52 ancestors in 52 weeks # 1 Sidney Frederick Swadling

Visiting a seminar run by the Guild of One Name Studies at the beginning of a new year always inspires me to do more family history. Unfortunately like most New Year Resolutions, yes I know it's nearly the end of February, this enthusiasm wains quite quickly as there is always something else to do besides family history research.

I have decided to join the project 52 ancestors in 52 weeks because this year I am going to do more research and record my findings more carefully so that I will be able to find them in a year's time.

For my first ancestor I am going to introduce my father Sidney Frederick Swadling. Because if it wasn't for him, and my mother Joan, I wouldn't be carrying out Swadling family history.

In 1999 I was at a cross roads in my life and decided that I wanted to know where I came from. No, not the birds and bees version but who were my great great grandparents.

My parents gave me several carefully folded certificates and from these I was able to produce my first family tree. Four A4 pieces of squared paper glued onto the sides of cereal packets, secured with masking tape. Within weeks I knew who six of my eight great grandparents were and was beginning to learn about them.

So let us now take two steps forward and talk about my father. He was born in Birmingham in 1922 and his parents were Frederick Swadling and Minnie Edwards. He had an older sister Dorothy Olive who was born in 1916 but tragically died in 1937 at the age of 19 from Tuberculosis. His younger brother was born several years later.

He explained that where he lived as a young boy he had a back and front garden and in the back garden there was a "brew house". Lovely I thought, my grandfather Frederick made his own beer. No it wasn't a place to make beer it was where my grandmother Minnie did the weekly washing!

As he got older my father went to school and Sunday school. When he was fourteen the family moved into a newly built council house several miles away and my father went to work at the same engineering works as his father. Life was good until the untimely death of his sister and the threat of a second World War in Europe. Both my father and grandfather were in reserved occupations during the war as they were involved in building heavy machinery for the war efforts. My father however didn't escape National Service and it was while on leave that he met my mother at a local dance. The rest I suppose is history. They got married after a lengthy courtship and several years later my brother and I arrived.

My father continued to work at the same engineering works until he retired and he and my mother enjoyed their retirement by buying a caravan by the river so my father could indulge his passion for fishing. They also continued to go on annual holidays somewhere in Europe, as my mother was scared of flying. My father was a good friend to his neighbours and friends and was always available to help someone with vast knowledge of DIY, car maintenance and in later life cooking. As the years went on his health deteriorated and in late 2009 he fell and broke his hip. Complications set in and on the 12th of November he passed away with my mother at his side. She herself was ill and joined him on the 26th of February 2012. On that day I became an orphan and from that day I could no longer ask for help and advice from my parents. Family history was now firmly in the past.

52 ancestors in 52 weeks

At the seminar on Saturday one of the delegates mentioned a project that has been launched by Amy Johnson Crow on her blog nostorytoosmall.com. The project is to write about 52 ancestors in 52 weeks. Ideal if you want to add more posts to your blog.

I am seven weeks behind those who began on the 1st of January but as Amy says it doesn't matter when you start or even if you miss a week or two. The aim of the project is to write about your ancestors.

First ancestor very soon.



 

Guild of One Name Studies Seminar in Telford

On Saturday 15th February I attended The Guild of One Name Studies seminar entitled One Name Studies: The Next Generation.

I was fascinated by how a younger generation of One Namers, all the speakers were under the age of 40, were using a different variety of media to collect and store their data. The youngest speaker, who was only 16 years of age, explained how she had used information that she had collected to write a fictional story about a real member of her family to gain credit towards one of her qualifications.

I really enjoyed my day out and each speaker motivated me to explored other types of media when collecting data.

Swadlings through the centuries

I have asked the question where do the Swadlings originate from many times.

The Domesday Book is a record of a survey that was completed in 1086 and lists a total of 13,418 place names. Amongst these are Swadlincote in Derbyshire and Swaythling near Southampton. The name Swadling is not listed. Of the list of names Swadling is also not listed. So are we related to a place?

Early records show that Swadling(e)s were living in Sunningwell and South Hinksey in Berkshire from the mid 1500's. By the early 1600's Swadlings were also living in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Kent and Greater London. By the mid 1600's they were living in Surrey and by the early 1700's they were living in Sussex. 

William Swiss Swadling or William Swadling?

On the 1851 Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia census there is a family of ten Swadlings. William aged 61 and Margaret aged 53 and eight children. John 24, Robert 22, Elizabeth 20, Charles 18, Nancy 16, William F 14, Daniel M 12 and Jacob K 6. Although I think that Elizabeth is John's wife.

On the same census there is a Moses Swadlin 24, Charlotte Swadlin 19, Leonard W Swadlin 1 and Elizabeth Swadlin aged 19.

By 1860 William is 70 and Margaret is 60 and only Daniel M and Jacob K are still living at home.

On the Michigan, Deaths and Burials Index there is a William Swadling who dies in Lapeer Michigan on the 23 December 1874 at the age of 87 years. This means he was born in 1787. Who is this?

On the Find A Grave web site there is a William Swiss Swadling buried in the West Deerfield Cemetery and his date of birth is given as 6 July 1788 in England and he died on 29 December 1871. This makes him 83 years old.

On the same website Margaret Kennedy Swadling is also listed. Her date of birth is 28 December 1792 and she died on 29 March 1873. Making her 81 years old.

The grave stone states that William Swadling died Dec 29 1871 aged 83 yrs 3 ms and ? days. Margaret died Mar 29 1873 aged 73 yrs 3 ms and 1 day.

In 1870 the only William and Margaret Swadling living in Deerfield Lapeer are 79 and 70 respectively.

I have look at many family trees while searching the records looking for William Swiss Swadling and Margaret Kennedy Goodrich Swadling. So where did the Swiss come from and the Goodrich for that matter?

I would be very grateful for any helps.

William Swadling from England?

I have had a Facebook Swadling One Name Study group page for several years. Yesterday I changed it's status from private to public. Wow what a response!

The decision to change from private to public was because I had an enquiry from a gentleman in the USA about his ancestors who could have come from England and knew that there might be others out there who were related to him too.

The gentleman's grandfather was Roscoe Moses Swadling and he was born in Michigan USA in 1903. 

Is this anyone you know? If so get in touch.

Hello fellow Swadlings

It is now February 2013.

Family history research is now more popular than ever.

When I began researching over 13 years ago it was an effort to search for my ancestors. Nowadays with more and more records on line it is easy to research from the comfort of my armchair. So if an ancestor moved away from home it is easy to find them on the many on line census records. Even the registrations of births, marriages and deaths are all on line too. I am very lucky that some of the Electoral Registers for Birmingham are also on line. So I now know where my grandparents Fred and Minnie Swadling and Fred and Nin Austin were living between the two wars.

It is amazing how much information you can find on line these days. So get in touch and lets see who I can find for you.

Pat

New Year 2011

Happy New Year to Swadling/Swaddlings everywhere.

Will be adding lots of information to my blog this year.

Best wishes, Pat

Happy New Year

I hope that all Swadlings everywhere had a Merry Christmas.

May I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Hopefully I will be able to carry out lots more research in the coming year.

Best wishes, Pat

James Andrew Swadling

James Andrew Swadling was born in Marlow Buckinghamshire in 1850 and died in 1931 at the age of 80. His parents were George and Mary Swadling and he married Eliza Butler in 1876.