The Spotswood Pedigree

 

A copy of this paper, written by the hand of John Edmund Jones, grandfather of Mabel (Jones) Hill was given to Mabel Hill by Brian Beswick in 1979.

 

John Edmund JonesJohn Edmund Jones (shown) was one of four children of John Jones and Jane Elizabeth Spotswood born in Melbourne. (The other three were William, Henry and Catherine.) John Jones, born in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England was a linen draper in Melbourne (Collins Street) in the 1840s; in the 1852 John Jones had moved back to Yorkshire, to York, where more children were born - two sons, Albert and Arthur S., and two daughters, Jane Brearey and Rosalie Mary.

An earlier copy of the paper, written before the death of Jane Elizabeth in 1909, was acquired via Vic Jaynes in New Zealand, who obtained it in the 1970s from Ellen Constance Morice or Thomas Edward Youd Seddon, descendants of Louisa Jane Spotswood, wife of Richard Seddon. Louisa (Mrs Seddon) is mentioned in the paper. At sometime, Louisa stayed with her aunt Jane Elizabeth at her aunt's house in Worthing, Sussex, England, convalescing from an illness.

Another copy of the paper was obtained from Garth Norman - possibly a transcript of a copy provided to Karlena Nagle by Vic Jaynes.

John Edmund Jones became a solicitor in York. He died 31 Aug 1936, in Scarborough Yorkshire.

(A Jones family tree, produced by 'R.M.F' (Robin Flecher, who visited Mabel Jones in Kelowna in the 1980s) , and provided by Stephen Long, shows descendants of John Jones and Jane Elizabeth Spotswood, including the John Edmund Jones family.)

 

Spottiswood

This family is of considerable antiquity in the County of Berwick, Scotland.

Robert de Spotteswod del Counte de Berewyk gives his adherance to Edward I in 1296.

William de Spotteswod Notary Public in 1309.

John Spottyswod of that Ilk is witness in a Charter confirmed by David II. John Spottyswod is a witness to several Documents in 1444.

John Pottiswode, or Spottiswode appears in the Reign of Henry VI.

The family name has been and still is spelt differently. In the older records it is generally spelt Spotteswod, Spottyswod or Spottiswod and sometimes Spotiswode and even Spotiswood, Spotswood and Spottiswood.

The most immediate ancestor was John Spotswood said to have been born in 1509, a Son of the House of Spotswood in the Merse with the Barony of Gordon, Superintendent of the Lothian Merse and Teviotdale. He married Beatrix Crighton a daughter of the House of Lugton near Dalkeith and died 5th December 1585. His father was killed at Flodden. His children were a daughter & two sons :- John, born 1565, and James, born 1567. John succeeded his father in the Parsonage of Caldar, became Archbishop of Glasgow in 1610 & of St Andrews in 1615.

He crowned Charles I at Holyrood in 1633, & was made Chancellor in 1635. (He died in 1639 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. ) He wrote the History of the Church of Scotland. He married Rachel Lindesay, daughter of David Lindesay Bishop of Ross & of the House of Edzell. He left children, viz: Sir John Spotswood of Darsey & Sir Robert Spotswood of New Abbey & Pentland, - & Anna, who married Sir William St Clair of Roslin. Sir Robert was beheaded in 1646 for loyalty to King Charles I.

As to James Spotswood D.D. from whom Captain Spotswood probably descended, he was M.A. of Glasgow University. In 1583 he became Rector of Wells in Norfolk, & in 1620 was made Bishop of Clogher Co. Tyrone in Ireland; he died in London in 1644 & was buried in Westminster Abbey near his brother John. He was married twice. First to a Daughter of the House of Norfolk, and afterwards to a Mrs Perkins. Of the first marriage he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. The latter married Archibald Arskine or Erskine, son of Sir James Arskine. He had also a son named Sir Henry Spotswood who married Jean Bulkley daughter of Tristram Bulkley of Castlebarnhill Anglesea. Sir Henry left issue - Jean (who married George Hay, son of Sir George Hay) & two sons -:- Sir Henry Spotswood a Colonel of Horse & Richard Spotswood of Drumbote, & another daughter.

So far from the Published Records which are to be found in the Spotswood Miscellany & other works, I am unable to fill up the void between the above and the family of my Grandfather, Captain John Spotswood, 84th Regiment, who was born at Cork in Ireland, & who claimed descent from this Scottish family. He was a reserved man with reference to his antecedents, but from his daughter(s, Miss Alicia Spotswood and) (my Mother, Jane Elizabeth Jones, nee Spotswood) I have gleaned the following, & it is most probable that he was descended from Dr James Spotswood, Bishop of Clogher.

W. Spotswood married Alicia Stuart the second of three daughters of Walter Stuart & Mary Campbell - their names were Catherine, Alicia & Jane. W. Spotswood had three children, a son (whose name I do not know but possibly William) and

John Spotswood (my Grandfather) and Jane (who married a Mr Kernahan & left some children, a son James being a Solicitor at Enniskillen). Perhaps one reason why my Grandfather was reticent as to his family was that his Father, W. Spotswood and his Mother were separated. The former lead, I believe a wild life & my Great Grandmother brought up the family at Cork.

