During the lockdown I started to research my family tree. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve learnt a lot.
I’ve found that reading about family history can be pretty dry no matter how thrilling the underlying story. For me the exciting part of family history is when I make a discovery or uncover something unexpected. While I want to use this website as an opportunity to document what I’ve found out about my family I also want to convey the process I went through and some of the excitement I felt when I found out something new.
My family tree is online at Ancestry and I can be contacted at .
Swendell - 19th Century. London, Soldiering and Convicts.
William Sewell Swendell (1781 - 1844). My great, great, great grandfather. Solicitor’s clerk, mason and serial writer of letters to the King.
William had eights sons including:
- William Swendell (1808 - ?). Eldest son of William Sewell Swendell from his first marriage to Elizabeth Benjamin. Charged with stealing a hankerchief and sentenced to be sent to Australia as a convict.
- Charles Henning Swendell (1809 - 1850). Charged with stealing a hat and sentenced to be sent to Australia as a convict. One of the early settlers in Melbourne.
- Frederick Augustus Swendell (1820 - 1836). Elder brother of Henry James Humphrey Swendell and son of William Sewell Swendell. Charged with stealing a sheet and sent to Australia as a convict.
- Henry James Humphrey Swendell (1830 - 1896). My great, great grandfather and son of William Sewell Swendell. Member of the Rifle Brigade and Crimean War veteran.
Swendell - 20th Century
How lodging in the early twentieth century lead to three marriages.
Rubery - Bloxwich Shopkeepers
Moses Thomas Rubery (1840 - 1879). My great, great grandfather. Grocer.