Alfred Swinscoe (1849 - 1899)

Born 13 Apr 1849 in Denby, Derbyshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Eliza (Leeson) Swinscoe — married 24 Dec 1871 in Codnor and Loscoe, Derbyshire, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1899 at about age 49 in Iowa, United States

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Biography

Alfred married Eliza Leeson in 1871. ^[1]

Alfred was a coal miner in Codnor, England, like his father-in-law John Leeson. ^[2]

After his first daughters were born, Alfred left his family to come to the United States and seek his fortune. He settled in Pennsylvania and followed his profession of coal mining. He saved up $160 and sent it to Eliza for her and the two girls (six and seven years old) to sail to America.

Alfred was a musician. He played the tuba in a band.

The family lived in Pennsylvania for two years until Alfred again got the wanderlust and left his family to go West. He stopped in a small community named Keb located in the vast coal mining district of Southern Iowa. He became a superintendant at the Blackhawk Mines, Inc. In a short time he saved up enough money to again bring his family to him. There were now four children (Annis, Lenora, Harry, and Lottie).

Three years later they moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, some six miles east. They lived on a house on Holt Street. He rode a horse back and forth to work.

The accident that killed him was recorded in the newspaper in Ottumwa stating that he was standing on a board over a main mining shaft. The board either broke or he slipped backward and feel 130 feet to the bottom of the shaft.

He is buried in Burns Cemetery, Chillicothe, Wapello County, Iowa. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ The Swinscoe family history that Joyce (Freestone) McClellan had his marriage year as 1874. 1871 is on his marriage record.
2. ↑ 1881 England Census Class: RG11; Piece: 3429; Folio: 62; Page: 35; GSU roll: 1341820 citingName: Alfred Swinscoe Age: 31 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1850 Relationship to Head: Head Spouse: Eliza Swinscoe Gender: Male Where born: Denby, Derbyshire, England Civil Parish: Shirland County/Island: Derbyshire Country: England Street address: 460 Claycross Blocks 4 Marital Status: Married Education: Employment status: View image Occupation: Coal Miner Registration district: Chesterfield ED, institution, or vessel: 20 Piece: 3429 Folio: 62 Page Number: 35 Alfred Swinscoe 31 Eliza Swinscoe 30 Charlotte A. Swinscoe 7 Henry Swinscoe 7 Leonora Swinscoe 6 Mary E. Swinscoe 4 Louisa Swinscoe 2
3. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVV3-6Z8J : 13 December 2015), Alfred Swinscoe, ; Burial, Chillicothe, Wapello, Iowa, United States of America, Burns Cemetery; citing record ID 8143341, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• Most of the information here comes from a two-page Swinscoe family history that Joyce (Freestone) McClellan had. It's unclear who wrote it.

• "Iowa State Census, 1895," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTQQ-12X : 4 April 2020), Alfred Swinscoe, Monroe, Iowa, United States; citing p. 691, 1895, State Historical Society, Des Moines; FHL microfilm 1,022,086.

• "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NV7K-QGF : 10 February 2018), Alfred Swinscoe and Eliza Leeson, 24 Dec 1871; citing Codnor And Loscoe,Derby,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,042,035.

• "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XJJ4-7DT : 3 November 2017), Alfred Swinscoe in entry for Frank Earl Mcclellan and Ada Swinscoe, 14 Dec 1907, Ottumwa, Wapello, Iowa, United States; citing reference 460, county courthouses, Iowa; FHL microfilm 979,668.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #8143341