Edward Swindells, Chymist

After my last blog I was continuing my Australian research, only to find myself swung round full circle. One of the Australian convict settlers had been an apprentice in Derby and I hoped to find a record of his apprenticeship and possibly his father's name. Instead I found the indenture pictured above. It reads:-

This Indenture witnesseth, That Edward Swindells son of Edward Swindells of the parish of St Luke in the County of Middlesex Chymist doth put himself Apprentice to Thomas Ray Citizen and GOLDSMITH of London, to learn his Art, and with him ( after the manner of an Apprentice) to serve from the Day of the Date of these Presents, unto the full End and Term of Seven Years, from thence next following, to be fully complete and ended. During which Term the said Apprentice his Master faithfully shall serve, his Secrets keep, his lawful Commands every where gladly do. He shall do no Damage to his said Master nor see to be done of others ; but that he to his Power shall let, or forthwith give Warning to his said Master of the same. He shall not waste the Goods of his said Master, nor lend them unlawfully to any. He shall not commit Fornication, nor contract Matrimony within the said Term. He shall not play at Cards, Dice, Tables, or any other unlawful Games, whereby his said Master may have any Loss. With his own Goods or others, during the said Term, without Licence of his said Master, he shall neither buy nor sell. He shall not haunt Taverns or Play-houses, nor absent himself from his said Master's Service Day nor Night unlawfully ; but in all Things as a faithful Apprentice, he shall behave himself towards his said Master, and all his, during the said Term.    And the said Master  in Consideration of Twenty one pounds  his said Apprentice, in the same Art which he useth, by the best means that he can, shall teach and instruct, or cause to be taught and instructed, finding unto his said Apprentice Meat, Drink, Apparel, Lodging, and all other Necessaries, according to the Custom of the City of London, during the said Term. And to the true Performance of all and every the said Covenants and Agreements, either of the said Parties binds himself unto the other by these Presents. In witness whereof, the Parties above-named to these Indentures, have interchangeably set their Hands and Seals the Eighth  day of  November in the Twenty  third Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second by the Grace of God of Great-Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, and in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Fourty Nine.
Sealed and Delivered (being first duly Stampt) in the Presence of
Jno Aylmer Clk to Mr Bankes               Edward Swindells

This indenture confirms the relationship between the two Edward Swindells listed as the ancestors of the two James Swindells,  identifies the younger Edward Swindells as an apprentice goldsmith and the elder Edward Swindells as a 'Chymist'.

Apprenticeships and birth/marriage dates

An apprenticeship gives a good clue to the approximate date of birth of the apprentice since he (rarely she) would normally be between 14 and 16 at the start of the apprenticeship. On completion of the apprenticeship he would have good earning capability and allowed to marry. A marriage often follows within a year!

An Indenture

The picture shows the typical wavy top (or bottom) of an indenture. The original document would have been a single sheet with the legal agreement copied out (and signed) twice. The document would then be cut in two in an irregular line and one half handed to each of the two parties of the agreement. The wavy dividing line acted as confirmation that each party held an identical copy which could be matched up in case of dispute.

An 18th Century Chymist

"Chemist" is one of those words that has changed its meaning over the years. In the 18th century it meant "One who deals in, or retails, medical drugs." The chemist would supply medical drugs to the apothecary, who dealt with the patient.

An 18th Century Mahogany Apothecary Cabinet bearing a paper label 'Smart, Chemist & Druggist, St Martins Court, Near Leicester Square, London'. Containing nine glass bottles, the drawers having various containers and glass implements

More about the Swindell Surname

James Swindell - Secret Springer?

A rather splendid hunter-case pocket watch

I have been continuing to look at records for Australian Swindells and two death index entries for James Swindell in 1861 provided a considerable puzzle. I doubt if I would have resolved the puzzle without the assistance of the 'Hunts of Faversham' family tree on Ancestry and I wish to express my appreciation for the research published in that tree.

Ancestry had indexed two New South Wales death certificates, one in Sydney (registration number 272) and one for Camperdown, Newtown (volume number V 18619369 122B). Some other reading suggested to me that the second 'death certificate' could be a church burial record copied into the NSW civil registration records. This was supported by information in the Hunts of Faversham family tree giving details of a burial in Camperdown Cemetery. The same source had details of the death two days earlier in Sydney infirmary.

On the Trove web-site (an excellent resource) I also found a death notice from The Empire (Sydney) on Saturday 23rd of March 1861.

SWINDELL - On the 21st instant, James Swindell, watchmaker, late of Barrack-street

The owner of the 'Hunts of Faversham' family tree had obviously seen the full death certicates (which would have given the age at death) and suggested a date of birth of around 1821.

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In 1858 James had obviously been going through a bad patch and sentenced to 7 days for vagrancy in Darlinghurst gaol in Sydney. This provides us with a description - age 37: 5'6½": Brown hair: Hazel eyes - and the information that he arrived on the ship Moscow in 1852. The age agrees with the age on the death certicate so I think it must be the same James although the death certificate apparently suggests an arrival date of 1854.

