Shaun, Hanes
Thank you all very much for replying to my enquiry.
Shaun, Hanes - I have located 3 variations of the marriage entry, one referred to Coles Regt of Foot Guards, another simply as soldier and the third and most likely the original mentioned what I thought was John Coles but was actually Robin Swoles. My sincere thanks for clarifying this for me. It was suggested to me sometime ago that "Willyats" or "Wittyats" was the name of the minister and Hanes has now confirmed this (thank you).
Dave, Andy – Samuel’s military records are a definite bonus, especially now that I know that Col Robinson Swole was the correct name to research. Third Marine Regiment connection is interesting as Samuel ultimately set up a very lucrative fishing tackle business in London about 1763. This date appears to coincide with his discharge from the army. The birth place of Oswestry is intriguing and somewhat confusing though. The line of Chevaliers I am interested in were Huguenots. Working backwards I have traced the line back to 1749 when Samuel & Elizabeth had a daughter Elizabeth bpt at Newcastle upon Tyne & a son James in 1754 at Berwick upon Tweed. I thought these locations would correspond to approx. placements of the 11th but apparently not. However, it does look as though Elizabeth Godfroy was an army wife.
So why Oswestry if the family were Huguenots? I believe both Newport and Gloucester were Huguenot enclaves specialising in textiles so it is possible Samuel’s family spread out from there but it is still quite a distance between Oswestry & Gloucester, let alone Newport. This is something I need to look at more closely.
I have done a separate DNA study on shared matches for 3 of Samuel & Elizabeth’s descendants. The matches, all from Quebec, Canada are pointing to an origin area around Coutances and St Lo, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France. Coutances is near the coast quite close to Jersey, Channel Isles.
All very interesting.
Once again, my sincere thanks Chris
