K/NIBB/S One Name Study
		Introduction

ON THIS PAGE K/NIBB/S includes: KNIB KNIBB KNIBS KNIBBS NIB NIBB NIBS NIBBS or KNYB etc	Let me stress that the differently spelt surnames within the Study are interchangeable.  The spelling generally depended on the one familiar to the local parish clergyman.  There is positive evidence that changes took place from father to child (and indeed between children of the same family) - most commonly KNIBB to KNIBBS .  In some families this carried on until well into the Nineteenth Century.

The K/NIBB/S One Name Study has at its centre a computerised database details of which are given in the next section.  The database is restricted to those with the surname of K/NIBB/S and their spouses.  Call me a chauvinist, if you will, but the offspring of female K/NIBB/S are not included - I has to draw the line somewhere.  Exceptionally, I do have a separate database of all the known descendants of the Jamaican Missionary and Emancipationist William KNIBB, whose male offspring did not reach maturity.

My wife, Michèle, is the first cousin, seven times removed of William KNIBB.  The person who established this originally was Michael PEARMAN, also a relation.  Michael and I are convinced that there must be a connection, howsoever remote, between William KNIBB and the earlier KNIBB Family of Clockmakers.  We having failed through traditional research techniques to find the connection, I decided to carry out the One Name Study; hence the obscure motto 'Time to Pray'?!

Along the way, various other notables have been encountered eg Richard Henry NIBBS, the Brighton Marine Painter, Sir George KNIBBS, the Australian diplomat, Thomas KNIBB, a composer of hymns, James Langford NIBBS, who applied for and was granted a Coat of Arms in 1759 and an as yet unproven link to Thomas A'BECKET!

I have endeavoured to build up family trees of all these but the database's real strength is in the myriad of ordinary individuals and families with no pretensions to fame or fortune.  How rewarding then to find out all about William NIBBS, a swing rioter, whose story is told within these pages.

Eventually it may be possible to publish the contents of the full database and provide access on-line but until the trees are verified and complete, I hesitate to do so.  In any event, let me assure you that no details of living individuals appear on the website without their express consent.  That applies now and at any time in the future.

The ancestors of most K/NIBB/S are to be found in England, although there are others from continental Europe, with German sounding and spelt names eg KNIPP and KNIBBE.  These are generally beyond the scope of the One Name Study though I would be very happy to see someone else take up the cudgels and do research on the Continent of Europe - who knows we might find some proven links.  Some researchers would contend that the earliest K/NIBB/S in England came over as fleeing Huguenots from France but I have found no concrete evidence of this.  A separate section deals with the likely origins of the surname.  Some KNIBBs were emancipated slaves in the West Indies who adopted the name in gratitude to the legacy of William KNIBB.

As might be expected, therefor, the contents of the database are heavily weighted towards England.  In order of magnitude, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex and Buckinghamshire are the Counties containing most K/NIBB/S.  Nevertheless the New World features in the database with extensive family trees in the USA (from 1632 to date!), Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Later sections of the website include a Dossier of research materials available, selected Family Trees and a List of K/NIBB/S researchers.  A Response Form is provided to specifically invite suggestions, contributions and criticisms, hopefully to improve the website and its effectiveness - there is also an exchange of names facility.

The K/NIBB/S Mailing List commenced some time ago for discussion of anything KNIBB, KNIBBS or NIBBS.  There are over 75 participants worldwide.  To join, just send an e-mail to [email protected] with no heading and the word "subscribe" without the quotes and nothing else in the body text of the message. As a bonus to those who join and share their family history with us, a couple of major databases are available and you will be assured of help from all participants.

No charges are required for searches of the database but reciprocal offers of help are much appreciated.

Ideally please send me literally any K/NIBB/S information that you have in your possession eg for K/NIBB/S researchers, not just your own K/NIBB/S family but any details of others that you must have gleaned from your researches or contacts.  Have you sent me all yours?   They will be of benefit to others.   You can send by using the Response form, by e-mail via the Mailing List

The website is updated regularly to report on genealogical progress and to provide items of interest to fellow researchers together with anyone else who might surf in and choose to stay.   If there is enough support, another gathering of family and friends of the Study will be arranged - click here to check out previous Gatherings.

The latest innovation is the setting up of a Group Site at Genealogywise to attract more K/NIBB/S.  In time this will doubtless supplant the Yahoo! Group maintained by Robyn LEEDS on our behalf.  The purpose of the Group facilities is also to be able to share files and photos amongst researchers.  This overcomes a limitation of the Mailing List.  Here's a link, if you would still like to join the Yahoo Group.

For those interested, the website was created originally on an Atari Falcon computer using the Crystal Atari Browser(CAB) by Application System Heidelberg (ASH).  I should also thank the magazine Practical Internet for the free BUILD A WEB SITE GUIDE which accompanied Issue 32.  It took me somewhat longer than 24 hours but the book proved to be invaluable to me as a novice in HTML coding and understanding what is required to get a site on-line.  Lately most additions to the website have been made using a PC and nothing more sophisticated than "Notepad" but the database itself still resides on my Atari which is in daily use.

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