paranoid numanoid
Well-known member
And Charles junior died in 1968 ... I wonder if there are relatives with a wee bundle of sepia photographs.
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Rev Charles Swainson, MA: any news? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter paranoid numanoid
- Start date
Björn Bergenholtz
(former alias "Calalp")
Sorry for this late reply, re. the very start of this thread (my blue bolds)
Maybe you should by yourself a Postcard, or maybe even two ... ?
From here and/or here.
If still relevant, hopefully of some use/help.
Either way; enjoy!
Björn
PS. Clearly it's Old Charlton, not the ditto 'Charleston',
(... as Paul wrote it in post #9) 🙄
Maybe you should by yourself a Postcard, or maybe even two ... ?
From here and/or here.
If still relevant, hopefully of some use/help.
Either way; enjoy!
Björn
PS. Clearly it's Old Charlton, not the ditto 'Charleston',
(... as Paul wrote it in post #9) 🙄
paranoid numanoid
Well-known member
Many thanks Bjorn!!
I did find these and you're right I am going to buy loads of them as they're relevant and atmospheric. However St Paul's (pictured here) ws the first church to be destroyed in the London blitz in WW2 (a direct hit) and the photo of the old man with the white beard I mentioned to you was, I think, not Swainson, but his neighbour at this parish (he was pictured outside this rectory, and was a much older man). Swainson himself was attached to St Luke's down the road, which I have pictures of now, but still no image of Swainson!! I think I may have found a picture of his son (only a possible) who was in the newspapers for hiding an old parish register in a churchyard to avoid any German invasion but I haven't definitely confirmed it's him. He was also Rev Charles Swainson. I will have to continue my project in the summer holidays as I'm back to school tomorrow!!
Björn Bergenholtz
(former alias "Calalp")
'Paranoid ... ', I don't know if this topic/case is still "on", but I will post it anyway (simply as I happened to find some possibly additional pieces, while following the describers of some other "English" birds ...
🧩
Though nothing sensational, see the attatched JPG where you find your guy ; "Rev. C. Swainson M.A. rector ...", mentioned, at work, in 'Worship', in/at (the close-by) St. Luke's Church (in line with your latest reply)
Also, in the London Standard, of 24th of March 1914, you'll find the following phrase (here, on p.6): "Charles Swainson, M.A., of 9, Shooter's Hill-road, S.E., formerly rector of Old Charlton, who died on December [i.e. of 1913] ... aged 73, left estate of the gross value of ...". Looks like a match to Paul's post #9. Maybe worth checking? If so, wouldn't that be "Shooter's Hill-road", in Blackheath, S.E (South East) London?
Also compare 'his' signature (in the 1911 census, in Paul's post #12), with the ditto in the attached letter, from 1884 (one out of two, where he's mentioned, found here, down the page). To me it/they look similar/the same.
Hopefully of some use/help?
Either way, I'll keep an eye open for Reverend Charles Swainson (Sr.), and I'll let you know if I should find a Photo of him (but don't get your hopes up).
Good luck with your Project, enjoy your studies, and keep us updated on any progress!
Cheers
Björn
🧩
Though nothing sensational, see the attatched JPG where you find your guy ; "Rev. C. Swainson M.A. rector ...", mentioned, at work, in 'Worship', in/at (the close-by) St. Luke's Church (in line with your latest reply)
Also, in the London Standard, of 24th of March 1914, you'll find the following phrase (here, on p.6): "Charles Swainson, M.A., of 9, Shooter's Hill-road, S.E., formerly rector of Old Charlton, who died on December [i.e. of 1913] ... aged 73, left estate of the gross value of ...". Looks like a match to Paul's post #9. Maybe worth checking? If so, wouldn't that be "Shooter's Hill-road", in Blackheath, S.E (South East) London?
Also compare 'his' signature (in the 1911 census, in Paul's post #12), with the ditto in the attached letter, from 1884 (one out of two, where he's mentioned, found here, down the page). To me it/they look similar/the same.
Hopefully of some use/help?
Either way, I'll keep an eye open for Reverend Charles Swainson (Sr.), and I'll let you know if I should find a Photo of him (but don't get your hopes up).
Good luck with your Project, enjoy your studies, and keep us updated on any progress!
Cheers
Björn
Attachments
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paranoid numanoid
Well-known member
Thank you so much BB!'Paranoid ... ', I don't know if this topic/case is still "on", but I will post it anyway (simply as I happened to find some possibly additional pieces, while following the describers of some other "English" birds ...
