Events
Date of Birth: 2 January 1775.
Place of Birth: Lancashire.
The date is given in William's baptism record. The 1841 census (taken 6 June) gives his age as 65. Ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 years. The census gives his birth place as Lancashire.
Date of Baptism: unknown.
Place of Baptism: St Helens, Lancashire.
The baptism is given in the parish registers.
Date of Death: 13 September 1850.
Place of Death: Eccleston, Lancashire.
The date and place are recorded on the death certificate.
Relationships
Father: Lionel Swift.
Mother: Ellen Crumpton.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Elizabeth Jump. Married 28 April 1806 in Prescot, Lancashire (St Mary the Virgin).
This marriage is given in the parish register.
Children:
Ann Mary Swift (baptized 19 October 1806 in St Mary Lowe House, St Helens - died 1874) married Rodger Eccleston 12 December 1824 in Rainford, Lancashire.
Ellen Swift (baptized 11 June 1809 in St Mary Lowe House, St Helens ).
Elizabeth Swift (baptized 29 January 1812 in St Mary, Lowe House, St Helens)
William Swift (baptized 15 January 1815 in St Mary, Lowe House, St Helens) married Ellen Parr in 1839.
Thomas Swift (baptized 18 May 1817 in St Mary Lowe House, St Helens - buried 8 July 1849 in St Mary Lowe House).
Henry Swift (baptized 4 March 1819 in St Mary Lowe House, St Helens - buried 25 April 1869 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot).
Peter Swift (baptized 13 April 1825 in St Mary Lowe House, St Helens).
Evidence
Baptism (Prescot, St Helens parish register, 1775):
Wm son of Lionel Swift Hardshaw Born Jany 2nd
William Swift - Elizabeth Jump marriage (from the parish register)
Banns of Marriage between William Swift of Eccleston in this Parish and Elizabeth Jump of Eccleston in this Parish were Published in this Church April the 13th the 20th & 27th 1806.
William Swift of Eccleston in this Parish Bachelor. Husbandman and Elizabeth Jump of Eccleston in this Parish Spinster were Married in this Church by Banns this Twenty Eighth Day of April in the Year One Thousand Eight hundred & six by me William Ellam minister.
This marriage was Solemnized between Us William Swift X mark.
Elizabeth Jump -- mark
In the Presence of James Lyon
James Bradshaw
from the registers of St Mary, Lowe House, St Helens (Roman Catholic):
1806
Oct.r 19; Xened Ann Daugh.r of Wm & Eliz. Swift sprs Joseph Swift Martha Jumpe.
1809
June 11, Xened Hel: daug.r of Wm & Eliz: Swift sprs Jos: Sankey Ann Jumpe.
1812
June 29, Xened Eliz: Daug.r of Wm & Eliz: Swift. Spr John & Frances Unsworth.
1815
Jan.y 15.th X.d William son of W.m & Eliz.th Swift. – sp.rs - James & Eliz.th Holden
1817
May 18.th X.d Thomas son of W.m & Elizth Swift. – Sp.rs. - Henry & Ann Haskeine.
1819
March 4.th X.d Henry son of W.m & Eliz.th Swift- sp.rs - Henry Swift & Ann Summer. -
1825
April 13.th X.d Peter son of W.m & Eliz.th Swift Sp.rs - Samuel Ranson & Alice Appleton
1841 Census (Eccleston)
Henry Swift, 45, Farmer, Y [“Y” means born in Lancashire]
Elizabeth [Swift], 40, Y
James [Swift], 14, Y
William [Swift], 13, Y
Margret [Swift], 11, Y
Henry [Swift], 8, Y
Elizabeth [Swift], 6, Y
Ann [Swift], 4, Y
Samuel Pye, 20, M.S., Y
Barnaby McCay, 45, M.S., Y
(next door)
William Swift, 65, Lab, Y
Elizabeth [Swift], 60, Y
Ellen [Swift], 30, Y
Thomas [Swift], 20, Lab, Y
Henry [Swift], 20, Lab, Y
Peter [Swift], 15, Y
(a few doors down)
William Swift, 25, Ag Lab, Y
Ellen [Swift], 20, Y
Elizabeth [Swift], 11 mons, Y
William’s death certificate:
no 129
thirteenth September 1850 Eccleston
William Swift
male
77 years
Labourer
old age no medical attendant
Francis Molyneux in attendance Eccleston
fifteenth September 1850
H M Moore Registrar
Commentary
William’s parentage:
William’s 1850 death record gives his age as 77.
The 1841 census (taken 6 June) gives his age as 65 and his place of birth as Lancashire. Ages in this census were rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5. The informant was likely William himself.
A few William Swifts were born in Lancashire in the 1770s, but a few pieces of indirect evidence make it clear that the 1775 baptism of a William Swift in St Helens (father Lionel Swift of Hardshaw) is the correct one.
William Swift was a Catholic, and Lionel Swift’s second wife was a Catholic. Lionel’s youngest child was baptized in St Mary Lowe House (Catholic), which is where William’s children were baptized.
Two of the sponsors for the baptisms of William’s children were Joseph Swift and Henry Swift. These were almost certainly sons of Lionel Swift.
William Swift is living next door to Lionel’s son Henry in the 1841 census.
The names of William’s children recall members of Lionel’s family: Thomas, Henry, and Peter were all sons of Lionel, and Ellen was the name of his first wife, (William’s mother).
A James Lyon appears as a witness for the second marriage of Lionel Swift and for William’s marriage.
In 1851, William’s widow and children are living on land (“Kiln Houses”) which Lionel occupied in 1798.
There is some (slight) DNA evidence that William was a son of Lionel Swift. I am a paper-trail descendant of William and I share some DNA (13 cM across 2 segments) with a descendant of William’s great-uncle Henry Swift, a brother of Lionel’s father Lionel. (It is quite possible that the DNA comes from a common ancestor in a non-Swift line.)
Taken together, the evidence that William was Lionel’s son is sufficient.
William was a son of Lionel’s first wife, Ellen. Ellen’s surname appears in her marriage record.
References
William Swift - Elizabeth Jump marriage, register of Prescot, Lancashire, marriages 1806; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 4 August 2014), citing Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives.
William Swift household, 1841 census of England. Lancashire, Prescot, Prescot, Prescot, piece 516, book 5, folio 43, page 11, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1841; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 7 April 2014).