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Swanton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Swanton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Swanton family

The surname Swanton was first found in Durham where they were Lords of the manor of Stockton from early times. But by the year 1221 they had moved north into Scotland and acquired the lands of Swaynystoun, near Colinton, in Midlothian, where Duncan Swainston was the scion of that branch. 1

Swainston Manor lies 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Calbourne on the Isle of Wight. It was originally a manor house but has now been converted to a hotel. It has a 12th-century chapel on its 32 acres thought to have been built by the Bishops of Winchester.

Early History of the Swanton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Swanton research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1605, 1660 and 1661 are included under the topic Early Swanton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swanton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Swainson, Swanston, Swenson, Swenston, Swainston, Swanson and many more.

Early Notables of the Swanton family

More information is included under the topic Early Swanton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swanton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Swanton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jeremy Swanton, who settled in New York State in 1774

Swanton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Swanton, aged 33, who landed in New York in 1800 2
John Swanton, aged 35, who arrived in New York in 1810 2
Frank W. Swanton, aged 32, who landed in America, in 1894

Swanton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Hugh Swanton, aged 50, who immigrated to the United States from Lincoln, England, in 1910
Annie Swanton, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States from Queenstown, Ireland, in 1912
Albert Percy Swanton, aged 17, who settled in America from Malmesburg, England, in 1913
Henry Swanton, aged 6, who landed in America from Astley, England, in 1920

Swanton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Swanton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Ann Swanton, aged 17 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Flora Hastings" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in July 1847 3
Miss. Eliza Swanton, aged 18 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Argo" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in July 1847 3
Mr. George Swanton, aged 11 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Rose" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle on 28th June 1847 3
Mr. Barry Swanton, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Covenanter" departing 17th June 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 9th August 1847 but he died on board 4

Swanton Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

George Swanton, aged 31, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1911

Swanton migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Swanton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Swanton, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Asterope" in 1867

Swanton migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Swanton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Charles Swanton, who settled in Barbados in 1660

Contemporary Notables of the name Swanton (post 1700) +

Fred Swanton (1862-1940), American politician and entrepreneur from Brooklyn, New York, Mayor of Santa Cruz, California (1927-1933), he promoted the expansion of Santa Cruz County
John R. Swanton (1873-1958), American anthropologist
Diane Swanton (b. 1979), South African gold medalist sport shooter at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Cedric Howell Swanton (1899-1970), Australian psychiatrist educated at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne
Rear Admiral Robert Swanton (d. 1765), British Royal Navy officer, Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station (1763–1764)
Michael James Swanton, British polymath: historian, linguist, literary critic, translator, archaeological metallurgist and architect, Emeritus Fellow of The Royal Historical Society and Emeritus Professor of Medieval Studies at Exeter University
Ernest William "Jim" Swanton CBE (1907-2000), British sports correspondent, known for being a cricket writer and commentator under his initials, E. W. Swanton; he was sports journalist for The Daily Telegraph and as a broadcaster for BBC Radio for 30 years
Lloyd Swanton (b. 1960), Australian jazz double bassist/bass guitarist and composer
James Swanton Waugh (1822-1898), Irish-born, Wesleyan clergyman in Australia; he arrived Melbourne on 8 February 1854 and was President of Wesley College, Melbourne, until 1883
Louise Swanton Belloc (1796-1881), née Swanton, a French writer and translator of Irish descent

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 57)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 97)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies