John MCSWAIN Judith N MCSWAIN Martha C MCSWAIN Rebecca Elizabeth MCSWAIN Hannah MCSWAIN Nancy MCSWAIN Oliver MCSWAIN Reuben MCSWAIN Lucy MCSWAIN John MCSWAIN Louis Moore MCSWAIN Elijah Bonaparte MCSWAIN Sarah Ann Mary MCSWAIN Ambrose MCSWAIN Margaret Caldonia MCSWAIN Harvey MCSWAIN Mary A HAMRICK Martha Paty MCSWAIN Judith MCSWAIN Nancy MCSWAIN Judith MOORE Mini tree diagram
Louis Hobson MCSWAIN

Louis Hobson MCSWAIN9,2,6,10,3,4,8,11

3rd Oct 18141,2,3,4,5,6 - 25th Jan 18909

Life History

3rd Oct 1814

Born in Rutherford County, North Carolina.1,2,3,4,5,6

about 1833

Married Mary A HAMRICK in Rutherford County, North Carolina.12

14th Jul 1834

Birth of daughter Judith N MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.4,6,12,13,14

26th Jun 1836

Birth of daughter Martha C MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.15,4,16,6,11

about 1839

Birth of daughter Rebecca Elizabeth MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.4,10,17,18,9

5th Aug 1839

Birth of daughter Hannah MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.4,16,19,9,6,20,21,22,23,24

1st Oct 1841

Birth of daughter Nancy MCSWAIN in Kings Creek, York, South Carolina.6,10,4,20

about 1844

Birth of son Oliver MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.25,9,4,20

12th Feb 1846

Birth of son Reuben MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.4,26,2,27,9

26th Sep 1847

Birth of daughter Lucy MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.16,9,4

29th Oct 1849

Birth of son John MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.2,4,6

between 1850 and 1860

Resident in Cleveland County, North Carolina.4,6

17th Jun 1851

Birth of son Louis Moore MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.6,28,8,29,30,31,32,10,20

19th Nov 1853

Birth of son Elijah Bonaparte MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.33,11,34,8,16,6

about 1856

Birth of daughter Sarah Ann Mary MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.8,6

15th Dec 1856

Birth of son Ambrose MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.6,2,8,35,36

26th Apr 1860

Birth of daughter Margaret Caldonia MCSWAIN in Rutherford County, North Carolina.6,16,37,20,38,3,9

about 1862

Birth of son Harvey MCSWAIN in South Carolina.16

13th Jun 1864

Death of son Oliver MCSWAIN in Point Lookout, St. Mary's, Maryland.25,20

before 1870

Death of son Harvey MCSWAIN in South Carolina.8

1870

Residence2 in Subdivision 103 (Yorkville), York, South Carolina.8

1880

Residence3 in Cherokee Township, York, South Carolina.3

25th Jan 1890

Died in Clover, York, South Carolina.9

(less likely)

25th Jan 1890

Died in Grover, York, South Carolina.2,7

(most likely)

after 25th Jan 1890

Buried in Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery, Blacksburg, Cherokee County, South Carolina.7,2

Notes

  • Louis Hobson McSwain was a pastor.  He is listed in most sources as Rev Louis or Rev Louis H.  The Hamrick genealogy uses his full name.  His name is spelled Lewis in several censuses.  The name Louis appears in later generations of the McSwains.

    Louis/Lewis was buried in the cemetery of the Antioch Baptist Church near Clover in York County, South Carolina.  I surmise it was Louis' pastoral work that took him to South Carolina in later years.  Louis' son Elijah Bonaparte (Bonner) was also a pastor.

    Louis was pastor of Mt Sinai Baptist Church, in Cleveland County, North Carolina, a little north of the border with South Carolina.  At the same time his uncle Thomas McSwain was a deacon.  They are honoured on a monument listing officers in the year 1848.

    Some genealogies give the marriage date for Louis and Mary as "abt 1840."  From census ages and some actual birth dates given in genealogies, we can tell that three of their children were born before 1840.  They apparently married about 1833, since their first child, Judith N (Judy) was born in 1834.

    In the 1850 census, his name is spelled Lewis.  Lewis and Mary are in Cleveland County, North Carolina, the home of the McSwain clan.  His occupation is listed as Baptist Preacher.

    1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 4 September, p 315 (scan 158), Hse/Fam #596
    McSwain Lewis 35 M Baptist Preacher b NC (b abt 1815)
    McSwain Mary 38 F b NC (b abt 1812)
    McSwain Judy N 16 F NC (b abt 1834)
    McSwain Martha 13 F b NC (b abt 1837)
    McSwain Rebecca 11 F b NC (b abt 1839)
    McSwain Hannah 10 F b NC (b abt 1840)
    McSwain Nancy 8 F b NC (b abt 1842)
    McSwain Oliver 7 M b NC (b abt 1843)
    McSwain Ruben 5 b NC (b abt 1845)
    McSwain Lucy 3 F b NC (b abt 1847)
    McSwain John 10mos b NC (b abt Oct 1849)

    Notice that here Mary (Hamrick) is said to have been born in North Carolina, but in the 1870 census, when they are living a little across the border in York District, South Carolina, she is reported as born in South Carolina!  The 1870 census reports that the whole family is born in South Carolina, except for Louis, though family sources report Mary and all children through Mary Caledonia as born in North Carolina.

