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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Cheshire => England => Cheshire Lookup Requests => Topic started by: MariKay on Wednesday 25 August 10 23:23 BST (UK)
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I'm in New Zealand, & tracing my husband's family. I've gone back on the Swindley side here as far as I can, to John Swindley who was my husband's grandfather. The best connection I can find is on FreeBMD, a John Swindley born in Chester in 1880. What's my best bet of finding out more, as I don't have a credit card so can't order 'online' info? Is it possible to contact the right archive, say via snailmail, with the appropriate payment in UK money, to have a transcript copy sent to me? I'm fairly new to this, so would appreciate any helpful suggestions, thank you. :)
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Hi and welcome to Rootschat
We really need to make sure you have the right John Swindley before you perhaps waste money on certificates etc
What were the names of your husbands parents including his mothers maiden name (do not post details if they are still alive - if they are I will contact you by pm and make other arrangments to get the info)
If they are deceased - when and where were they both born and where did they marry
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Thanks Carol, that was quick! His parents are both deceased & details are:father
Joseph Robert Swindley, b 15/11/1934, m2/1956, d 5/7/1983 - all in NZ
Mother Lucette Eliane Jacqueline Foucher, b 28/4/1931 Noumea, New Caledonia; d19/1/2005, Auckland, New Zealand
Joseph's parents were: John Henry Vincent Swindley, b1880 (est - based on his age at death recorded as 59)prob UK, m 25/5/1931 Wellington, New Zealand, d 9/6/1939
Claudina Silveria De Brum (sometimes recorded as 'Clandena/ Claudia' 'Da Brum/ De Brun' b 12/10/1891 Auckland, New Zealand, d 27/11/1945 Auckland New Zealand.
I can't find any Swindleys born in NZ around 1880, let alone any John Swindley.
Thanks for your help.
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Hi
I don't think that Cheshire birth is the right one - he only had one christian name
If John H V was b 1880 and his son Joseph was b 1934 - that would make him 54 when Joseph was born and Claudina 43 so they were both getting on a bit if they only married in 1931
From http://www.exploregenealogy.co.uk/NewZealandMarriageRecords.html
Information on a Marriage Certificate
Under the Marriage Act of 1854, the only things registrars had to record were the date and place of the marriage, the full names, ages and status of the bride and groom, along with the groom's occupation and the names, addresses and occupations of the witnesses.
However, the Act was amended in 1880, so that the marriage certificate also included the places of birth and residence of the bride and groom, the full names of both their parents, the occupations of both fathers and the maiden name of the bride's mother. From a researcher's point of view, this additional information can prove vital in tracing the family back another generation.
Do you have any of the above info from the 1931 marriage cert
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Hi Carol,
Thanks again & I just realised while I was out that I typed in John's other son's name! The father was actually John Vincent Harwood Swindley! It is hard when they have so many names - not all are recorded on every document, so it's all in the connections, aye?
Regarding their ages - yes, they were older as John was Claudina's second husband, & Joseph was their youngest child. She had 5 or 6 to her first husband, then another 5 with John.....
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They presumably had children before they married on 25/5/1931 if Joseph was the youngest of 5 children and he was b 1934
Re: my reply above - is any of the info re: parents and birthplace listed on the 1931 marriage cert?
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Yes, this family history can get pretty murky! Claudina was married in 1910 to first husband, & had 7 children, but divorced him 3/12/1928. Going by the oldest of the Swindley children, it looks like she & John were 'together' while she was waiting for her divorce, as the first of John's children was born earlier in 1928. On Joseph's birth record, John was the informant, & states that at that time they also had a 3 yr old son, & 3 girls aged 6,5 & 2 yrs. I can't find birht records for the earlier children. His marriage to Claudina is clear on this record as 25 May 1931; his age 54, her age 46, & the registrar has signed & dated the record 20 November 1934, only 5 days after Joseph's birth. John was a fireman, he states, but he only uses his first name, although Claudina's full name is there.
I also have a clear copy of John's will, with solicitor's notes regarding John's health at the time etc.
