TIMELINE OF SOURCES TO WADE THROUGH
when would he have been born????
is he any relation too…..James Walter Swords, Prop of the Advertiser newspaper, reporter, 1816-1879? (ie is this his father and does this make him James Thomas Swords? cause there is a family tree on ancestry com where he is born in 1849, but I think this is too late). (his son maybe?)
/////////////////////
| 1841 |
need to check the name of mother on birth cert. Could be one family that everyone gets baptised and another family in same timeframe who don’t get baptised.
| Name | James Swords |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Child | Charlotte Swords born 1841 in Victoria Reference Number 12611 |
Source Citation
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Birth Records
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| 1844 |
I think this is mary ann????? his wife?
i think this is their wedding cert::::: note the surname has dropped the S
DetailSource
| Name | Mary Ann Sword |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Record Type | Marriage |
| Marriage Date | 27 Feb. 1844 |
| Marriage Place | Bothwell, Lanark, Scotland |
| Spouse | James Sword |
| Volume Number | 625/4 |
Source Citation
West Dunbartonshire Council; West Dunbartonshire, Scotland; West Dunbartonshire Parish Records; Reference: 625/4
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Select Counties, Scotland, Church of Scotland, Marriages, 1615-1854 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025.
Original data: Old Parish Registers. Scotland: Church of Scotland
this means…..mary ann and james got married in SCOTLAND and then immigrated maybe with young children or maybe as a couple and had kids out here.
I think i’d need the marriage cert to actually see what her maiden name was.
This still may or may not be the right couple.
| 1848 |
okay so this is what I’ve got from ancestry com given he needs to be alive with a family around 1850s since he had a wife and children during the arson event. for this one I’m going on the PLACE and the DATE being about right:
P3 Baptisms solemnized in the Parish of St Peters’ Melbourne in the County of Bourke in the year 1848
When Baptised: October 15
When Born: September 24 1848
Child’s Christian Name: James Lowther
Parents Name: James & Mary Anne Swords
Christian – Surname
Abode: Bourke Street East
Quality or Profession: Reporter
By Whom the Ceremony was Produced: Daniel Newham
—
Source Citation
Description: 1848-1859; Reference Number: 1/1
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, St. Peter’s Eastern Hill, Baptisms, 1848-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data: Baptism Registers. St. Peter’s Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| 1850 |
okay so this is what I’ve got from ancestry com given he needs to be alive with a family around 1850s since he had a wife and children during the arson event. for this one I’m going on the PLACE and the DATE being about right:
next record:
P22 Baptisms solemnized in the Parish of St Peters’ Melbourne in the County of Bourke in the year 1850
When Baptised: 11 January 1850
When Born: 19 December 1849
Child’s Christian Name: James Thomas
Parents Name: James & Mary Anne Swords
Christian – Surname
Abode: Collins Street
Quality or Profession: Printer
By Whom the Ceremony was Produced: Samial someone Bloomfield
source:
Source Citation
Description: 1848-1859; Reference Number: 1/1
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, St. Peter’s Eastern Hill, Baptisms, 1848-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data: Baptism Registers. St. Peter’s Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
here’s the birth certificate :::::
DetailSource
| Name | James Thomas Swords |
|---|---|
| Birth Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Birth Registration Date | 1850 |
| Birth Registration Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Father | James Swords |
| Reference Number | 26489 |
source Source Citation
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Birth Records
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
is this my guy?
INSOLVENT COURT. (1850, January 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 2. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4774262
INSOLVENT COURT. (1850, January 5). Port Phillip Gazette and Settler’s Journal (Vic. : 1845 – 1850), p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223157452
“THE ANNUAL LICENSING MEETING FOR THE CITY. .” The Melbourne Daily News (Vic. : 1848 – 1851) 20 April 1850: 2. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226324958>.
1850 ‘REVISION COURT.—GIPPS WARD.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 4 May, p. 2. , viewed 02 May 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4768491—
“REVISION COURT.—GIPPS WARD.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 4 May 1850: 2. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4768491>.
“GIPPS WARD REVISION COURT.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 7 May 1850: 2. Web. 2 May 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4766639>.
“GIPPS WARD REVISION COURT.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 7 May 1850: 2. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4766639>.
