Powys-Lybbe Forbears - Person Sheet
Powys-Lybbe Forbears - Person Sheet
NameJohn Girle FRS
Birthca 1702
Death5 Jul 1761
BurialBeenham, Berks
GeneralSurgeon at St Thos: 1731-1749. FRS: 1754. Of Lincoln's-Inn-Fields and Beenham, Berks.
FatherJohn Girle (ca1675-1715)
MotherElizabeth Blunt (ca1678-)
Spouses
FatherJohn Slaney (ca1683-ca1720)
Marriage9 May 1734
ChildrenJohn (ca1735-1746)
 Caroline (1738-1817)
Notes for John Girle FRS
Memorial in Beenham church, Berks, quoted by Emily J Climenson:

"This monument was erected by Mrs Girle in memory of her deceased husband John Girle, Esquire, late of Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, London, Surgeon, who having early in life acquired an ample fortune, the just reward of superior eminence, and unremitting diligence in his profession, indulged himself in the pleasing prospect of humanity, the relief of the distresses, and infirmities, of his indigent fellow-creatures, an office which the goodnes of his heart made him ever undertake with readiness, and which the skill of his hand enabled him generally to execute with success.  But this pious purpose was broken off by his death, which happened July 5th, 1761, in the 59th year of his age.  He married the daughter of John Slaney, of Worcestershire, by whom he left an only daughter, married to Philip Lybbe Powys, Esquire, of Hardwick, Oxon."

She also quotes the burial register:

"John Girle, Esq., of Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, Middlesex, buried July 13, 1761."
"Affidavit made according to Act Woollen"
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VCH Berks, vol 3, pp. 277.9, has this on Beenham church:

The tithes came by marriage to Philip Lybbe Powys, who sold them in 1802 to Sir Charles Rich. (fn. 80)

Probably this was the marriage Caroline Girle.
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The Royal Society has this record on him:
Name: Girle, John
Gender: male
Death: 05 July 1761
Profession: Surgeon
Career: Surgeon, St Thomas's Hospital, London (1731-1749)
Membership: Fellow
Election date: 7.02.1754
Sources: Bulloch's Roll
Citation: John Girle of Lincoln's Inn Fields Esqr
late Surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital
A Gentleman well known to the World by his great Abilities and Eminence in his Profession being desirous of becoming a fellow of the Royal Society
We whose names are underwritten do upon our personal knowledge recommend him as highly deserving that honour And likely to make an useful member of this society.
Proposers
: N Munckley, John Belcher, Saml Sharp, Joseph Warner, Chars Feake, D Wray, M Akenside, Tho Birch, Saml Wegg, Robert Watson.
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TFPL, March 2003: Stephen Marks and Margot Girle have come up with some interesting materials on his marriage, or rather on the events leading up to it.

On 17th May 1734 there was a court case to allow Barbara Slany [sic] to marry John Girle.  This was because Alice Slaney had taken the three children into her care, in a court order, in May 1730 when the children were reported to be aged 12 for Barbara, and 9 for Mary.  Quite why their mother Barbara Slaney, widow and née Mitford had to have the children taken off her, we do not, as yet, know.  It was heard before the Master of the Rolls on 2nd May 1730 (or so).
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April 2003: His name, and one Henry Girle's, was on a certificate with the Bank of England for £1,600 of stock.  His widow then presented the probate information to the Bank and the stock was then declared to be the property of the survivor of he and Henry.  In other words the ownership was a tontine.
His address was given as Lincoln Inns Fields and Henry was a merchant of Six (or Sise) Lane.
The significance of this is that Henry Girle of Sise Lane was the Ancestor of the large family of Girles many of whom now live in Australia.  So this establishes a strong link between the two families, ours, the surgeons and Henry's the wine merchants.
But any common ancestry has yet to be established.

