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My lineage

The Swanns, English chemists settled in Paris; the Hodsons of Maryland; the Aygüns and Uçtums of Turkey. Three lineages that ran their own course for more than a century, until Portugal, in 1971.

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The thread

Three lineages run their own course — English and Parisian, American, Turkish — then meet in Portugal in 1971. Choose a milestone to open it.

Drag the map, or use the arrow keys to move from one milestone to the next.

Consulate and Empire Restoration and July Monarchy Second Empire Third Republic, Belle Époque Two world wars Post-war boom Late century 21st century 1800182518501875190019251950197520002025 I A street for the English II Henry Hind Swann, chemist of the rue de Castiglione III Alfred and Cantepie, the Englishman of Paris IV Colonel Hodson and honest credit V Names of the Republic VI Gordon and Ülker, the meeting VII Swann Formation VIII What remains of the name Before 1934, no family names yet Portugal, 1971 GranthamParis, rue de CastiglioneCambremerBrightonLaurel, DelawareCrisfield, MarylandElizabeth, New JerseyAntakyaIstanbul, MaltepeCrowborough, SussexShivering SandsParis 18thLa DéfenseParis, rue de CastiglioneBaltimore

Show all 40 milestones as a list
  1. 1801–1820Consular decree and the cutting of the rue de Castiglione; the English pharmacies
  2. 1823–1853Henry Hind Swann born in Grantham; marriage to Judith Félicie Davoust
  3. 1833–1834François Mothes and Joseph Dublanc patent the soft capsule
  4. 1834–1867Jean-Baptiste Henri Valton’s stationery shop “Aux produits des arts” at 6 rue de Castiglione
  5. 1856Empress Eugénie, chloroform anaesthesia and Henry Hind Swann
  6. 1858Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes from 6 rue de Castiglione
  7. 1863Alfred Thomas Swann born in Paris
  8. 1866The Pharmacie Swann at 12 rue de Castiglione
  9. 1868–1928Clarence Hodson, banking and credit
  10. Around 1870The manor of Cantepie, Cambremer and the Pays d’Auge
  11. 1879The Pharmacie Swann at 13 rue de Castiglione
  12. 1879–1880Alfred Thomas Swann and English sports
  13. 1880sAmerican sales methods and the Pharmacie Swann’s errand boys
  14. 1894Alfred Thomas Swann refuses assimilation and keeps British nationality
  15. 1898Death of Henry Hind Swann; Cecil is born
  16. 1901–1906Cantepie, literature and Jules Renard
  17. 1914The Beneficial Loan Society is founded against usury
  18. 1920–1928The Hodson Trust is settled and amended
  19. 1934Turkey’s Surname Law: Aygün, Uçtum, Önergin
  20. 1940s–1970sThe Uctum family between Istanbul, Paris and the United States
  21. 1944–1947Emine Ülker and Gordon Vicary Hodson Swann are born
  22. 1960sGordon and Radio City, the pirate station at Shivering Sands
  23. 1965Franco-Turkish labour agreement
  24. 1967Gordon settles in Touraine and paints
  25. 1971Portugal: Gordon and Ülker meet and marry within three weeks
  26. 1972Alexander born in Tours
  27. 1972The fibroid, the one-in-a-hundred prognosis, the operation
  28. 1972–1974The house in the forest, the clearing and the animals
  29. Around 1973–1976The move to Paris: rue Hermel, square de Clignancourt
  30. Around 1975–1984Swann Formation, from home to the Tour Gan
  31. 1978Cecil George Henry Swann dies in Sainte-Eanne
  32. 1981The stillborn child
  33. 1984Gordon dies; Emmanuel is born; Ülker alone
  34. 1988–1989Benadom v. Colby: the Swann name in American law
  35. 1998–2018The modern Pharmacie Swann at 6 rue de Castiglione
  36. 2009–2016The trust after Hodson: the Caspersen saga
  37. 2019–2020Ülker’s death and the correction of her name
  38. 2021Affidavit of inheritance for the Swann estate
  39. 2022–2023End of the Hodson Trust; Alexander among the named beneficiaries
  40. 2026Alexander gathers the family’s memory

Chapters

In every generation, a Swann carries something from one world to another. Eight chapters, in order of time.

  1. I 1801–1858 A street for the English What crosses from one world to another : the setting Before the Swanns, there was a street. Cut through under the Consulate between the Tuileries and the place Vendôme, the rue de Castiglione became the address of English and American travellers in the nineteenth century, and of their pharmacies.
  2. II 1823–1898 Henry Hind Swann, chemist of the rue de Castiglione What crosses from one world to another : the pill Born in Grantham, trained in London, settled in Paris in 1847: Henry Hind Swann founded an English pharmacy on the rue de Castiglione that would carry his name for more than a century.
  3. III 1863–1928 Alfred and Cantepie, the Englishman of Paris What crosses from one world to another : sport and letters Henry’s only son, Alfred Thomas Swann, would not be a chemist. A man of private means, a sportsman and a man of letters, he lived as a Parisian and stayed English, down to his papers.
  4. IV 1868–1928 Colonel Hodson and honest credit What crosses from one world to another : credit Across the Atlantic, Clarence Hodson built a way to lend to people the banks ignored, and founded a trust that would fund education in Maryland for a century.
  5. V 1934–1971 Names of the Republic What crosses from one world to another : the name In 1934, Atatürk’s Turkey required every citizen to take a surname. Aygün, Önergin, Uçtum: the names of Alexander’s maternal line are less than a century old.
  6. VI 1944–1974 Gordon and Ülker, the meeting What crosses from one world to another : the voice An English painter who had been a pirate-radio DJ, a twenty-six-year-old Turkish woman who had worked for Turkish Airlines: they met in Portugal in 1971 and were married three weeks later.
  7. VII 1973–1984 Swann Formation What crosses from one world to another : the language Arriving in Paris with almost nothing, Gordon and Ülker turned English into a living, then into a school: Swann Formation, which would train executives in France’s leading industries.
  8. VIII 1984–2026 What remains of the name What crosses from one world to another : memory After 1984 the name carries on: in American law, on a shop sign in the rue de Castiglione, in civil records, and in Alexander’s work to gather the family’s memory.

Lineages

Dotted lines mark a link still to be established. Living people appear by first name only.

Around 1823Around 1863Around 1898Around 1944Since 1972Since 1991link to be traced HS Henry HindSwann 1823–1898 JD Judith FélicieDavoust 1830–1903 AS Alfred ThomasSwann 1863–1928 CH ClarenceHodson 1868–1928 CS Cecil GeorgeHenry Swann 1898–1978 ? Americangrandmother name to be traced HA HasanAygün HÖ Hatice NerimanÖnergin U Stepfather,a diplomat Uçtum family Y Yvonne GS Gordon VicaryHodson Swann 1947–1984 ÜS Emine Ülker 1944–2019 R Remzi M Merih A Alexandra AS Alexander RemziGeorge Swann born 1972 E Emmanuel S Samantha T Terry