I am especially interested because my Hawksworth family owned the White Swan until the 1860's when my gr gr grandfather George (born in the Inn "yard" ) decided to farm instead. My gr grandfather Thomas Robert Hawksworth was more an enjoyer of pubs than inkeeper...
It was called just the Swan Inn by the 1890s. I believe the Barnsley Chronicle did some articles on this including the photo. Does anyone remember a date for it? Would love to hear more... !!!
I have just traced my family back to the White Swan too. William Hawksworth was my 3rd great grandfather. I am descended from William and Susanna (née Stead) Hawksworth's daughter Ellen Amelia who also ran pubs with her husband Frank Taylor, namely the Fountain at Ingbirchworth near Penistone and the Red Lion in Rotherham. Ellen Amelia's sister Hannah Eliza ran the White Bear Inn at Hallgate, Doncaster, with her husband George Wilmot, so it seems spirits ran in the family
William's wife Susanna Stead was disowned by her Quaker family in 1817, two years before she married William, who - besides being an innkeeper - had an illegitimate son and was possibly not the sort of company Susanna was expected to keep. When William died in 1853, son James was present and aged 18 and probably too young to carry on the business, though he was described as an 'inn ser' in the 1851 census. In that census, son George and his family occupied the record next to William and Susanna's and could have been living in the same premises or a nearby building. As Wendy says, he was an agricultural labourer in that census and did not pick up the publican's baton. William's wife Susanna died in 1855 and was perhaps not well enough in 1853 to continue at the White Swan - I have found instances around that time where wives did keep the business going, so it was a possibility. The above references to Pigott's Directory is interesting and that is my next line of research. Thank You!
Any info regarding the Hawksworths or the White Swan would be appreciated. My family tree is on Ancestry at:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/tree/175668224/family?cfpid=262287837547if such links are allowed. Please get in touch there too for more info or if you have anything you would like to share.
Thanks.