Swanns of Needingworth

[wdurham]

On behalf of a distant cousin I am helping out, does anyone know about a Swann family in Huntingdonshire, particularly in and around Needingworth?

Henry George Swann was born in Needingworth in Hunts abt 1847 and his wife, probably Susan Mansfield, was born in Brampton, Hunts abt 1850 (or Brentford in Essex or even Needingworth, depending which census return you look at!)  They married in 1868 in St Ives District - which takes in both villages. They then moved to London. In 1881 they were at 22 Bird Street in Lambeth, with one son, Henry, aged 9 b Lambeth. Henry Snr was a Labourer. By 1901 Susan was a widow living at 25 Cancel St with two sons at home, Henry and Edward.

I have tracked Henry George back to Needingworth in Huntingdon, and his parents were probably Henry Tomlinson Swann and Lucy Howes, who married in 1845 in Huntingdon district. In 1851 they were in Silver Street, Holywell cum Needingworth. Henry T was a master tailor born in St Benedicts, and their children were Oliver 5, Henry G 4 and Elizabeth 1. Oliver was born in Brampton, the other children in Needingworth.

From the 1841 census, Henry T, a tailor aged 20, appears to have been the son of John Swann and his wife Elizabeth and probably the grandson of Thomas Swann aged 80, who was living with the family in Huntingdon, St Benedicts in 1841. Neither John nor Thomas were born in Huntingdonshire.

Does anyone have any connections with this family? I am a Cambs Swann descendant, but this is the first time I have come across Huntingdonshire Swanns. Given that neither John nor Thomas b about 1761 were born in county, I would be interested to know their origins.

[bedfordshire boy]

Hi Wendy

BVRI baptism Henry G SWANN 4 July 1852 at Holywell cum Needingworth son of Henry Tomlinson and Lucy SWANN. Also baptised on the same day was Elizabeth SWANN, same parents. Another of their children, Edward Tomlinson SWANN, was baptised on 30 Jul 1854

Henry Tomlinson SWANN was born on 2 Sep 1820 and baptised on 26 Dec 1820 at Huntingdon St Mary & St Benedicts (BVRI), son of John and Elizabeth SWANN. This couple was baptising children from 1812-31 in Huntingdon (including Charlotte in 1827, the significance of which will be revealed later!). But there's no marriage for them in Hunts marriage Index. However there is 14 Dec 1807 at Huntingdon St Mary & St Benedicts: Edward Swann and Elizabeth Tomlinson. They baptised John in 1810 but then no more, at least not in Huntingdon. A John aged 21 was buried at Huntingdon All Saints on 1 Apr 1831 - it would be interesting to see if there was any detail eg son of... There's no burial of an Edward or an Elizabeth in Hunts after 1810. What became of them?

Idle speculation...Was John, father of Henry Tomlinson SWANN, actually Edward?

BUT

In 1851 in Huntingdon John Swan 63 (with wife Elizabeth 63 and daughter Charlotte 22 b Huntingdon) gave his birthplace as Ryhall Rutland.

The IGI has a baptism of John Swann at Ryhall on 19 Oct 1788, parents Thomas and Sarah. This couple also had an Edward in 1786. Was he the one who married Elizabeth Tomlinson? But who did John marry? Surely not another Elizabeth Tomlinson?

Regards

David


Monday a.m. A2A has:
Huntingdon Borough Records
Box 14 Bundle 23 - ref.  H/14/23   30th May 1835 Apprenticeship Indenture Henry Swann to George Custance.

In 1841 a George Custance, tailor, was in Huntingdon County Gaol - had he been stitched up?

[wdurham]

David -

That's fantastic - thanks so much!

Re: Charlotte, daughter of John Swann and Elizabeth, she is in Huntingdon, St Benedicts in 1841, with the rest of the family, aged 13. I didn't think she would be so significant, so didn't list her by name!

So she is definitely the daughter of John and Elizabeth. As is Henry T, according to the baptism you've found.

And John in his turn is son of Thomas, as suspected.

Which brings us to the question of Henry's middle name. 

To digress slightly, my g-grandfather was Charles Monteith Abbott. The Monteith, it seemed, came from his grandmother, Esther Monteith. Thinking it was therefore a relatively important family name (it is still used in our family) I assumed we were Monteith descendants and scoured Cambs and Essex for them for several months!  However, certificates then showed that Esther Monteith was a widow when she married into the Abbott family, and her family name was in fact Emmens.  So why did the family take the name of her husband of just a few years?  The answer was very simple in the end. Esther and her Monteith husband had a daughter, Hannah Maria, who was godmother to her half-nephew Charles Monteith Abbott.

Might the Tomlinson have come from the same source? i.e. was Henry's auntie Elizabeth his godmother?

Alternatively, perhaps Edward died and John married his widow? Which could explain why Edward and Elizabeth had only the one son that you could find in the BVRI. If Edward married Elizabeth in 1807, and they had the one child in 1810, there is time before John and Elizabeth start baptising children in 1812 for such an event to occur.

I can't find a death or burial for Edward, but nor can I find him or Elizabeth in any census return. The IGI doesn't show any marriage, but the batches covering Huntingdon are far from complete, and there is a gap in the St Mary & St Benedict marriage records from 1783 to 1813, and no marriages at all for the other parishes.

I found a Henry Swann, son of John Swann, apprenticed to George Custance on 30 May 1835 via the Fishborne charity. George Custance was a tailor in Gt Stukeley, so it seems like a match. John is listed in 1851 as a yeoman and in 1861 as a retired veterinarian. Seems odd that he would need a charity handout to get his son apprenticed?

Intriguingly, George Custance, a tailor aged 30 is in Huntingdon County Gaol in 1841 - whilst his family are in Huntingdon. He has a P against his name, so is clearly a prisoner. I wonder what for?

Thanks for all the info, David! At least my distant relative now has specific things to look for - especially a putative death for Edward and a possible marriage for John to his widow. And as they came from Rutland, perhaps we aren't cousins after all.....

-------------------------------

LATER - I have just noticed your postscript - I found exactly the same thing!s  "Stitched up" - ho, ho, ho!

[bedfordshire boy]

Sorry, what do you expect on a Monday morning - wit?!!!

The only significance of Charlotte is that she demonstrates that it's the same John Swann - he was a bit undecided about his birthplace - Not in Hunts 1841, Ryhall Rutland in 1851, Huntingdon in 1861.

Regards

David