Grafted Trees™ Genealogy

1795 Marriage		1835 Burial

 Possibly the William Swales christened 7 Nov 1767 in Felixkirk.
 William Swales of Skelton is the earliest Swales ancestor in our line
 of Swales.  We know he was born around 1768, but we do not know where, nor
 who his parents were.

 In 1801, when there was a general accounting of able bodied men to defend
 England against invasion by Napoleon, there was a William Swales in
 Brotton, between 15 and 60 (ours would have been about 33).  There is no
 record of the rest of the family, only that he did not have a (riding)
 horse, and did have a pike.

 It is uncertain if he lived in Skelton in 1799, but he is listed as the proprietor of taxed property
 where John Sharpe lived.  John Sharpe is listed in the Defence Act Returns in Skelton in 1801.

 His burial date is from the Brotton parish register. The month of death
 is unreadable on the gravestone, and was missing from the transcription,
 but is believed to be November.

 Much of what we know about him is confirmed by the inscription on the
 Swales gravestone in St. Peters Chirchyard, in Brotton.
 Here is a description of the stone as it appeared in the 1940's.


 Type and material; Sandstone headstone.
 Size; Height 144cms.  Width 81cms.  Thickness 12cms.
 Orientation: West, inscription on east face.
 Technique of inscription; Incised.
 Condition of monument; Sound (it has since fallen and cracked).
 Inscription:
                   ERECTED
                 In Memory of
                WILLIAM SWALES
           of Skelton who Died Nov 20
              1835 Aged 67 Years

     ELIZABETH SWALES BELOVED WIFE OF THE
     ABOVE DIED JUNE 2ND 1852 AGED 82 YEARS.
     MARY SWALES BELOVED WIFE OF DANIEL
     SWALES DIED NOV 10th 1841 AGED 30 YEARS.
     HANNAH E. SWALES DAUGHTER OF THE ABOVE
     DIED JULY 16th 1839 AGED 3 1/2 YEARS.
     WILLIAM SWALES SON OF THE ABOVE
     DIED MAY 28th 1874 AGED 35 YEARS.
     ELIZABETH SWALES SECOND WIFE OF DANIEL
     SWALES DIED JUNE 14th 1863 AGED 47 YEARS.

 The gravestone is located in section D, position 1 (see
 diagrams).

 As you can see, the stone links William and Elizabeth.  Also there are
 Stephensons and Websters memorialized on the surrounding stones,
 supporting the marriage record shown above.  It also links William to
 his son Daniel, our ancestor, and confirms Daniel's two marriages, as
 well as corroborating their marriage records, by providing their
 approximate date of birth.  Luckily there was no other Daniel Swales
 in the area, which also makes these conclusions quite certain.