James Magnus MCSWAIN Bernetta Octavia MCSWAIN Stella D MCSWAIN Ruth Alma MCSWAIN James Marvin MCSWAIN James Thad MCSWAIN Mildred Juanita ROWLAND Living MCSWAIN Living MCSWAIN Mildred Y SUTTON Wirt Barnard MCSWAIN Katherine L MCSWAIN Bruce B MCSWAIN Ruth L LOWREY Mini tree diagram
Thad Mathew MCSWAIN

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

Other facts

 

Birth of daughter Living MCSWAIN

 

Birth of daughter Living MCSWAIN

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

    -------------------------
    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
    -------------------------

Sources

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