MELBOURNE. (1850, September 18). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1847 – 1851), p. 2 (DAILY and MORNING.). Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91915931—
| 1851 |
everyone gets baptised and another family in same timeframe who don’t get baptised. Or could be first few kids get baptised and older ones dont or vice versa.
| Name | James Swords |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Child | Walter Swords Birth Registration Date 1851 victoria ref 20644 |
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Birth Records
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
death at pub::::
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE (1851, February 15). The Melbourne Daily News (Vic. : 1848 – 1851), p. 2. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226521944
“LOCAL INTELLIGENCE” The Melbourne Daily News (Vic. : 1848 – 1851) 15 February 1851: 2. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226521944>.
“ADJOURNED [?]ENSING SESSION.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 17 April 1851: 2. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4777359>.
“MELBOURNE.” Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1847 – 1851) 18 September 1850: 2 (DAILY and MORNING.). Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91915931>.
SUPREME COURT. (1851, November 27). The Melbourne Daily News (Vic. : 1848 – 1851), p. 2. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226912627
| 1853 |
transfer:
“QUARTERLY LICENSING DAY.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 2 March 1853: 6. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4790262>.
| 1854 |
grace darling hotel
“QUARTERLY LICENSING DAY.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 13 December 1854: 5. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4801708>.
village belle!!!
LICENSING SESSION.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 7 September 1854: 5. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4797367>.
“QUARTERLY LICENSING DAY.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 20 December 1854: 5. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4802035>.
| 1855 |
ANNUAL LICENSE MEETING. (1855, April 26). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4807277
june
SUPREME COURT. (1856, June 5). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4839468
Thursday, 21st June. (1855, June 22). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154893005
august
is this he?
CITY POLICE COURT. (1855, August 23). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154895236
NOV 1855 ARSON
its about 3am on a sunday in November 1855 we’re back at James Swords’ Collingwood hotel on the corner.
Mary Murphy is a domestic servant sleeping in the pub, Mrs Swords and the two daughters have had supper in the parlour at the back and have gone to sleep and an inebriated James Swords has just come back from a night at the Theatre Royale.
Not far away, two police seargants hear the wooden clicking and whirring of a fellow policeman’s rattle and they run to the corner and they see flames throwing out from a cupboard in the front window of the pub
and nobody’s around.
it’s not clear who is where at what time and when the fire gong is sounded, but Mary Murphy wakes up to smoke and gets Mrs Swords and the children out of the house and standing outside.
-James is standing there hands in pocket on the street while men in uniform are running around bucketing water.
James is standing there, looking, as he is later described, “seedy and stupid”. The police dont even realise James is actually the landlord until he’s obliged to tell them he is the landlord. “oh, that’s me”
He tells them not to bother with a fire engine, hands still in pockets, and they only need a few buckets of water.
He’s saying this as two fire fighters are battling the flames, the second story has caught alight and a half burning mattress of straw is getting thrown out of the front window. The Fire does gets extinguished and James was right, a steam engine fire horse and cart on scene isn’t needed.
Now the fire is out,
-the police inspect the front room and they find an old straw bonnet sitting on the mantlepiece and smelling like turps with shredded chewed newspaper in it like how you’d find a rats nest. Which is so weird to be sitting like that on the mantlepiece.
-I presume the insurance claim is awarded for the house furniture and the pub’s inventory of alcohol because the valuations are reported in the press, and the arson charge gets dropped.
-James always maintains the fire must have started as a flying spark from the fire place opposite the cupboard.
source:
THE CHARGE OF ARSON. (1855, November 21). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved April 13, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4823844
extra source: police rattle sound effect is on you tube.
It would be worth going through police records which I guess are at the north melb PROV
James did say he’d match the 5 pounds if they were awarded to the first constantble on the scene by the fire insurance agency so let’s hope he remembered saying that the next day.
While Mary Murphy is cleaning out the smoke smell in the pub and residences and plays her quiet background role in the history of labour in the colony,
source:
THE CHARGE OF ARSON. (1855, November 21). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved April 13, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4823844
extra source: police rattle sound effect is on you tube.
DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. (1855, November 19). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4823678
DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. (1855, November 20). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4823834
CITY POLICE COURT. (1855, November 20). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154862445
WHO ARE THE CULPRITS?—LET AN INDEPENDENT PUBLIC BE THE JUDGE. (1855, November 22). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88048055
VICTORIA. (1855, November 26). The Tasmanian Daily News (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1855 – 1858), p. 4. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203385378
“CITY POLICE COURT.” The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954) 21 November 1855: 6. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154862720>.
“DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 19 November 1855: 5. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4823678>.
“DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 20 November 1855: 5. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4823834>.
| 1856 |
helping with bridge
Advertising (1856, February 6). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 7. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4829967
got rid of collingwood hotel licence here:
QUARTERLY LICENSING MEETING. (1856, March 5). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154862340
“[?] QUATERLY LICENSING MEETING.” The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 5 March 1856: 5. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4832376>.
SUPREME COURT. (1856, June 5). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4839468
THIS IS BIG:::::
“NEW COURT.” The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954) 13 August 1856: 2 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE AGE). Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154870842>.
“CITY POLICE COURT.” The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954) 20 November 1855: 6. Web. 4 Feb 2026 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154862445>.
NEW COURT. (1856, August 13). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 2 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE AGE). Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154870842
INSOLVENT COURT. (1856, November 20). Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 – 1899), p. 3 (AFTERNOON). Retrieved May 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36299668
| 1857 |
another child?
gets baptised and another family in same timeframe who don’t get baptised. Or could be first few kids get baptised and older ones dont or vice versa.next child yes or not
DetailSource
| Name | Edwin Augustus Swords |
|---|---|
| Birth Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Birth Registration Date | 1857 |
| Birth Registration Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Father | James Swords |
| Mother | Swords |
| Reference Number | 4964 |
Source Citation
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Birth Records
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| 1860 |
Family Notices (1860, October 6). Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Vic. : 1855; 1857 – 1890; 1892 – 1955), p. 2. Retrieved February 4, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112915692
| 1876 |
everyone gets baptised and another family in same timeframe who don’t get baptised. Or could be first few kids get baptised and older ones dont or vice versa.next child yes or not
is this another of his children??????
| Name | James Alfred Swords |
|---|---|
| Birth Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Birth Registration Date | 1876 |
| Birth Registration Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Father | James Thomas Swords |
| Mother | Swords |
| Reference Number | 1947 |
Source Citation
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Birth Records
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1921. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| 1878 |
is this also him? [Jas is a common historical abbreviation and diminutive for the male given name James. ]
Name Jas Thos Sowrds
Residence Date 1 Jan. 1878
Residence Place Melbourne, Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia
Page number 2086
Source Citation
Gould Genealogy; South Australia, Australia; Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1851-1907
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1851-1907 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1851-1907.
I HAVE DOWNLOADE DIGITAL COPY:::: COPY i3196476-02104
ere is a James T Swords in Frankston:
police gazette
STEALING OTHERWISE THAN FROM THE PERSON OR FROM DWELLINGS
STOLEN from a horse at Cranbourne, on the 30th ultimo, a four-strand leather girth with single bucklet at each end, the property of James T. Swords, Frankston; £5 reward – 11th June 1878
–page 1, from VICTORIA POLICE GAZETTE published by authority no.24 Wednesday, June 12 1878.
source:
| Name | James T Swords |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
| Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Reference Description | AU7103-1878 Victoria Police Gazette 1878 |
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1855, 1864-1924 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Original data: Victoria Police Gazette Indexes. CD-ROM. Ridgehaven, South Australia: Gould Genealogy and History, 2009.
| 1879 |
The question with this is, is this the right guy – James T Swords?
Name James T Swords
Residence Date 26 Nov. 1879
Residence Place Melbourne, Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia
Page number 2778
Source Citation
Gould Genealogy; South Australia, Australia; Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1851-1907
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1851-1907 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Australia, Victoria, Government Gazettes, 1851-1907.
I HAVE DOWNLOADE DIGITAL COPY::::: i3196476-02796.jpg
| 1881 |
found his wife:?::: very confident its her, timeline and place fits??
| Name | Mary Ann Swords |
|---|---|
| Death Registration Date | 1881 |
| Death Registration Place | Victoria, Australia |
| Reference Number | 2113 |
source
Source Citation
The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Death Records
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1840-1992 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Original data: Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1840-1992. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
burrows & co 