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.
