Thad Mathew MCSWAIN3,7,4,5,6,8,12,13,9
also known as Thad MCSWAIN11
27th Oct 191610 - 21st Mar 20071,2,7,9
Life History
27th Oct 1916 |
Born in Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 (most likely) |
1917 |
Born in Arkansas.10 (less likely) |
25th Dec 1939 |
Married Mildred Juanita ROWLAND in Arkansas County, Arkansas.8 |
after 1940 |
Divorced from Mildred Juanita ROWLAND |
9th Sep 1940 |
Birth of son James Thad MCSWAIN in DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas.13 |
25th Dec 1940 |
Licence obtained for marriage to Mildred Juanita ROWLAND in DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas.8 |
28th Jun 1947 |
Married Mildred Y SUTTON in DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas.8,9 |
Aug 1980 |
Death of Mildred Juanita ROWLAND in Pine Bluff, Jefferson, Arkansas.9,14 |
between 1993 and 2002 |
Resident in Stuttgart, Arkansas, Arkansas.3 |
1st Sep 2003 |
Death of Mildred Y SUTTON in Stuttgart, Arkansas, Arkansas.15,9 |
21st Mar 2007 |
Died in Maryville, Blount, Tennessee.1,2,7,9 |
24th Mar 2007 |
Buried in Lone Tree Cemetery, Stuttgart, Arkansas County, Arkansas.2,7 |
Notes
- The first public record for Thad McSwain is the 1920 census, where he was enumerated at age 3 in the home of his parents in the rural community of Ethel, Arkansas.
1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 4 February, District 16, Page 7A, Ethel & Chute Rd, House #121
Fam #125, McSwain, James M Head M W 35 AR NC NC Farmer
McSwain, Ruth L Wife F W 33 OK IN AR
McSwain, Ruth A Dau F W 9 AR AR OK
McSwain, Thad M Son F W 3yrs 2mos AR AR OK
1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 22 April, District 25, page 6B, Prairie Township, Ethel & Point Rd, Hse #125, Fam #126
McSwain, James M Head M W 45 AR NC NC Farmer
McSwain, Mattie A Wife F W 43 AR NC TN
McSwain, That M Son M W 13 AR AR OK
Thad married Mildred Juanita on Christmas Day 1939. Their license was issued on 23 Dec 1939 in DeWitt, Arkansas. She always went by Juanita.
Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
Mildred Juanita Rowland
Age 23, Birth Year abt 1916
Residence DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas
Spouse's Name Thad Mathew McSwain
Age 23
Spouse's Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Marriage 25 Dec 1939 Arkansas County
Marriage License Date 23 Dec 1939
Arkansas County Marriage Book page 0835
They were enumerated in the 1940 census in Prairie Township, the Ethel area,
1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 April, Prairie Township, District 1-18, page 9B, Oak Flat Rd, Hse #145 Rents $400
McSwain, Thad Head M W 24 Grade 8 b Ark same place in 1935 Farmer
McSwain, Junita [sic, for Juanita] Wife F W 17 Grade 8 b Ark Rural Ark County, Ark in 1935 Housekeeper
At some point after their son Jimmie's birth in 1940, Juanita and Thad divorced. Then Thad married someone named Mildred. Her name on her gravestone in Stuttgart Cemetery has the name as Mildred S McSwain. This would be Mildred Sutton McSwain.
"[Cousin George McSwain and I] have a common uncle and cousin that we were both close to. The cousin Sue, was a trademark attorney for TI in Dallas for many years. Dad had a brother, Thad, who had a daughter Sue McSwain. Thad was the inventor in the family and was always coming up with innovative ideas. He was married twice and had two families. I can think of 4 of [the children] offhand."
-- Kenneth Wirt McSwain, Thad's cousin, Facebook messaging to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 16 June 2017
Before I got the above comments from Ken, I had no information on a second marriage for Thad. Ken says Mildred was Thad's second wife, but he was not aware that his first wife was also named Mildred, since she went by Juanita. It seems ironic that they should both have the name Mildred.
With a few more details for Ken, enough new perspectives were gained to produce productive new searches. This led to documentation of Thad's second marriage to Mildred, whose full Social Security record reports her to be Mildred Sutton, with earlier marriages that changed her name to Smith then DeSpain. Their record of marriage in Arkansas County have her name as Mildred S Despain.
Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
Thad M McSwain
Age 30, Birth Year abt 1917
Residence DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas
Spouse's Name Mildred DeSpain
Spouse's Age 28
Spouse's Residence DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas
Marriage 28 Jun 1947 Arkansas County
Marriage License Date 28 Jun 1947
With a few clues at this point a Social Security record in the Applications and Claims database provided details that Mildred was a Sutton, and was married to a Smith and a DeSpain before marrying Thad McSwain. No dates of marriage have been found so far for any of these. The search algorithm was then able to find Thad and Mildred's marriage record, which had been hiding previously.