The next clue was another death notice, in this case
 "McFarlane. - In loving memory of James Swindell McFarlane, who departed this life on the 8th of October 1885, at his residence, No. 3 Auckland-terrace, Petersham, aged 24 years. Inserted by his loving mother, brothers, and sisters."

Combined with a birth registration for a James Swindell in 1861, father James, mother Jane, and a marriage of a Jane Swindell to Alexander McFarlane, this led me to the fact that James had married* a Jane and they had had two children, Julia in 1859 and James in 1861. The baptism of Julia's children gave me Jane's maiden name - White'. I have not discovered the marriage of James Swindell and Jane White. James's two young children adopted the family name of their step-father.

*Postscript. It appears that James Swindell and Jane White never married. According to a descendant Julia's birth certificate states that her parents were not married.

James Swindell McFarlane had married in 1883 and had one posthumous child Undine in 1886 who unfortunately died the next year (Undine is the name of a water sprite).

Resumé

So I now had James Swindell, a watchmaker, born London about 1821 who had emigrated in 1852 aboard the Moscow, lived with Jane White, had two children Julia and James and had died in 1861. I also knew from the death certificate index that his father's name was James. Could I find him in England?

I could find no record of James Swindell being transported as a convict (other than in 1820 and 1838) and as far as I am aware the last convict ship to NSW was in 1849. I can find no record of a ship the Moscow. There was a Jos. (or Jas. Swindell who arrived in Melbourne in 1854 aboard the Mobile but he is described as a Gentleman from England, aged 30. Passenger lists give no other clues.

The Secret Springer

The 1841 English census is more hopeful. There we have James Swindell, aged '20', boarding in Clerkenwell, born in Middlesex. He gives his occupation as 'Secret Springer'

I had come across this census entry before and knew that a 'secret springer' was someone who made 'secret springs' for pocket watches. Thus this James was a watchmaker. The watchmaking trade in Clerkenwell was very specialised with most individuals making one small part of the final watch. However never having owned a pocket watch I did not know what a 'secret spring' was. 

It turns out that a watch like the one at the head of this blog would have a metal cover to protect the glass face. To open the cover the user would press down on the crown winding knob and this would release a little spring-loaded catch and the cover could then swing open. The catch for the cover can be seen in the detail below.

Secret spring pocket watch catch

The spring is mounted in the rim of the pocket watch. The picture below is one for, I am sure, a much more utilitarian pocket watch.

Pocket watch secret spring

It seemed very possible that the 'secret springer' James Swindell in the 1841 census is the James Swindell who died in 1861 in Sydney. However in 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 it is also possible to trace a James Swindells, son of Thomas Swindells, born on the 6th of July 1819 in Clerkenwell who was also a watchmaker  and who married first Susannah Spurgeon and then Edith Phillips Baille and who died in 1882 in Islington.

Not James Swindell, the secret springer, but another watchmaker with the same name!

It is therefore necessary to look for another James Swindell, born about the same time for the migrant to Australia. If you will forgive the expression, another James Swindell does 'spring' to mind! From a watchmaking family, this time the son of James Swindell and Sarah Clewley and in fact cousin to the James described in the previous paragraph.

Born in 1823 though not baptised till 1827 this other James Swindell is not positively identified in the 1841 census and not found in the 1851 census (or later). His eldest brother Thomas was a watchmaker, as was the other brother Joseph.

Being born in 1823 the ages quoted in the Australian records both differ by a couple of years from this James's true age. This must leave a significant reservation over any identification of the James who died in 1861 with the James born in 1823 but at the present I believe it to be a strong possibility - and I know of no other James, son of James born at this period in London.

The family tree would thus be
Edward Swindall, born about 1710, who married Isabella and had children
    Edward, Jane, James, Catherine and Catherine - all baptised at St Andrew by the Wardrobe, London
The younger Edward Swindell was baptised on the 30th of November 1733, married Esther Huntley in 1757 and had children
    Jasper, Edward, Thomas, Mary, James, William and Elizabeth - all baptised at St Luke's, Old Street Finsbury
Thomas Swindel was born in 1762 and was probably the Thomas who married Elizabeth MacDonald in 1783 and had children
   Thomas, Joseph, John, Joseph, James and Charles - all baptised at St Luke's.
The younger Thomas is the first member of the family definitely known to be a watchmaker.He married Sophie and had at least 12 children including James the secret springer born in 1819.
Thomas's younger brother James served his watchmaking apprenticeship in Coventry, where he married Sarah Clewley. They had five known children including Joseph who is known to have emigrated to New Zealand and the James whom I believe died in Australia in 1861.

Fuller details can be found by following the hyperlinks in the paragraph above.

More about the Swindell Surname