John Gwynne, Senior

John Gwynne, Senior (1802-1856) of Gwynne and Co

c1802 Born at Londonderry

1824 May 1st. Married Agnes Anderson the daughter of William Anderson (see PS Marjory). She died 1888 (see obit below).

1833 Birth of James Eglinton Anderson Gwynne

c1837 Birth of Mary A. Gwynne

1837 Birth of John Gwynne

c1840 Birth of Henry A. Gwynne

1851 Listed at Lansdowne Lodge, Kensington, Mddx (age 49 born Londonderry), Merchant (Agricultural Implements). With his wife Agnes (age 43 born Glasgow) and their daughter Mary (age 16 born Bushmill, Co. Antrim). Two servants.

1852 Listed as 'Gwynne, John, Ironmaster, 1 Agar Street, Strand'

1856 of Isle of Wight and St Johns Wood, when he was buried in Kensal Green

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1888 Mrs Gwynne's Obituary.

THE LATE MRS. GWYNNE.

WE regret to announce the death, on the 17th inst., at Bournemouth, of Mrs. Gwynne, the mother of Mr. James Gwynne, of Messrs, Gwynne and Co., Victoria Embankment, and of Mr. John Gwynne, of Messrs. J. and H. Gwynne, of Hammersmith. The deceased lady was in the seventy-eighth year of her age, and was the daughter of the late Mr. William Anderson, of Glasgow, who owned the first steamer which ever sailed in English waters. This boat was named the Margery, after Mrs. Gwynne’s sister. Mrs. Gwynne was the last surviving member of the family, and she took great interest in the prominent part her father had played in the introduction of steam navigation. A few weeks before her death she confided to her son, Mr. John Gwynne, a copy of the following letter which appeared in the Times of December 5, 1862, as evidence that the honour of having placed the first steamer in English waters was due to her father.

To the Editor of the Times.

Sir,— Having read in the Times of November 29 an article headed “The First Steamer on English Waters,” copied from the Dumbarton Herald and observing there has been a discussion and still an uncertainty as to who has the right to claim the honour of placing the first steamer on English waters ... I beg to submit the following authentic facts ... I inclose my card and am, Sir, yours, (Signed) INVESTIGATOR.

“The Margery was built at Dumbarton by the late Mr. William Denny, father of the present eminent firm of shipbuilders of that name in Dumbarton, for Mr. W. Anderson, merchant, Glasgow, and when launched was christened the Margery, after his eldest daughter, who named her and is still alive and a resident now in London. At the close of the year 1814 Captain Curtis was sent by a London company to Glasgow to negotiate for the purchase of the Margery, which he did, the only stipulation made by Mr. Anderson when selling her was that the name should at no future period be changed, which was agreed to and faithfully kept. Captain Curtis took the Margary through the Forth and Clyde Canal, and according to the writer of the article in the Dumbarton Herald created no small fear and wonder, both in the Fleet and along the coast as she made her way to London. The Margery was the first steamer ever sailed in English waters, and the first also to France, having been taken to Paris, and not long time since her timbers were lying on the banks of the Seine. Mr. Anderson was also owner of the first steamer which ever crossed from Scotland to Ireland, to Belfast; he also owned the first that ever was seen in Londonderry, the Princess Charlotte . ."

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