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
Mildred Sutton Smith [Mildred Sutton Despain] [Mildred McSwain] [Mildred Sutton Sutton]
Birth 27 Jan 1918 Nashville, Putnam County, Tennessee
Death Date 1 Sep 2003
Father William D Sutton
Mother Elizabeth Brown
SSN 546207558
Mar 1939 Name listed as MILDRED SUTTON SMITH; Oct 1946 Name listed as MILDRED SUTTON DESPAIN; Jun 1966 Name listed as MILDRED SUT MCSWAIN; Aug 1966 Name listed as MILDRED SUTTON MCSWAIN; 26 Sep 2003 Name listed as MILDRED S MCSWAIN
Mildred was in California as a young woman. I do not have details, but found that her Social Security number had been issued in California "Before 1951." She was back in Stuttgart, Arkansas in later life. In the 1960s, I visited Thad and Mildred with my wife-to-be Edith McSwain. I have not found details confirming this, but I surmise she and Thad were in California during World War II.
An earlier record for Thad at an address in Stuttgart matched another record for Mildred <McSwain at the same address on Cherry Street.
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
Thad M McSwain
Birth Date 27 Oct 1916
Phone Number 673-8153
2103 S Cherry St, Stuttgart, AR, 72160-6921 (1993)
U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
Mildred McSwain
Birth Date 27 Jan 1918
2103 S Cherry St, Stuttgart, AR, 72160-6921
1908 S Columbus St, Stuttgart, AR, 72160-6517
And Social Security reports his residence at the time of his death was Stuttgart. But his obituary reported he died in Maryville, Tennessee. The Another cousin of Thad, Edith McSwain, commented that as she recalled, Thad was visiting his daughter there art the time of his death.
Thad's cousin and Edith's brother George McSwain informs us that Thad Mathew McSwain died while visiting his daughter in Tennessee (personal email, April 2007). Information in his funeral remembrance tells us this daughter was Terrye Richter, in Maryville, Tennessee. Thad's obituary in the DeWitt, Arkansas, Era-Enterprise newspaper reports under survivors his daughter Terrye Richter and her husband Rudy of Maryville, Tennessee.
Thad died in the Blount Memorial Hospital, in Blount County, Tennessee, near Knoxville (in neighboring Knox County). George indicates that Thad had been in good health, but apparently fell ill while in Tennessee.
At the time of his death, Thad was a member of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas, where he had long been an active member. The funeral service was held in this Turpin Funeral Home chapel in Stuttgart, with burial following in the Lone Tree Cemetery in Stuttgart.
Social Security Death Index
Thad M McSwain
Born 27 Oct 1916, Died 21 Mar 2007
Last Residence 72160 Stuttgart, Arkansas, Arkansas
SSN 430-12-8761 issued in Arkansas (Before 1951)
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
Thad Mathew McSwain
Birth 27 Oct 1916 Ethel [Arkansas County], Arkansas
Death Date 21 Mar 2007
Father James M McSwain
Mother Ruth Lowery
SSN 430128761
Aug 1938 Name listed as THAD MATHEW MCSWAIN; 24 Mar 2007 Name listed as THAD M MCSWAIN
Obituary Index, Arkansas County, AR
McSwain, Thad Mathew
Born 10/27/1916
Died Ethel, AR 03/21/2007
[Full obituary is no longer available online]
-- RootsWeb Obituary Index, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~obitsindex/obits_ar_arka_01.htm
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Thad Mathew McSwain died March 21 [2007] at Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville, TN. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred; a granddaughter, Ashley Burlison; and several brothers and sisters. He was born Oct. 27, 1916, in Ethel and later moved to Stuttgart. He was a member of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church and a 50-year member of Euclid Lodge.
Survivors include a son, Jim McSwain and his wife, Wanda, of Jackson, TN;
three daughters, Sue Windham and her husband, Odie, of McKinney, TX, Shirley Trahan and her husband, Tommy of Jacksonville, and Terrye Richter and her husband Rudy, of Maryville, TN.;
nine grandchildren, Gary Davis and his wife, Jennie, and Mike Davis and his wife, Chris of Humphrey, Jimmy McSwain and his wife, Shari, of Bismark, Heather Kane and her husband, Bill, of McKinney, TX, Kim Cook and her husband, Chad, of Fayetteville, Amy Burlison of Stuttgart, Kyle Burlison of Arlington, VA, Timmy Trahan and his wife, Jamie, of Hot Springs, and Beverly Whalen and her husband, Jim, of Kansas City, MO;
16 great-grandchildren; seven great-great-grandchildren; three step-sisters, Nina Mae Ragan of DeWitt, Eunice Butler of Ethel and Hazel Porter of Helena-West Helena; and a host of nieces, nephews and friends.
Funeral services were held March 24 [2007] at Turpin Funeral Home chapel [Stuttgart, Arkansas] with burial in Lone Tree Cemetery [Stuttgart].
-- DeWitt Era-Enterprise, 28 March 2007, no longer online, originally accessed 17 May 2007
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Sources
- 1. Social Security Death Index
- 2. Obituary of Thad Mathew McSwain, DeWitt (Ark) Era-Enterprise 28 March 2007
- 3. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
- 4. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 22 April, District 25, page 6B, Prairie Township, Ethel & Point Rd, Hse #125, Fam #126
- 5. 1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 4 February, District 16, Page 7A, Ethel & Chute Rd, House #121, Fam #125
- 6. 1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 18 April, Prairie Township, District 1-18, page 9B, Oak Flat Rd, Hse #145 Rents $400
- 7. Obituaries from Arkansas
- 8. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
- 9. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
- 10. 1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 11. Various Sources
- 12. Facebook Messaging
- 13. Obituaries from Tennessee
- 14. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
- 15. Social Security Death Index
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