Here's the text of the Bank of England record:

B761
Whereas there are £1600 of Anns. 1756 standing in the joint names of:
  John Girle of Lincoln's Inn Fields Esq &
  Henry Girle of Sise Lane merchant
Since the acceptance of which, the said John Girle is deceased as appears by the Probate of his last Will and Testament dated Doctors Coms. 15 July 1761 granted to Barbara Girle the Widow of the deceased & Sole Executrix of his last Will dfated the 3d Feb: 1754.  The said Annuities are at the Disposal of the Survivor in right of his survivorship.
   Regd. 28th July 1761 P Stonehouse
N 139
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TFPL, Aug 2011: The following copy of a note from Stephen Powys Marks to a correspondent of his shows that there is some more precise data that is on its way (and eagerly awaited):

------------  Start of extract  ------------

I like to refer to the two surgeons John Girle as JG1 (your first  
item) and JG2 (your second). Now emerging is a third John Girle (your  
third item), whom I will refer to as JG3, though he plays no  
significant part in the story personally, except for dying so young,  
thus critically affecting the inheritance of the Lybbe and Girle  
fortunes, and the line of descent of Powyses.

The Daily Courant date comes out correctly as a Monday from my chart,  
so I seem to have got the knack of using it. From this item we can  
deduce that "Mr Girle" (JG2) was married on Thursday 9th May, though I  
have seen a record somewhere which says 7th May.

Your third item refers to "Master Girle", aged 12, dying on "Tuesday  
Morning". As the issue of St James's Evening Post has dates which I  
can interpret as being on Tuesday and Thursday, I consider that the  
day of death is that same Tuesday rather than a week earlier, so we  
can say that the death of JG3 occurred on Dec 30th 1746. The existence  
and name of JG3 was already known as he was named as John Girle in a  
codicil to the will of his great-grandmother Alice B. Slaney; this  
codicil was dated 4th March 1735/6, providing a legacy of £50. We can  
therefore place the birth of JG3 as occuring after December 30th 1735  
and before the codicil which would in practice allow a birth date in  
January or February. All of these possible dates would come within the  
official year 1735, and if in Jan or Feb we would now refer to it as  
1735/36. Caroline Girle was born on December 27th 1738 (after 1752 her  
birthday moved to January 7th ~ officially she had no birthday at all  
in 1752). In a list of various burials there is one for "John Girle"  
in "Hart" in "1746" (which would cover burial at the beginning of  
1746/47); Hart would be St Olave Hart Street which was round the  
corner from where JG2 was living at the time, so this is certainly the  
right entry for JG3. By the time that JG2 made his will in 1754  
Caroline was the only child to be mentioned, as his male heir had  
already died.

------------  End of extract  ------------

Stephen has also done a load of work trying to establish whether JG1 and JG2, as he calls them, were one or two people.

On 10 July 2002 he received a letter from I G Nunery (?) the Archivist of the Worshipful Company of Barbers in which he found from his records that JG1 was admitted to the Freedom of this company on June 15th 1697.  He aslo found that JG2 was apprenticed to William Cheseldon, a noted exponent of osteopathy, on 2nd December 1718.  On 7th December 1725 he was admitted to the freedom of the Company and immediately awarded the Great Diploma, licensing him to practice and then elected to Livery on the same day.

JG2 was subsequently active in the training of surgeons and there are records of this.  The Archivist also stated that the Royal College of Surgeons halds the records of the Company of Surgeons for 1745-1800, which mayshow up more information on JG2.

I think this is conclusive that there were three John Girles, including the young son of JG2 who died, above, in 1746.
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Arms Generally notes for John Girle FRS
Arms: gules on a cross engraved or, a pellet - EJC, in the Diaries.

Burke's armory: Arms: Gules, a cross engrailed or.  Crest: A garb or.
Armorial Blazon notes for John Girle FRS
Gules on a cross engrailed or, a pellet.
Blazon source notes for John Girle FRS
EJC, in the Diaries with Burke's Armory.
Notes for John & Barbara (Family)
No record has been found for this marriage, as at December 2016.

But there are lots of records, wills particularly, to show that their daughter Caroline was the daughter of Dr John and Barbara Girle.
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Last Modified 3 Dec 2017Created 14 May 2022 by Tim Powys-Lybbe
Re-created by Tim Powys-Lybbe on 14 May 20220