Francis family, of Swansea

Arms of George Grant Francis

Blazon  

Shield: Quarterly, 1, Gules, on a bend Or between two bezants, three lions' heads erased Proper (Francis); 2, Argent, three leopards' heads Azure (Atwell); 3, Gules three antique crowns Or (Grant); 4, Or, a fess chequey Argent and Azure (Stewart).

Crest: A lion statant Proper.

Motto: Spes mea in Deo(My hope in God).

George Grant Francis	John Deffett Francis

John Francis (1788-1841) was born in Bridgewater, Somerset, into a family descended from the Francis family of Castle Carey, Somerset. He eventually settled in Swansea, south Wales, where he owned and ran a coachbuilding business. He was also a painter, and advertised that he produced "armorial bearings neatly executed on vellum". His two eldest sons were:

George Grant Francis^w (1814-1882) was a prominent 19th century citizen of Swansea, Wales, who served as Mayor of the Borough in 1853-54 and was Colonel of the 1st Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers, a regiment which he raised in 1859.

Francis was prominent in numerous local projects, including preservation of the endowments of Swansea Grammar School (now Bishop Gore School), preservation and restoration of Oystermouth Castle and other local monuments. He was also involved in the establishment of the Royal Institution of South Wales in 1835 and the Cambrian Archæological Association in 1846, and represented Swansea as its local commissioner at the Great Exhibition of 1851. He was a lover of history, wrote various works on history, especially of Swansea, and was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA).

George married Sarah Richardson, daughter of John Richardson, another Swansea luminary and mayor.

George's younger brother, John Deffett Francis^w (1815-1901) was a famous portrait painter who subjects included Queen Victoria and friends included Charles Dickens. He was also an art collector and benefactor of libraries. He served on the committee of the early Swansea Public Library in the 1870s, donated a large collection to the library, and also donated about 20,000 volumes to the British Museum Library (now part of the British Library).

Heraldry

George Grant Francis used at least three versions of his arms : Francis alone (Gules, on a bend or between two bezants, three lions' heads erased proper), Francis quartering Attwell (his paternal grandmother) and Grant (his mother), and also with a fourth quarter of Stuart. According to Nicholas (1872), in addition to the Francis crest (A lion statant or) he also bore the crest of his mother's grant family (A burning mountain proper), but examples exist in which only the Francis crest is displayed.

In Swansea, the simple Francis arms can be seen in the Grand Corridor of Swansea Guildhall^w, and the arms quartering Francis, Atwell, and Grant (without Stuart) appear on the Charter Chest which George Grant Francis had made for Swansea Corporation in 18?7, impaled with those of his wife Sarah and ensigned with the Francis crest. The Francis escutcheon also appears on the Lord Mayor of Swansea's chain of office, along with those of other mayors, which George had commissioned in 1875. He also displayed motiffs bearing his arms on the title pages of books which he had written.

• 
  Simple Francis arms
• 
  Francis (without Stuart quarter) impaling Richardson
• 
  George Grant Francis's arms with the Francis and Grant crests
• 
  Francis arms in Swansea Guildhall
• 
  Francis and Richardson arms on the Swansea Charter Chest
• 
  George Grant Francis's monogram and arms on the title page of his book The smelting of copper in the Swansea district of south Wales (1881)

Genealogy

[Work in progress]

William Francis (d.1794), married Mary Attwell (1752-1831. She subsequently married {{sc|John Deffett), Issue includes:

• John Francis (1788-1841), born in Somerset, married¹ (1812) Mary Grant (1786-1822); married ² (1823) Eliza Wood Issue:
  • ¹ George Grant Francis (1814-1882), married (1840) Sarah Richardson. Issue:
    • John Richardson Francis (1842-1913)
    • George Grant Francis (1843-1907), married (1867) Marian Osler (1841-1915), and had issue ->
    • Attwell William Francis (1845-1882), married (1868) Emma Grant (1844-1917), and had issue ->
  • ¹ John Deffett Francis (1815-1901)
  • ¹ Mary Maria Francis (1818- ), married (1840) John Sandell Welch (1812-1886), and had issue ->
  • ¹ William Francis (1819-1837)
  • ¹ Henry Francis (1821-1821)
  • ² Hannah Francis (b.1824)
  • ² Eliza Francis (b.1826)
  • ² Charles Cogle Francis (b.1829)
  • ² Frederick Francis (1833-1843)
  • ² Edward Francis (1838-1841)

Sources

• Alban, J.R. Historic charter chests of the Borough of Swansea. Swansea : Swansea City Council, 1993. ISBN 9780946001231.
• Francis, George Grant. Notes on a gold chain of office presented to the Corporation of Swansea in the year 1875 .... Swansea, 1876. [Google Books link]
• Nicholas, Thomas. Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales. Vol. 2.. London : Longmans, Green, Reader & Co, 1872. [Internet Archive link]
• Thomas, Sandra. George Grant Francis of Swansea 1814-1882 : Antiquary, philanthropist and civic dignitary. Swansea: West Glamorgan Archive Service, 1993. ISBN 0952178311.
• Francis family at Ancestry.co.uk
• Wales, Glamorgan Parish Registers, 1558-1900