Re the marriage certificate - I haven't been able to get a copy yet, as on the government online records, it won't be available til after 25 May next year (80 years after the event), otherwise I have to wait til I can get down to Wellington to look it up in person. Finances are an issue at present, but it's looking like some time soon we will have to go on the road to get further in our search. :)
I have looked up every freely available record here, & asked relevant family members, but we can find nothing further back for John here. I've searched birth records back to 1870 & no Swindleys at all.
By the way, the 2 oldest children to this relationship are still living, which is why I'm only giving vague details re their births.
Thanks again for your guidance so far. :D
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Sorry the last one was so long - this part of the family is a little tangled. Also, my mention of finances was not to say I'd have trouble paying for certificates - it was just to explain the limitations of my research so far. A cert is far less cost than a trip of at least a few days, as we live a good 6 hours away from Wellington.
If anyone can give me any more pointers, other than the Free BMD I've used so far, to trace birth records from afar, I'd be very grateful. Or to advise where this thread would be better placed? Thank you :)
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John Henry Swindley registered on
www.cheshirebmd.org.uk
1888 birth Chester Chester Castle Cheshire West CAS/69/99
8 years later than your 1880 ....the only John Henry Swindley on cheshbmd within the time frame....I`ll check on freebmd to see if 2nd middle name Vincent is mentioned.....allan :)
on freebmd it`s John Henry Swindley b dec qtr 1888 Chester :)
37 records for SWINDLEY on www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~cprdb click database ..95% of these records are in Chester....allan (in case you don`t know of this site)
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Thank you for that. I've opened up that site you mentioned. The John I need is John Vincent Harwood Swindley - his son was John Henry - I copied the wrong name in my first request. He is definitely closer to 1880 as his death records all say he was 59 when he died, 9 June 1939. I can't track when he came to NZ yet as I haven't his marriage certificate/register record, or any hospital records - I think that may be my next step. I've looked through years & years of shipping passenger lists & not found him yet. It is possible he came here via Australia. Thank you for your help :)
Just looked up that site: the only John was born 1831, so if it's a connection, it's another generation back. Will keep looking, thanks :D
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Thanks for all the advice & help here. I have since found out, through another family source, that John may well have been Australian not British, so this thread can now close. I look forward to joining in other threads.
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Hi , you have probably found this already at waikumete cemetery auckland nz JOHN VINCENT HARWOOD SWINDLEY (through the on line search) I noticed your post as I am looking for swindley's as well but have next to no info on them as yet . I came across this in my search , if its the right one it will give the religon and burial date with a age or birthdate and occupation at least . good luck :)
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Hi Glenda,
Yes, we have been to the burial site, but some of the family graves there are hard to find & /or read. Also, with John, I have his son's birth certificate where John's place & date of birth is mentioned, but I can't actually find that record on NZ's BDM online database. My next step is sending away for either his death cert or marriage cert, from which i may be able to track down more details. Have been sidetracked for a fair while. Thanks for the reply, though.
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Sorry, I realised I didn't ask about your own search. Which branch of Swindleys are you wanting? If you like I'm happy to share what I have so far.
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Hi
thanks for the reply and yes would love to chat more about swindley family ,I have almost nothing on them yet and my interest is frances joseph swindley at the moment
happy to help where I can and I believe ours may go to OZ at some point too.
(*) if you want to chat more it may be easier to mail me at this addy .
If you mail me I can send you anything I find in the future
regards G :)
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Hi MariKay,
I have not been active for a few years but have been researching the Swindley name worldwide on and off for about 30 years now and might be able to help you.
Your family line might come thru Henry Harvard Swindley born 1849 London England.
Regards
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Hi NZGlenda
If you would like some help with your research, please contact me; I've been researching Swindley for some time now.
Your family line is similar to MariKay, and might come thru Henry Harvard Swindley born 1849 London England
Regards
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Hi - yes always interested in any new info and yes mari is part of our tree gladys bond (my great aunty - my nans sister) married frank swindley thats how mari ,s line and I are connected
would love to chat more on the swindleys - any chance you can email me direct buddys36 at yahoo dot com ?
thanks for replying - look fwd to hearing from you so we can swap info and would like to get mari involved too. regards Glenda