Colonel Roger Kirkby was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 soldier and politician, of Kirkby Ireleth

Kirkby Ireleth

Kirkby Ireleth is a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. It includes the villages of Grizebeck and Kirkby in Furness; and the hamlets of Beanthwaite, Beck Side, Chapels, Soutergate, Wall End and Woodland. The parish has a population of 1,247....

 in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, the eldest son of Richard Kirkby

Richard Kirkby

Richard Kirkby was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1681.Kirkby was the son of Roger Kirkby or Kirby of Kirkby Ireleth, Lancashire and his wife Agnes Lowther, sister of Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet.Kirkby was a justice of the peace...

 and his first wife Elizabeth Murray.

An ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 in the Coldstream Guards

Coldstream Guards

Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....

 in 1670, he was a captain in Charles Wheeler's Regiment of Foot in 1678, and colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 in Sir James Leslie's Regiment of Foot in 1689. By this time, he had succeeded his father as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Lancaster

Lancaster (UK Parliament constituency)

Lancaster was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1867, centred on the historic city of Lancaster in north-west England...

.

He was Governor of Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 from 1693 until 1702, and was chosen High Sheriff of Lancashire

High Sheriff of Lancashire

The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...

for 1709 but died in office.

On 7 August 1692, he married Catherine Baker, and had a son:

• Richard Baker Kirkby (d. 4 May 1717)