John Spotswood married Eliza Waddington, daughter of Major General Walter Waddington (who died on the voyage home from India & was buried at St Helena.) He appears to have left a son (name unknown) & two daughters, Eliza (Mrs John Spotswood) & another who married a Colonel Huff, who had a numerous family.

John Spotswood joined the 84th Regiment in 1810 & remained with his Regiment in India until 1825, when he exchanged into the 98th Regiment. He retired from the Service in 1828, & eventually after residing in Devonshire he emigrated with his Family to Hobart Tasmania where he died in 1859 July 29th; at New Town leaving a large family, namely-

  1. John Stuart Spotswood

  2. Christopher Spotswood

  3. Alicia Spotswood

  4. Catherine Spotswood

  5. George Spotswood

  6. James Stafford Spotswood

  7. Jane Elizabeth Spotswood

  8. Walter Waddington Spotswood (died in infancy and buried at Rio)

  9. Fredrick Spotswood

  10. George Spotswood

  11. Fredrick Augustus Spotswood

All these are dead. My Mother, Jane Elizabeth Jones died Sept. 11th 1909.

Mrs Seddon is a Daughter of John Stuart Spotswood who married a Miss Normandale.

It would be interesting to search the Irish Records & endeavour to connect W. Spotswood who lived at one time in Cork (where John Spotswood is said to have been born) with some of the descendants of Bishop James Spotswood, but I doubt if it will ever fall to my lot to have it done.

(signed)

J. Edmund Jones

 

Originally transcribed 11 June 1998, by Peter M. Brown, 3 Killara Ave, Coolum Beach, Qld Australia, 4573, and updated from Mabel Hill's copy 5 February 2007.

This is the only material to suggest Cork as the birthplace of Captain John Spotswood. However, he did have connections with Cork. Before leaving for VDL (Tasmania) he wrote to the War Office in 1827 from Patrick Street in Cork. Also Frederick Walter Waddington Spotswood, who died on the voyage to Tasmania, was born in Kinsale, Co Cork in 1827.

Captain John's mother, Alice Spotswood (nee Stewart) had strong connections with Enniskillen - she came into possession of a pew in the Enniskillen Parish Church in 1801 (Vestry Minutes). Her will was prepared in Enniskillen, and she died in Enniskillen in 1835 (Enniskillen Chronicle and Erne Packet). In 1810 she wrote from Enniskillen to a Major Armstrong who had been involved in obtaining a commission for Capt John Spotswood in the 84th Regiment of Foot. Captain John's son George was baptised in Enniskillen in Apr 1820 [copy of baptismal record held by Joan Brown (nee Spotswood.)]

The Edmund Jones paper does contain errors with respect to the family of Captain John Spotswood, namely -

*Elizabeth Waddington was the adopted daughter of Major General Stafford William Samuel Waddington. (SWS Waddington was married twice, and had two daughters (Rebecca and Jemima) and five sons. Jemima Waddington was married to Colonel Robert Hunter Hough.)

*John Spotswood joined the 84th Regiment in India in 1807. There was an administrative foul-up with his records - he was referred to as 'William' in 1807. He did not appear as 'John' on the Army List until 1810.

*The 84th Regiment returned from India in 1819 - and subsequently was stationed in Devon. Captain John was placed on half-pay there in October 1821. (He may have parted with the 84th in 1820, as the baptismal record from Enniskillen for George Spotswood states the Capt Spotswood was on half-pay in April 1820.) In Apr 1825 he was commissioned into the 98th Regiment. He was employed extra-regimentally (ie he didn't accompany the 98th to southern Africa), probably serving in Ireland, given the birth of the son in Kinsale in 1827, and correspondence he wrote from Tralee and Cork in 1827 and 1828.

*Captain John and his family appeared to have boarded the 'Coronet' in Cork, bound for Hobart.

*Elizabeth Spotswood did give birth to 10 children, however two, George and Frederick Walter Waddington, died in infancy. George (the first George), not shown by John Edmund Jones, died in Bombay in 1812; Frederick Walter Waddington (shown as children numbers 8 and 9 in the Edmund Jones paper, but actually one person) died enroute to Rio de Janeiro in 1828.

*The second name of the first born, John, was spelled Stewart. This is in all probability the spelling of Captain John's mother's name - Stewart is a prominent name in Enniskillen. (Stuart, it is thought, was the frenchified spelling favoured for the Royal House by Mary Queen of Scots.)

*John Stewart and Catherine predeceased their father.

As a footnote, it is indeed disappointing that John Edmund Jones failed to have the Irish Records searched. As it was, many of these records were probably destroyed in The Troubles only a few years later, in 1922.

 

Amended 5 February 2007