The Swanston Family of Earlston: Post Runner & Photographer

Two unrelated posts  on  his Earlston  ancestors  recently caught the attention of blog reader David  Nisbet, who has been in touch regarding his Swantson family - David Swanston, post runner and William Swanston, the official photographer for the visit of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith in 1908. 

David Swanston 

This photograph came into the Auld Earlston collection and was identified on the reverse as David Swanston, Post Runner, here adverting the business of James Gray, photographer in the Square.  It is one of the oldest photographs in the group's collection, as David died in 1874. 

In Rutherford's "Directory of the Southern Counties", published in 1866, there is an entry for David Swanston, post runner.  Somehow that term conjures up a picture of a man running around the village with his post bag, delivering the mail.  But in fact David drove a horse and cart in the course of his work.

We get a colourful account of his days  in an item published in "The Berwickshire News & General Advertiser", 21st June 1902.   It looked back at "Melrose Postmen of Olden Days", reprinting an earlier article in  "The Kelso Chronicle". 

Berwickshire News & General Advertiser: 17th June 1902

"David Swanston was the runner for Earlston, driving  a pony (called Ben) and a cart.  David's turnout was a regular institution for foot passengers on the route, and on certain days they  were packed  in the vehicle like herring in a barrel. 

On overtaking a passenger on the road, David would announce "If there's no' room the now, we will soon mak' room" and accordingly the passengers had to obey orders and creep closer together.   If on certain occasions, if he was a little jimp [?] for that time in the morning, he would  meet the scowl of the postmistress by saying that "Ben had a bad nail in his foot this mornin'".

If he should be late in Melrose  no wonder, when we recall he had to be in there in time to dispatch the letters from Earlston for the first train  in the morning.  This was a time when the railway was in a primitive state, the terminus of the North British being at Hawick.  

David stabled at The Ship Inn [in Melrose] and some days would say to his colleagues, "If anyone asks for me, just say I maun board ship for a minute or two, for mercy it was cauld coming over this morning".  In the summer, the excuse for boarding the ship was   "the heat is fair meltin' the day" ."

Clearly David was a well known "character" locally. Census Returns showed him listed   as "post runner between Earlston and Melrose", living with his wife Charlotte Thorburn   and their six children.  He  was still working in 1871,  living at 30 Main Street, but died three years later aged 58 and was buried in Earlston Churchyard.  Charlotte, his wife  died in  1877.   A plaque in the church wall sadly records the young deaths of three of their children - Agnes aged 18 months in 1867, son James aged 28 in 1871, and youngest son William died in 1875 aged just  7 years old.

Isabella Swanston

David's daughter Isabella was the second of the six children.  At the age of seventeen, on 8 January 1857, she had an illegitimate son,  William  who was to become the well-known  Edinburgh photographer.   

Four years later Isabella married in Earlston the father of her child, stone mason, William Moffat.   They went on to have six more children - Charlotte, John, Thomas, Robert, Lizzie and Richard.   Isabella, by then a widow for 22 years, died in 1909, preceded by the death of two of her children, Thomas and Robert Alexander  - all buried in Earlston Churchyard. 

William Swanston

In 1871,  thirteen year old  William was living with his grandparents post runner David and his wife Charlotte.  Ten years later in 1881  he was described as a lead pipe maker, living in Leith, married - his wife, Australian born  Helen Sutherland.  In 1891 he was in the same occupation, but at some point in the decade, he had  a major change of direction  to that of photographer.

The family photograph, c.1887-91,  shows  (from L to R) young John Alexander Swanston,  mother Helen Swanston (nee Sutherland);  baby, thought to be Isabella Swanston; father William Swanston (illegitimate grandson of David Swanston, post runner); and young William Henderson Swanston,

William's  photographic business at 302 Leith Walk, Edinburgh  seems to have prospered,   and his studio was listed in the Edinburgh & Leith trade directories,  from 1896 until 1930.  William died in 1921.  

Below - one  of his photographs from the visit to Earlston of Prime Minister Asquith in 1908.

PostScript:  William's sons both followed him into the profession.   William Henderson Swanston was attached to the Australian forces at Gallipoli in the First World War, with many of his photographs now held in  the collection of the Australian Archives.

Sources:

• Family accounts and photograph
• Auld Earlston photographic collection
• Edinburgh Photographers
• British Newspapers Online

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Mr Nisbet would be delighted to hear from anyone with Swanston and Moffat connections. Please contact in the first instance:  auldearlston@aol.com