Excerpt:
Abraham Darby (the Grandfather of the famous bridge builder) was born in 1678 at Wrens Nest in the hamlet of Woodsetton in the Parish of Sedgley, Staffordshire, son of John & Ann Darby.
...The first of a succession of iron manufacturers who bore the same name, he was the son of a Quaker (Society of Friends) farmer residing at Wrens Nest, near Sedgley and served his apprenticeship with a maker of malt-kilns near Birmingham, Later he married and moved to Bristol around 1700, to begin business on his own.
In Bristol he was joined by three partners of the same Quaker persuasion, who provided the necessary capital to enable him to set up works at Baptist Mills, near the city. He carried on the business of malt-mill making and later added brass and iron founding
Annotation:
This page briefly details the life of bridge builder Abraham Darby. Though author Ian Beach focuses on Darby's career, work with iron, and response to new technologies, Beach also briefly explores the effect that Darby's Quakerism had on his life. Ten images, mostly of Darby's bridges, accompany the text.