Complex sentence: Duck was born at Charlton, near Pewsey, in Wiltshire, but little is known about his family, whether from Duck himself or from contemporary records, except that they were labourers and very poor.
Split into simpler sentences: Duck was born at Charlton, near Pewsey, in Wiltshire. Little is known about Duck's family, whether from Duck himself or from contemporary records, except that they were labourers and very poor.