    1860 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 14 August, page 72, Hse/Fam #511
    Lewis McSwain 46 M Farmer
    Mary McSwain 44 F
    Judy N McSwain 26 F NC [b abt 1834]
    Martha McSwain 24 F NC [b abt 1836]
    Hannah McSwain 21 F NC [b abt 1839]
    Nancy McSwain 19 F NC [b abt 1841]
    Oliver McSwain 16 M Farm Laborer [b abt 1844]
    Ruben McSwain 14 M [b abt 1846]
    Lucey McSwain 12 F b NC (b abt 1848)
    John McSwain 10 b NC (b abt 1850)
    Lewis M McSwain M 9 b NC (b abt 1851)
    Elijah McSwain 7 b NC (b abt 1853)
    Sarah A McSwain 5 F NC [b abt 1855]
    Ambrose McSwain 3 b NC (b abt 1857) idiotic
    Margaret C McSwain 4mos F NC [b April 1860]

    The birth dates vary somewhat.  Some genealogies have followed certain censuses, others other censuses.  Some sources seems to have estimated birth years based on different factors from the censuses.  A couple of sources have exact birth dates for a couple of the daughters.

    The ages and resulting estimated birth years vary for the first five girls between the 1850 and 1860 censuses:

    1850
    Judy N McSwain 16 F NC [b abt 1834]
    Martha McSwain 13 F NC [b abt 1837]
    Rebecca McSwain 11 F NC [b abt 1839]
    Hannah McSwain 10 F b NC [b abt 1840]
    Nancy McSwain 8 F b NC [b abt 1842]

    1860
    Judy N McSwain 26 F NC [b abt 1834]
    Martha McSwain 24 F NC [b abt 1836]
    [Rebecca not in 1860 census]
    Hannah McSwain 21 F NC [b abt 1839]
    Nancy McSwain 19 F NC [b abt 1841]

    I suspect that Rebecca is found in the 1860 census next door to Lewis and Mary's family.  Their next door neighbors, in House number 512, are Elijah and Rebecca E Hamrick.  I suggest that this Rebecca Hamrick, age 23, born in NC, is Rebecca McSwain.  This is confirmed by the Hamrick Data Pages, page 75, where the ages and names match.  This also tells us that Rebecca's full name is Rebecca Elizabeth.

    1860 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 14 August, page 72, Hse/Fam #512
    Elijah Hamrick 26 M Farmer NC  [b abt 1834]
    Rebecca E Hamrick 23 F NC [b abt 1837]

    I have found that the Hamrick family information gives the birth year of Hannah, daughter of Louis Hobson and Mary McSwain, as 1855.  This cannot be right, since we have her recorded in the 1850 census as 10 and the 1860 census as 21.  Hannah McSwain was born, according to family informaiton anjd her grave, on 5 August 1839.

    Hannah McSwain Green, b 5 Aug 1839, d 21 Feb 1931
    Buried Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery, Blacksburg, Cherokee County, South Carolina
    --  Find a Grave Memorial Registry, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Green&GSfn=Hannah&GSby=1839&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1931&GSdyrel=in&GSst=43&GScnty=2323&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=16136379&

    In both 1850 and 1860 Lewis' parents are living a few doors down from them.  Five houses away in 1850, two houses away in 1860.

    1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 4 September, page 158, Hse/Fam #591
    John McSwain 55 M Farmer $640 Real Estate  [b 1795]
    Susannah McSwain 64 F [b 1786]

    1860 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina, 14 August, page 72, Hse/Fam #514
    John McSwain 66 M Farmer $1000 Real Estate  $7900 Personal Estate [b 1794]
    Susannah McSwain 75 F [b 1785]

    Note that at 66 John is still listed as a Farmer.

    Here is the 1870 census for Louis and his family, in York County, South Carolina.  This is after his daughter Judith and her husband Edwin Padgett had left for the west.  Judith and Edwin ultimately moved to Arkansas.  In 1870 they are in Tennessee, along with some of the McSwains who are later their neighbors in Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas.

    1870 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina, 19 August, Subdivision 103, PO Yorkville, p 79, Hse #561, Fam #552
    McSwain Louis 55 M W Farming b NC (b abt 1815)
    McSwain Mary 50 F W Kpg Hse b SC (b abt 1820)
    McSwain John 20 M W Farm Labor b SC (b abt 1850)
    McSwain Moore 18 M W Farm Labor b SC (b abt 1852)
    McSwain Bonaparte 16 M W Farm Labor b SC (b abt 1854)
    McSwain Ambers 12 M W Farm Labor b SC (b abt 1858)
    McSwain Sarah 14 F W At Home b SC (b abt 1856)
    McSwain Caledonia 10 F W At Home b SC (b abt 1860)

    Note that this census reports all the children, as well as their mother, born in South Carolina.  Other sources indicate the children were born in North Carolina, and the McSwains moved to South Carolina for Louis to take a pastorate there.  Family sources also indicate Mary Hamrick McSwain was born in North Carolina.  We know all these children were born in North Carolina, because they were all in the North Carolina census in 1860 when the family was living in Cleveland County.  The 1850 census also reports all children born up to that time were born in North Carolina.  They lived just near the South Carolina border, and Louis and Mary are buried in the Antioch Cemtery in Blacksburg, Cherokee County, SC.

