Thanks very much for the responses. No indication of Elizabeth Dalby’s parents, but her death certificate indicates birth in 1774, and I had noticed the long gap between the recorded children of David Dalby in Howden. Also, it looks like no records of any births in that parish are recorded in that year, so had thought it highly likely she was David’s daughter. Her own children were William (1794 – named after his Singleton grandfaher), Elizabeth (1797), Charles (1799), John (1801), David (1803), Jonathan (1805), Mary (1809 – my forbear, she married the Howden veterinary surgeon John Bowman) , Hannah (1812) and Simeon (1814).
As for the origin of the Dalbys, there was a strong concentration in nearby Hemingbrough – the most famous is Robert Dalby, the C16th Catholic priest and martyr. From this branch, the father and son James and William Dalby were both vicars of Howden in the early C17th – you can find William’s details on the online database of Cambridge University alumni, edited by J.A. Venn. I don’t know if there might be a link there.
Matthew