Further revelations from the Swinfield Bible

The genealogical information recorded in the Swinfield Concordance had enabled the pedigree of Family 5 to be extended back to the middle of the 17th century. It records that Richard Swinfield was born in 1645. Although it is not yet known when and where he married Frances Colgin, he was baptised in nearby Ibstock church on 19th April 1646, as the son of John and Mary Swinfield. That couple named five children there just prior to and into the Commonwealth Interregnum when England was embroiled in its Civil War. There is now a line which extends back into the period when the Swinfields were "will-making folk". 

Will of John Swinfeild 1649

John Swinfield's will, which was dictated in 1649, was proved in the following year in the Archdeaconry Court of Leicester (ref: 1649/72). John made bequests to his oldest son James and to his five other children, all of whom were under the age of 21. It was recorded that he owed his brother Richard £7 and his unnamed father was due £4 for a brown filly. The will was proved by his widow Mary.

Will of William Swingfeild 1633

John's brother William had also made a will in May 1633, very shortly before he died and was buried from Heather church. He left a sheep each to his brothers Richard, George and Ralph and to his sister Anne. Richard was also to receive his best jerkin and breeches. John Swinfield was left the testator's best doublet, shirt, hose and shoes. Most substantially, the residue of William's estate was to be divided between his wife Alice and his brother John with a bequest of a colt called Throstle to his cousin James.

The more wealthy family members were John and William's brothers George and Ralph Swinfield. George of Donington made his will in 1658 and he left sheep and wool to his kinsman, James Swinfield of Ibstock, and to James's brothers, John and Richard, and their three sisters. Having no surviving children of his own, he made provisions for his two nephews, Ralph and George, the sons of his deceased brother Ralph.

Will of George Swinfeild 1680

Wills were proved for these two men and Ellen, the widow of Ralph Swinfield junior, from 1671 to 1681. All were buried from the parish church of Great Appleby. The last survivor, George Swinfield, then held all the land which had been accumulated by that part of the family. His two cousins, James of Ibstock and John of Huckles Coat [now called Hugglescote] were gifted his house and land at Ticknall, Derbyshire, and Appleby in Leicestershire respectively. 
Disappointingly from Family 5's viewpoint, Richard Swinfield (1645-1701) and his family received no land from their cousins.

1595/6 baptism of Jhon Swinfilde at Shackerstone

John Swinfield was baptised at Shackerstone on 2nd March 1595/6. No parents' names were recorded in the bishop's transcripts of that church. The registers only survive from 1630. He appears to have been the oldest of a series of six children named in that church, ending with Mary in 1611. 

1609 baptism of Raph, son of Rychard Swinfilde, at Shackerstone

George was also christened there in early 1607 and Ralph in 1609. Significantly, only for the last two ceremonies was a father's name recorded. They were children of yet another Richard Swinfilde. From the will of 1649, he may still have been alive as he was then owed money for a filly. He now stands at the head of this lineage.

It could be speculated that there is now a genealogical link between Family 5 and the very extensive Family 12 which also used Markfield parish church from the beginning of the 18th century, With more work, can they be joined together into one tree?

Even more speculatively, does the frequent occurrence of the forename of Richard by both Families 5 and 12, reflect their knowledge that were related, some three centuries earlier, to Bishop Richard Swinfield of Hereford who died in 1317?

A son of Thomas and Sarah Swinfield, who was born at Earl Shilton in 1834, was named as Richard. He was one of the six issue, supposedly born to that couple from 1829 to 1841. It is now clear however from DNA testing and newspaper reports that those children were genetically the issue of Thomas Brown, with whom Sarah had a long adulterous relationship from shortly after her marriage in 1829 until her death in 1862. Indeed, Richard later changed his surname to Brown by the time that he married in 1854. By then Thomas had left his family and had gone to live with Maria Cooper at Calverton where their illegitimate daughter Elizabeth was born in 1839. It was this family that left these shores forever in the 1850s and took the treasured "Family Bible" on their journey into the unknown. It has survived, despite being damaged in a fire at some point, and will be 400 years old in 2019!  

Two pedigrees for Family 5, one showing the 16th and 18th century (early) and the other the 18th to 20th century (late), can be viewed by using the appropriate link in the top right corner of this page. They record the results and illustrate the relationships which can be derived from the "Swinfield Bible".