Early Life
Little is known about Pablo Fanque’s early life. Church records suggest that he was one of at least five children born to John and Mary Darby (née Stamp) of Norwich. They were believed to have resided in Ber Street. Fanque reportedly declared his late father's occupation as "butler" on his marriage certificate in 1848. John M. Turner, Fanque's biographer, speculates that "his father was African-born and had been brought to the port of Norwich and trained as a house servant." Fanque was reportedly orphaned at a young age. Another account has Fanque born in a workhouse to a family of seven children.
Also, there is a legitimate question regarding the year of Fanque's birth. While John Turner, his biographer, has popularized the belief that he was born in 1796, a birth register for St. Andrews Workhouse in Norwich reports the birth of a William Darby to John Darby and Mary Stamp at the workhouse on 1 April 1810. Also, a blue plaque commemorating Fanque's birth installed by the city of Norwich near the purported location of his childhood residence also records his birth as 1810. Still, at the time of his death, the newspaper Era records that his coffin bore the inscription "AGED 75 YEARS" and Fanque's tombstone records the same age. Another contemporaneous newspaper states that it researched the question of his age at death and concluded he was 75. Still, throughout his life, Fanque often reported himself to be younger, and of an age more consistent with an 1810 birth.
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