1764-1840Fr. Coombes a noted Cork historian wrote the following in respect of Robert Swanton.
The Swanton Memorial
An Historical Memorial in Skibbereen
by James Coombes
From the Swanton Family History Worldwide by Louise May Swanton
Two forgotten Ballydehob patriots are linked in a memorial in the old Protestant cemetery in Skibbereen. On the obelisk which surmounts the memorial there is a draped urn with the single word ROBERT inscribed on it. One of the four panels had the following inscription:
Sacred to the Memory of
ROBERT SWANTON
Counsellor at Law
One of the Judges of the Marine
Court of the City of New York
Who departed this life
in Ballidahab
On the 15th of February 1840
aged 76
He was a humble Christian and faithful
Friend and Benefactor
Be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted,
Forgiving one another even as God
for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Epb. iv.3
Do ghradhaigh se na Gaedhil agus an Ghaeilge
Another panel commemorates three children of Thomas Swanton, Maria (d. 21 July 1852, aged 11 years 5 months); Ellen (d. 1 April 1856, aged 17 years 9 months); Annie (. 21 Nov. 1857, aged 17 years 9 months). It also contains the inscriptions: “Omnibus inservientes sed servi unius Domini” and “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”
A third panel commemorates Sarah wife of Nathaniel Evanson, IV July 1830 aged 33. Sarah was almost certainly a sister of Thomas Swanton, who was a nephew of Robert Swanton.
Robert Swanton was born about the year 1764. Richard Deasy of Clonakilty wrote of him in 1845 that he had been a ‘most active agent of the United Irishmen’ and that he had ‘organised the country into a military preparation with sergeants and officers’.
Shortly before the rising of 1798 Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the Sheares brothers and other leaders were arrested. Swanton fled to America. According to one account, he had also been arrested and had escaped from jail. The late Thomas Roycroft of Skibbereen kept alive the tradition that he had been hidden in a butter barrel, smuggled out to sea in a rowing boat, and that he had boarded a ship six miles from the coast.
He soon made his mark in his adopted country, and in the 1820’s, was a leading figure in the ‘Friends of Ireland in New York’. He was the author of ‘A Manifesto to the People of Ireland’ issued by the ‘Friends’. Among his colleagues in this society were Dr. William Power and his brother Father John Power, vicar general of New York, and one of the most eminent priests in America. They were sons of Andrew and Elizabeth Power (1), who lived in the house now (1981) occupied by Mr. Joe Connolly of Deelish Skibbereen. They were nephews of Father John Power, the saintly pastor of Kilmacabea. Further research would probably unearth more details of Robert Swanton’s American career. For the moment, we must be satisfied with the obituary published by the New York Evening Post on 4 April 1840.
“It is with heartfelt regret that we announce the death of Robert Swanton, for many years judge of the Marine Court of this city. He died on the 15th of February last in the County of Cork, Ireland, which place he revisited about four years ago after an absence of more than 36 years. The loss of this inestimable man cannot fail to be severely felt by the poor and oppressed to whom he was an undeviating protector and friend.
Possessed of considerable wealth but disdaining the vanities and luxuries for which wealth is so eagerly sought, he freely contributed to the relief of the indigenous and to promoting the interest of numerous relatives and friends. He was no less alive to the political and moral welfare of his fellow creatures. He was an unswerving and ardent advocate of the rights of man.
In the great effort undertaken at the end of the last century by a magnanimous and self-devoted band of patriots to rescue their native land from the grasp of the oppressor, he nearly sacrificed his life, was driven from his home, to become a friendless and destitute exile. But in the cherished land of his adoption, his sound sense, his intelligence, his integrity and his devotion to popular rights were soon appreciated and earned the esteem and love of a numerous circle of friends.
Neither prosperity nor advancing age dampened the ardor of his philanthropy. We have no doubt that after he had passed the alloted span of man’s existence here, he was willing to sacrifice all for the social regeneration of man as when, 44 years ago, he placed his name on the roll of the “United Irishmen”.
The Truth Teller (2) said of him “To the above just tribute to the memory of a good man – ‘the noblest work of God’ – we add that the following extract of a letter from him, for examination of which we are indebted to one of his distinguished friends, dated Cork 30th November last, showing that in his 80th year he was still the same unchanged, unchangeable and uncompromising Democrat which marked his previous course.
The octogenarian asked an old friend in New York “What are the prospects of my esteemed fellow citizen, Martin Van Buren? Electioneering rumor is busy even here. Well have you tacked British to the self-styled Whigs of the present day”. In allusion to the name the opposition have taken he continues, “You and I have often been amused with names, but never gulled by them. I know that American Democracy will — the people will — be true to themselves and Martin Van Buren will be our next President. I hope to be with you in time to give my feeble support to the good old cause”. The prophetic voice of Robert Swanton is now a voice from the grave: “appreciate, believe, act.”
