Jonathan Swift
Ancestry and Birth Jonathan Swift was born November 30, 1667 in Dublin, Ireland. Swift was the son of Jonathan Swift and Abigail Swift. However, swift would never know his father; who died of an illness seven months before Swift’s birth. Abigail Swift was now a single mother of two children, Jane and Jonathan. Growing up without a father was one of the most disappointing aspects of Swift’s home life (Bloom 1457). Family and Home Life Since Swift did not have a father and his mother was having trouble raising two children, he was raised by his five uncles. Uncle Godwin, Uncle Dryden, Uncle Thomas, Uncle William and Uncle Adam had their own part in Swift’s childhood. Uncle Godwin took the main rule of father to Swift. ... Swift now did not live with both parents and became a troubled young boy. ... Education At age 6, Swift was sent to Kilkenny Grammar School by his uncles. They thought it was best for Swift, considering that the school was one of the best in Ireland. Swift did not like it much and wrote about his experience there: “So I formerly used to envy my own happiness as a schoolboy, the delicious holidays, the Saturday afternoon, and the charming custards in the blind alley: I never considered the confinement ten hours a day, to nouns and verbs, the terror of the rod, the bloody noses, and broken shins” (Glendinning 20).