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Roger Swire of St. Vincent & Jamaica

Posted on May 28, 2007
Posted UnderFamily Pages |

roger-swire-of-st-vincent-jamaica.jpgRoger SWIRE (Planter & Magistrate) (1792 - 1841)

Read Swire Family Letters from the 1870’s - 1901

Roger SWIRE was born 15 September 1792 in Hunsingore, Yorkshire, England to Roger SWIRE and Hannah MELLIN. His English ancestry is well documented back to the mid-1500’s. It’s not known exactly when he left England, but it is assumed that a military assignment sent him to the Caribbean sometime after 1810. It has been said that he first ventured to Antigua before arriving in St. Vincent at least by 1819. It was here, or on nearby Antigua or Grenada that he married Frances Lydia COX, daughter of John George COX and his wife Jane Ann, maiden name unknown. Roger and Frances had 12 children.

In 1821, Roger SWIRE was a Lieutenant in  the Queen’s Companies on St. Vincent. So far, this is all that is known about his public life there.

The Roger SWIRE family left the island of St. Vincent between 1827 and 1828, settling in Eastern Jamaica near Portland. Oral history from the RUTTY family states that an eruption of the St. Vincent volcano La Soufrière is the reason why the SWIRE’s left St. Vincent. However, the only documented eruption of this volcano in the 1800’s took place in 1812, which would have been too soon for their departure. It is believed that the story about the volcano played some other role in their lives. Perhaps this was the reason for Roger Swire to have come to St. Vincent since the widespread damage likely made the island vulnerable to attack. More Rutty family history states that Roger Swire inherited property on the island, but it’s not known who left him the property, or if this story is true or not.

There are some amusing family stories about Roger and his courtship with Frances. One of them from the Littlejohn family states that: “Roger SWIRE was Aide-de-camp to the Governor of St. Vincent. Frances Lydia Palmer-COX (note the surname is incorrect here, Palmer has not been verified to have been a part of her name) had been sent out at age 16 to stay with her grandfather, the Chief Justice. Roger and Frances fell in love but were forbidden to see each other. Roger was rather wild. Apparently Roger asked the advice of the Governor. “The Governor pointed over his shoulder. Roger thanked him, and when the Governor said, ‘I said nothing,’, Roger said, ‘No Sir, but I will take your advice.’ Roger procured a sloop, some sailors, and a chaperone and effected an elopement. They were married at St. George’s Church in Grenada and later settled in Jamaica, purchased a sugar plantation, and imported horses from Yorkshire to improve local stock.”
Another family story from the RUTTY’s states that: “Frances Lydia COX’s father was the colonel of an English regiment. The future Lord Clive was a penniless lieutenant in his regiment. Clive fell in love with Frances, but the colonel said no go and packed her off to the island of St. Vincent, where his sister lived, the wife of the Bishop of St. Vincent. There she met a Yorkshire man by the name of Roger SWIRE, who had inherited property on the island, and they fell in love. Roger chartered a schooner and eloped with her to Antigua, where they married. They then returned to St. Vincent.”

The first five children of Roger SWIRE and Frances Lydia COX were born on St. Vincent, according to her family bible. So far, christening records have been located for only three of the first five children in the records of St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Kingstown, St. Vincent. John Henry Dalzell SWIRE was christened 25 March 1821, Roger Jones SWIRE (last name recorded as Sweri) was christened 01 September 1824, along with his sister Hannah Jane SWIRE (last name recorded as Sweri), christened the same day.
After the family moved to Jamaica, Roger SWIRE owned or was associated with several properties in eastern Jamaica in the Surrey County parishes of St. George’s and Portland. Those properties included Lenox Estate, Norwich, Stanton Harcourt, Unity Valley, Spring Garden, Belle Vue and Fort Stewart Estate. Records in the National Library of Jamaica show that SWIRE served as Captain of the St. George’s (Parish) Militia in 1830, Justice of the Peace and Assistant Judge in 1832, Collecting Constable in 1837, Commissioner of Supreme Court in 1839, and Inspector and Collector of Rum Duties in 1841, the year that he died. While his burial record shows the middle name of Henry, some researchers dispute this as incorrect.

Here is the full list of his children with Frances Lydia COX:

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