Joseph Wilson Swan FRS (1828 - 1914)

Born 31 Oct 1828 in Pallion Hall, Sunderland, Durham, UK

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (White) Swan — married 31 Jul 1862 in London, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 27 May 1914 at age 85 in Warlingham, Surrey, England

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Biography

Joseph Swan FRS is Notable.

• son of John Swan & Isabella Cameron^[1][2]
• 31 July 1862 m. Fanny White in London^[1]
  • Donald, Mary, Joseph
• 3 Oct 1871 m. Hannah White in Neuchâtel, Switzerland^[1]
  • Hilda, Frances, Kenneth, Percival, Dorothy
• Buried in All Saints Churchyard^[3]

• 1850 started making lightbulbs using carbonized paper^[4]
• 1881 received Legion d'honneur (highest award of France)
• 1904 Knighted
• Thomas Edison filed patents in the US which he copied directly from Joseph Swan's inventions. Swan allowed him to retain the patents and sell the lights in America while he kept the patents and rights in the UK.
• 1883 the Edison & Swan United Electric Company was established

Census

• 1841 in the household of Elizabeth Cameron, his grandmother. Also in the household at the time was Elizabeth's son-in-law (Joseph's uncle), John Mowson, who later became Joseph's brother-in-law when John married Elizabeth Swan, Joseph's sister. Joseph and John also became business partners.^[5]
• 1871 Gateshead, Durham: 48, HOH, Widower, Chemist & Chemical Merchant, Household: Maria White (sister-in-law), Hannah White (sister-in-law), CAmeron, Mary E., Joseph H., Mary A Harky (servant), Elizabeth Hirst (servant)^[6]
• 1901 Kensington, London: 72, HOH, Electrical Engineer & Chemist, Employer, Household: Hannah (wife), Mary E, Hilda, Frances J, Kenneth R, Percivale, Gabriele Wieterwatz (visitor), Eliza Gamble (cook, domestic), Sarah J Rutherford (parlormaid), Mary J Stanbury (housemaid), Hannah Lishman (housemaid), Norah Kelly (house parlor maid), Helena J Stucton (kitchenmaid), August Kuster (footman)^[7]
• 1911 Warlingham, Surrey: 82, HOH, Chemist & Electrical Engineer, Household: Hannah (wife), Kenneth Raydon Swan, Mary Edmonds Swan, Dorothy Swan, Maria White (sister-in-law), Anna Mary Gosling (visitor), Robert Alfred Farthing (servant), Rose Maud Farthing (servant), Hannah Lishman (servant), Cordelia Elizabeth Eden (servant), Mary Alderson (servant), Grace Olive Tuffin (servant)^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia: Joseph Swan, accessed 11 June 2016
2. ↑ England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, ancestry.com: baptism of Joseph Wilson Swan, 31 Oct 1828, Durham, England
3. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #147019771, photo, stone photo, accessed 8 Dec 2020
4. ↑ "The Truth About 10 Famous Inventions." SciShow. 22 May 2016. YouTube.com (Web), accessed 11 June 2016
5. ↑ Correspondence from Pam Free, 28 Sept 2020
6. ↑ 1871 England Census: 1871 England Census; Class: RG10; Piece: 5052; Folio: 32; Page: 12; GSU roll: 848415
7. ↑ 1901 England Census: Class: RG13; Piece: 20; Folio: 156; Page: 17
8. ↑ 1911 England Census: Class: RG14; Piece: 3266; Schedule Number: 508

• Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
• Ancestry.com. 1871 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
• <Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Not used but recommended / Other References

• Swan K. R. "Sir Joseph Swan and the Invention of the incandescent electric lamp". London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1946 (K R Swan was Sir Joseph's son)