Joseph Swindale
Son of Joseph Swindale and Mary Watson, born 14th January 1849 in Castleside, County Durham
Married Mary Jane Gregg on the 12th of November 1874 in Bootle Registry Office8
Children
Married Barbara Ann Newton (née Wood, born c. 1858) in the Baptist Chapel, Abbey Road, Barrow in Furness on the 19th of April 1908
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 Click on picture for family group |
| Died on the 23rd of January 1914 in Millom, Cumberland. Buried at St George's Church, Millom on 26th January following a service in the Baptist church. Cortege left 4 Crown Street Millom. ('In loving memory' notice) |
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| Moved out of the Castleside house into 11, Trafalgar Street,
Consett prior to moving across to Millom 2. The move to Haverigg near
Millom was after 1871. (Their youngest brother Thomas had
moved there with his married sister Ann around 1869). In
1881 and
1891 Joseph was living at No 5 Main Street, Haverigg, next door to his
mother-in-law, above and at the rear of the Cooperative
Store |
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 |
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| 4, Crown Street, Millom - front and rear | |
| They moved to No 4 Crown Street in Millom in 1892, opposite the Baptist Chapel, and Joseph helped to install the organ there. 1901 census |
 Baptist Chapel |
Notes
1 Information from Joan Shrewsbury
2 A small black notebook 90mm x 160mm has survived with J. Swindale, 11, Trafalgar Street, Consett written in pencil under one cover and Joseph Swindale, Joiner, Millom written in ink at the other end of the notebook. The book contains various jotting, an expense summary and a few shopping lists - including a wedding ring! Still in Consett in 1871.
3 Mary Jane died in 1903. Joseph Swindale's will was written in 1910 mentioning Barbara.
4 Joan Shrewsbury writes "Joseph, who is my grandfather,
married Mary Jane Gregg in November 1874 and they went to live in Haverigg, a
little village about a mile outside Millom, and quite near to the mines he
worked at as a carpenter. Their children were all born in the house at the sea
end of Main Street; it was then a Cooperative Store, and they had all the
upstairs and part of the back. Mary Jane was a dressmaker, and her widowed
mother, Jane Gregg, lived next door to them; I expect she helped with the
children as they grew up there - first there was William born in 1875, then
Joseph Thomas in 1877, Clara Jane in 1878, Mary Jane who died soon after she was
born, then John Stephen in 1880 and last, my mother, Millicent Mary, on the 10th
April 1883.
William became a draper's apprentice, Thomas was a weigher in the mine when he
was 14 years old, Clara learned to type and do shorthand, Jack, as John was
called, was the only one to go to college (in Chester) and he became a teacher
of French in London. My mother was known as Lillie (or King of the Kids, from
her fondness for looking after other peoples' babies) and she grew up to be a
telegraphist and counter clerk in the Post Office in Millom. They moved to No 4
Crown Street in Millom in 1892, opposite the Baptist Chapel, and Joseph helped
to install the organ there; he played for the services for a long time, and when
he retired my mother took his place until she married and left the town. It
can't have been a very peaceful house, with seven of them in and out, especially
as they all played some sort of musical instrument - William the violin, Tom,
the cello, Clara, the mandoline, Lillie the piano - I don't know what Jack did,
maybe he just sang with them!
Mary Jane died in June 1903 after a long illness, and gradually the family
dispersed .... Willie to Nantwich in Cheshire, where he married Henrietta Barnet,
and had one son, Joseph Barnet; they had a very good confectioner's shop there,
and one in Crewe, too. Tom, after an adventurous career in the army and in
America, married and went to South Africa, Clara went to York in Liverpool where
she married Edvard Owen Roberts, and Jack taught in London, where he married
Mabel Minnie Larkins. Lillie stayed in Millom, working in the Post Office,
playing the organ at church, and singing in the Operatic Society and the Choral
Union until her marriage to my father in 1914. Her father, Joseph, married again
to Barbara ------, and there was some sort of family disagreement about this
time, but I don't know what it was about, or even if she lived at home, as she
never mentioned her stepmother to me, so I know little of that period. She
married my father, John Stephens, in November 1914, the year her father died,
and her brothers and sister returned to Millom to attend the wedding, Willie
giving her away, and Clara's young daughter, Beryl Millicent, being her flower
girl."
5 A note on the back of the photo (probably sent to Lillie) says "Just a glimpse of your birthplace. Mona starting teaching at Drigg with the new year." Mona was Joseph's niece, daughter of Martha Ann (Gregg).
6 A Summary of Hodbarrow Mine at Millom
The Hodbarrow mine at Millom was one of the most successful iron ore mines in Cumberland (now Cumbria) not only for the amount of ore that was excavated but also for the quality of the Haematite.
Mining had been tried at Millom before 1855 but with little success. Two men Nathaniel Caine and John Barratt formed the Hodbarrow Mining Company in around 1855. One of the biggest problems at Hodbarrow was due to water and when the old workings collapsed the low lying areas flooded leaving the company with very little choice but to press on and in 1868 extra boreholes were sank and a huge body of Haematite was discovered.
In 1869 work began on shaft No.1, No.2 and No.3 but shaft No.2 had to be abandoned in 1870 due to flooding, so work had to be started on a new shaft No4 which was operational around 1874. The problems with sand & water became worse, and in 1880 a large embankment was built but this was not as successful as first hoped. The haematite, which came out of Hodbarrow, was some of the best in the area and was very highly valued. A second sea defence was built in the early 1900s to protect the mines and workings from the sea. This proved very successful and is still in good shape today.
The Hodbarrow mine ceased production in 1967 after 112 years. In 1968 the iron works closed its doors for the last time.
More information about Millom can be found at http://www.millom.info/
See also Cumbria Industries - Iron Mining and
Cumberland iron (The story of Hodbarrow Mine) : Alan Harris, Bradford Barton, 1970
Information on Hodbarrow Company Housing 1901
Bulmer's History & Directory Of Cumberland, 1901
7 In the 1871 census Joseph was living lodging in Trafalgar street with Thomas Wilkinson and family. His brother John was boarding nearby at 18 Havelock Street.
8 Transcript of marriage entry in registry at Millom by Joan Shrewsbury
12 November 1874.
Joseph Swindale 25 years Bachelor Joiner Millom s.o Joseph, Joiner
Mary Jane Gregg 20 Spin Dressmkr Haverigg d.o Thomas miner
Solemnized at the Register Office for the District of Bootle.
Married in the Register Office by certificate before me, John Benson, Registrar. Wm Hannah, Deputy Supt Registrar.
Witnesses John Swindale, Sarah Clark.
9 Memorial inscription at St George's, Millom No 394
"In loving Memory of Joseph Swindale who died January 23rd 1914 aged 65 years
and Mary Jane his beloved wife who died June 2nd 1903 aged 49 years The Souls
of the Righteous are in the Hand of God, They are at Peace"
Approximate location of grave.