles south/west of the present village of FILBY, near the small town of Diss, and this is probably the reason why the earliest Filby record of baptism and marriage to be found in Norfolk were at the nearby Parish of Dickleburgh, it reads:

'On October 22nd 1544 a Nicholas ffylbye took unto himself Elizabeth Gobbert as a bride and sired four sons Nicholas on May 1st 1546; William on February 2nd 1548; Thomas on August 21st 1550 and Stephen on November 18th 1552.' Such may have been the beginnings of many Filby’s.

N.B. the small “ff” was the way in which the capital “F” was written in those days.

Historical occurrences

Filby Coat of Arms

The Blazon of Arms of the ancient family 'de FILBY' was found in records at the Norwich Library and is taken from the book 'The Norfolk Armoury' by Benjamin Mackerell, (ref, Vol.2 page 81).

The Filby Association received authority for its use from the Norfolk and Norwich Record Office, and a copy of the blazon was prepared and posted in All Saints Church at the village of Filby during the family’s 1971 gathering., a copy of which is shown above.

Short Association History

1961 Ellsworth Lincoln Filby of Kansas USA started his research.

1962 Mary Filby of Kings Lynn, Norfolk started to assist him in his Research, and is now our President

1964/6 Ellsworth visited England to gather information from church records in Norfolk & Suffolk.

1968 The Association was formed by Ellsworth and the homecoming held on 22nd November held in Filby village, attended by 250 people.

The Association founded “Saga” a newsletter sent out yearly to members, this is now known as the “Filby Association Chronicle”

1969 The Association expanded with Frederick N Filby as British Coordinator and Mary Filby as Secretary.

1971 The first Reunion on 4th July. These Reunions are now held every 3 years at Filby Church & afterwards at Filby village hall with smaller gatherings each year at Filby Church.

1978 Frederick N Filby helped to establish the “Guild Of One Name Studies” (GOONS) and the “East of London Family History Society'. He was also the first President of the “Guild Of One Name Studies”

Frequency of the name

The only records we have of the number of Filby’s all spellings living in England & Wales at any onetime come from the “1881 census 1,048” & the “1901 census 1,296”

We do not have figures for the rest of the World but we have members in the following countries – USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Germany and France.

Data

Filby Association Records

In our Records we have a total of 131 trees of which some are joined into 72 FTM (Family Tree Maker) files, which contain over 6,400 names.

We also hold records from a number of sources. These are held on the Custodian 3 Database, this database now contains over 19,000 entries plus we hold a large number of Birth, Marriage, & Death certificates, plus other documents.

These records are not freely available, but if you are researching your Filby family line we could help you to add data to your research and your family tree, and in turn you could add further to our research data.

Links

Filby Association Web Site http://www.filby.org.uk

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Marion Filby
E-mail:

This page last updated 25 February 2008.