From: Garry Caswell lithowipe(a)diaI.pipex.com
To: mike(a)moonrakers.com
Search For John Caswell, Marlborough
Date: Tuesday, March 24. 1998 5:34 PM
Hi My name Is Carry Caswell and I am currently trying to find some in
formation about my great grandfather John Caswell. and as I know that you
have and are previously researching the Wiltshire Caswells. I would be
interested to know if you have found any information regarding
him-background: I am unsure as to the place of birth of John. but he was
known to have been resident in Marlborough during his marrie d years. By
profession he was a master blacksmith and farrier, and It is known that
while working as a farrier in the pre WW1 period he w as kicked by a horse
and subsequently died in his ?40's- His son, m y grandfather Reginald, born
in Marlborough entered the Navy and fought in the Battle of Jutland on the
Kings Flagship under Admiral Jellicoe- This ship was called HMS Marlborough
and at the time was the pride of the British fleet and was manned by. what
the British forces call,'chosen men'. It is known that his father. John, had
died before he entered the Navy. Reg, was born in 1897 and as the age entry
requirement for the Royal Navy at that time was I e, we presume that he ent
ered the Navy in 1014.This would have given him the time necessary t o have
been promoted to Battleship Flagship crew standards.
Anyway. that would suggest that John was killed prior to1914. and b y
suppositon. that he was born around 1860 inthe Marlborough area. J ohn was
married to Ruth Caswell,who lived in Marlborough until her d eath in the
1950's. I believe that your research has already found a RuthCaswell who is
buried in St- Marys churchyard in Marlborough - I believe this may be my
Great Grandmother. As background to Ruth , she was known to be living at 34
Laneys? Close during the first wor ld war, and possibly may have lived there
until her death. If you hav e any information about John or can point me in
the rightdirection I would be grateful if you could get in touch,In addition
to the above, I would be Interested to hear if you have ever heard of
anything similar to the following during your research: the following
stories have been handed down through the family over a long period of
timeand obviously they may be complete rubbish. but what theheck... I )
during some time In the 017 orals a member of our direct line went to sea
from Bristol? and became a trader in slaves from the West Af rican Coast to
the Caribbean. As part of the process of slaving man y slaves were given. or
took, English names. and this is the reasonw hy there area large number of
African American, and European men with the Christian name 'Caswell'. I do
know that quite a large number of slaves brought back to England during the
ala where called Caswel l 'whatever'.but can find no suggestion of a member
of our family either 1) being involved In 'trading' or 2) have
accumulatedthe kind o f wealth that would be expected of a slavetrader, 2)
An even older legend that has passed down says that a member of our family
took part in what would have been the equivalent of the national games In th
e a 13. He is supposed to have been a common man that was for some reason
forced into taking part in a jousting competition with the English Knights
of the time. Even though he was a common man is supposed t o have beaten the
knights and during the final joust (some form of kn ockout Process was in
place). he is supposed to have beaten the leading knight and broken the
swordl/lance he used in one hand as some form of protest or victory
celebration. After this,as champion. he wa s knighted. granted lands and
title andlater followed the King into Battle. The king mentioned is always
Edward II and emphasis is alwa ys on the defeat of the English Knights
suggesting a foreign origin . This would also tally with a general
understanding that we come from a Welsh line derived from North Wales.
Edward II was a Welshman , born in Cearnarfon, North Wales in
1284(Suggesting this legend i s based during the reign of Edward the II
1307-1327). and there may somewhere be the possibility that this 'Caswell'
was brought in by Edward to show up the English Knights. Certainly the basic
history of this legend fits. It is known that Edward had a deep respect for
the welsh knights. who under Llewellyn had defeated his father who honoured
Llewellyn by making Llewellyn prince of Wales. Further to the above there
has also been a suggestion that the family was in some way linked with Henry
VII and came to England during the Wars of the Rose s and fought at Bosworth
Field in 1485. I'm not sure how much of the dark age history of Britain you
know.
but Henry VII was descended from a welsh knight. during LLewellyns time, who
was called Cadwalladr. In welsh thisis pronounced 'katswoll- arter'. There
is an obvious resemblance to our name. and the Presenc e of Cadwalladr was
only found during my own research when I was at college. and I find it
unlikely that my Grandfather. who had little education and never visited
Wales, would of known of his existence. I f you have heard any similar
legends Iwould be interested to hear fr om you.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give. Garry Caswell.
Lithowipe(a)dial.pipex.com