🧩
Though nothing sensational, see the attatched JPG where you find your guy ; "Rev. C. Swainson M.A. rector ...", mentioned, at work, in 'Worship', in/at (the close-by) St. Luke's Church (in line with your latest reply)
Also, in the London Standard, of 24th of March 1914, you'll find the following phrase (here, on p.6): "Charles Swainson, M.A., of 9, Shooter's Hill-road, S.E., formerly rector of Old Charlton, who died on December [i.e. of 1913] ... aged 73, left estate of the gross value of ...". Looks like a match to Paul's post #9. Maybe worth checking? If so, wouldn't that be "Shooter's Hill-road", in Blackheath, S.E (South East) London?
Also compare 'his' signature (in the 1911 census, in Paul's post #12), with the ditto in the attached letter, from 1884 (one out of two, where he's mentioned, found here, down the page). To me it/they look similar/the same.
Hopefully of some use/help?
Either way, I'll keep an eye open for Reverend Charles Swainson (Sr.), and I'll let you know if I should find a Photo of him (but don't get your hopes up).
Good luck with your Project, enjoy your studies, and keep us updated on any progress!
Cheers
Björn
Yes, I am still researching and writing notes about this man, his life and work, and the project is going in two directions:
1 A historical novel based around his life and work (still don't have a definite photo of the man, and still don't have evidence of his burial place!)
2 Further research into provincial and historical birds' names in the British Isles (as you know these have been influenced by Scandinavian languages, Celtic languages as well as continental European languages and classical Greek & Latin). I'm tracing a timeline of names from Aristotle and Pliny to the present day and the templates alone have already stretched to 400 pages lol!! Without any narrative!
So that's all good fun! Unfortunately I still have to work for my bread so I cannot spend as much time as I would like on it, although this evening I have spent several hours looking through the newspaper archives, inspired by your gift above!
So - the handwritten letter (I found it yesterday, by coincidence), is actually written TO (not FROM) Rev Charles Swainson, and a reply unfortunately was penned on his behalf by his Churchwarden Eleizer L Burnett.
The newspaper article does mention he has died at his last address in Blackheath and gives details of his will but not of his funeral!! Again unfortunately.
There is an interesting story in salthousehistory about one (other) Rev Charles Swainson (who may be his son) who hid Parish registers in a churchyard in 1939 thinking there may be a German invasion of England. The documents were recovered and restored ... I'm in touch with the local historians to find out if this Swainson is related or not.
I will certainly dedicate my historical novel to our friends on this site as you guys were the first to help me and inspire me. There are several incredible aspects to this story which will become clearer as I develop the story. But that's for another day!
Many thanks for your stimulating contributions B!
Michael
paranoid numanoid
Well-known member
Thank you to all of you for your assistance in this quest, I have now traced a photo in a newspaper of Rev. Charles Swainson via Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust, and also they found his resting place with his wife and a relative in Richmond Cemetery (Surrey) - very near to where I used to live! In fact, I remember wandering among these old graves on many occasions when I lived nearby, and I think I followed a green woodpecker near the site of his grave one Sunday morning!
The two daughters, Harriet and Isabel, died a few hours apart because they filled their house with gas and failed to light a gas ring. A relative who found them said this had happened before and they couldn't smell the gas. I wonder if it was a suicide bid, or an accident. Oddly, they had moved to Salisbury. The relative mentioned they had an aversion to glass, and had the windows covered up for many years. Ironically their father, our Charles Swainson, wrote extensively about his stained-glass windows in the church of St Luke's, Charlton, for the Woolwich & District Antiquarian Society.
So that's an end to the quest, I shall busy myself writing that historical novel, Black Heath: White Chapel!!
The two daughters, Harriet and Isabel, died a few hours apart because they filled their house with gas and failed to light a gas ring. A relative who found them said this had happened before and they couldn't smell the gas. I wonder if it was a suicide bid, or an accident. Oddly, they had moved to Salisbury. The relative mentioned they had an aversion to glass, and had the windows covered up for many years. Ironically their father, our Charles Swainson, wrote extensively about his stained-glass windows in the church of St Luke's, Charlton, for the Woolwich & District Antiquarian Society.
So that's an end to the quest, I shall busy myself writing that historical novel, Black Heath: White Chapel!!
Björn Bergenholtz
(former alias "Calalp")
Well done, Michael!
And Good luck with your Novel!
Let us know when it's in Print.
Cheers
Björn
And Good luck with your Novel!
Let us know when it's in Print.
Cheers
Björn
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