Life History

Notes

• 1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 4 September,page 157, Hse/Fam #587
  Richard McSwain 38 M  Farmer born North Carolina (b abt 1812)
  Polly McSwain 36 F NC (b abt 1814)
  John McSwain 17 NC
  
  1860 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 7 August, page60 (scan 434), Hse/Fam #425
  Richard E McSwain 48 M Farmer NC (born abt 1812)
  Mary [Weathers] McSwain 40 F NC [b abt 1820]
  John F McSwain 17 M Farm Laborer NC
  
  1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 4 July, PrairieTownship, PO St Charles, page 15, Hse/Fam #118
  McSwane, John F 30 M W Farm Laborer $No Real Estate $140 PersonalEstate NC (b abt 1840)
  McSwane, Mary 26 F W Keeping House NC (b abt 1844)
  McSwane, George F 9mos  b Oct 1869 M W Tennessee
  
  I note that the son George F was born in Tennessee, but is only 9months old.  Thus they moved to Arkansas after October 1870.  Thismeans they traveled in the Winter or more likely Spring to be there byJuly.  John's cousin Francis, a son of Catherine Weathers McSwain,probably traveled from Tennessee to Arkansas with John and Mary.Catherine and the rest of her children are enumerated in Giles County,Tennessee, in this 1870 census.
  
  John and Mary got married sometime after the 1860 census, when he wasa 17-year-old, still living with his folks in Cleveland County, NorthCarolina.  I have not yet found information on when they moved toTennessee or how long they were there before moving on to Arkansas.
  
  Next door to John is his cousin Virgil Weathers.  On the other side ofJohn is another cousin Francis McSwain, a single farmer.  The names ofboth McSwain families are spelled McSwane, as some families spelltheir name today.  Another spelling was McSweyn.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 4 July, PrairieTownship, PO St Charles, page 15, Hse/Fam #117
  Weathers, Virgil 30 M W Farmer $160 Personal Estate b SC (b abt 1840)
  Weathers, Sarah 26 F W Keeping House b NC (b abt 1844)
  Weathers, George W 4 M W b Tennessee (b abt 1866)
  
  Another McSwain researcher, David Holden in Germany, comments on thisin one of our email exchanges.
  
  "John F. McSwain. I don't have any proof, but my guess is he is JohnFranklin, the son of Richard E. McSwain and Mary Weathers. In 1870Francis McSwain is living on one side of John F. Look who is living onthe other side. Is that just coincidence? Although Virgil Weathers wasfrom South Carolina, his father R.B. Weathers was born about 1810 inNC and could easily have been Mary Weathers' brother. That would makeVirgil and John F. 1st cousins once removed."
  --  David Holden, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 15 October 2007
  
  In the 1870 census, John's wife Mary G matches a cousin Mary (Polly) GMcSwain, daughter of George McSwain and Catherine Weathers.  No otherrecord reports a spouse for them.  Their personal details and thedates and places of both their families matches these two whootherwise have no spouses.  First and second cousin marriages arecommon in the McSwain lineage and related families in North Carolina(Rutherford and Cleveland Counties in North Carolina and York andCherokee Counties in South Carolina).
  
  At this point, I did find such a connection in an online McSwaingenealogy, by Howard Randy Martin, which had made the same connectionsince the last time I had seen this genealogy. This genealogy also hadan 1880 census for a JOhn and Mary McSwain in Calhoun County,Mississippi.  I have doubts about this 1880 record being fro thecorrect family, however, due to differences in the age of John, thebirthplace of John in South Carolina instead of North Carolina, andthe birth of Mary in Georgia instead of North Carolina.  In addition,the children have different names.
  
  There is a John T, who could be the son named John, reported by JudyMcSwain Miller.  But there is no George, who was less than 2 years oldin 1870 in Arkansas County, and several older children who should havebeen in the 1870 census.  This makes John older than would seem right. There is no Charles.  Francis and Elijah don't figure in this familyin any other references to our John and Mary.  And we have nothingelse to tie them to Mississippi.

Sources

• 1. 1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
  • 4 September, page 157, Hse/Fam #587
• 2. Ancestry Trees
  • Dr Ed Ellis,
• 3. RootsWeb -- McSwain-Padgett-Moore-Green
  • http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dwh951&id=I20552
• 4. 1860 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
  • 7 August, page 60 (scan 434), Hse/Fam #425
• 5. 1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 4 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 15, Hse/Fam #118
• 6. Genealogy.com Discussion Forum, "McSwain/McSwane in AR," 20 October2004
  • Melissa McSwain
• 7. David Holden, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, October 2007
• 8. Ancestry Trees
  • Howard Randy Martin,
• 9. Texas Death Index, 1903-2000
  • Certificate #17858
• 10. 1920 Federal Census, Baylor County, Texas
  • 7 January, Justice Precinct 1, District 10, page 2A, Throckmorton Rd,
• 11. 1910 Federal Census, Taylor County, Texas
  • 4 May, Justice Precinct 3, District 271, page 12,  209 Hse/Fam #197
• 12. 1930 Federal Census, Baylor County, Texas
  • 11 April, Justice Precinct 5, District 7, page 5A, South Hwy 30, Hse
• 13. 1900 Federal Census, Delta County, Texas
  • 21 June, Justice Precinct 3, District 36, page 18B, Hse #320, Fam #332
• 14. Judy McSwain Miller, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 14 November 2011
• 15. Kevin McSwain, email communication with Orville Boyd Jenkins, January2007
• 16. 1900 Federal Census, Delta County, Texas
  • 27 June, Justice Precinct 3, District 36, page 23A, Hse #404, Fam #421
• 17. Judy McSwain Miller, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 17 November 2011
• 18. 1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 10 February, South Prairie Township, District 16, page 9A, Hse #158,
• 19. 1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 15 April, Prairie Township, District 18, page 1A, Hse/Fam #5
• 20. 1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 15 June, South Prairie Township, District 7, page 11B, Texas Ave, Hse
• 21. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957