Person:John Palmer (139)

John Swan Palmer was baptised on 29th August 1764 at Cottingham in Northamptonshire, son of Susannah Palmer. His middle name of Swan is perhaps a clue as to his father’s identity, although there do not appear to have been any people called Swan appearing in the Cottingham registers around this time.

John’s next sighting is on 22nd November 1786, aged 22, when he married Jane Cannam at Glapthorn, twelve miles east of Cottingham. They went on to have seven children baptised there between 1787 and 1802, although it seems that some died young – in particular they had three sons called William.

The 1841 census finds John and Jane living in Glapthorn, with John described as an agricultural labourer. The 1851 census gives their address as Upper Street in Glapthorn, and described John as a “pauper formerly carpenter”.

Jane died in 1852 aged 85. They had been married for 65 years. John survived her by two years. He died at the age of 89, being buried at Glapthorn on 13th March 1854.

1. ↑ Cottingham, Northamptonshire: Parish Registers (Northamptonshire County Record Office, Northampton).

   Baptized 1764 / Aug[us]t 29 John Swan base Son of Susannah Palmer

   This baptism has been linked to the John Palmer who married Jane Cannam and settled in Glapthorn on the basis that the adult John said in the 1851 census that he had been born around 1763 in Cottingham, and when he died his name was given as ‘John Swan Palmer’.

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 812; Book 7; Folio 4; Page 3, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Glapthorn, Northamptonshire
   John Palmer, male, 75 [1761-6], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], born in county
   Jane Palmer, female, 70 [1766-71], born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1746; Folio 481; Page 8, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Upper Street, Glapthorn, Northamptonshire
   John Palmer, head, married, male, 88 [1762/3], Pauper formerly Carpenter, b. Cottingham, Northamptonshire
   Jane Palmer, wife, married, female, 84 [1766/7], b. Glapthorn, Northamptonshire

4.   Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. John Swan PALMER, March Quarter 1854, Oundle Registration District, Volume 3b, page 136, aged 91 [1762/3]

5. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Glapthorn Parish Registers, 1538-1957. (Northampton, England: Northamptonshire County Record Office).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Glapthorn in the County of Northampton in the Year 1854
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   298	John Swan Palmer	Glapthorn	13 March	91 years [1762/3]	H. Skeffington, Vicar