    Bonaparte matches the child reported in other genealogies as Bonner.  It is reasonable that Bonner was a nickname for the more formal Bonaparte.  Further, in 1860, this person was listed as Elijah.  Thus we may now say this child was named Elijah Bonaparte, and had the nickname of Bonner.

    Ambrose is reported here as Ambers, an interesting phonetic insight into the pronunciation of the region.  Caledonia does not show up on the family genealogies I have seen.  Caledonia matches Margaret C in the 1860 census.  This gives us the information that her full name is Margaret Caledonia.

    In the home are also two children named Hambright, Mary 12 and Samuel 10.  I wonder if these are a niece and a nephew of Mary.  This is a variation on the Mary's maiden name, written in standard form as Hamrick.  It also appears in various sources as Hambrick.  Perhaps Hambright was another variations.  There is another Hambright family a few houses down from Louis.

    The dates in this 1870 census differ considerably from dates reported in some genealogies on the McSwain family for some of the children.  Sources differ on the birth years of the children of Louis and Mary.  It appears that even various family genealogies have derived birth dates from the age in various censuses, thus there we could expect a two-year discrepancy.  And we commonly find differences between censuses on reported ages.

    Initially I have reference the dates on three primary sources, the Hamrick Genealogy pages, and Jerry Gallagher's and Paul Sarrett Jr's genealogies on the McSwains.  Paul has extensively compared and evaluated the early censuses and comments from many printed and electronic sources.  Jerry has information on some Arkansas McSwains.  It is not easy to reconcile the differences between the three sources.  I have consulted many other sources.  Dates and other details are gradually being evaluated with more critical attention.

    In 1880, Louis and Mary are living in Cherokee Township of Yourk County, South Carolina.  Next door to htem is their widowed daughter Hannah Green and her children.

    1880 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina, 15 June, Cherokee Township, p 25, Hse/Fam #238
    McSwain, Louis  W M 65  Baptist Clergyman NC NC NC (b abt 1815)
    McSwain, Mary W F 63  Wife Keeping House NC NC NC (b abt 1817)
    McSwain, Margaret C  W F 22 Daughter  Domestic Work NC NC NC (b abt 1858)
    Hamrick, Sarah A  W F 21 Granddaughter  Domestic Work NC NC NC (b abt 1859)
    Hamrick, Samuel W M 19 Grandson  Works on Farm NC NC NC (b abt 1861)

    I was primarily concerned to clarify the connection with the McSwains and Padgetts of Arkansas.  I had thoroughly studied the Hamrick and Sarrett material, along with other sources on the McSwains and related families in Rutherford County, North Carolina, without success in making a specific connection to the Arkansas settlers.  For months after working out the family identity and local connections of the McSwains in Prairie Township, Arkansas County, Arkansas, I had been unable to connect them to any North Carolina McSwains.

    Louis and Mary's family were a critical link, because daughter Judith and her husband Edwin/Edmund Padgett had moved to Arkansas (about 1870) a little before the McSwain family moved (about 1875) to Arkansas County.  In the 1850 census, we find that these two families are living next door to each other in Cleveland County, North Carolina.  Edwin's parents are later also found in Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas, where the McSwains moved.

    But I could not find a link in the generation before Katy McSwain.  Edwin's mother Lavinia was shown living in the household of Phillip McSwain in Ethel in the 1900 census.  But the linear genetic link had not been established.

    Nothing in the neighboring areas of South Carolina, and Georgia, where a substantial number of McSwains had also settled, was productive. I did, however, in that process, discover that there were several separate streams of migration of McSwain families directly from Skye to the same areas of North and South Carolina, as well as Virginia, and early settlers in California in the early 1800s, possibly even before that territory became part of the US.

    Edwin and Judith had moved to the same location, Ethel, near the White River, in southern Prairie Township, Arkansas County.  There had been a bit of misdirection in the Sarrett information, which reported that Edwin and Judith had moved from NC to Lonoke County, Arkansas.  This is the place where they died.  However, I discovered them in the 1880 census just a short distance away from the McSwains in Prairie Township (Ethel area).

    Edwin and Judith (McSwain) Padgett are the progenitors of the Padgetts we know today in the Ethel area.  Padgetts continued to marry McSwains in Arkansas.  The Hamricks bypassed Arkansas on their way west, going on to north Texas, where we knew some in the Dallas area from the same family I later discovered had been in Rutherford County, North Carolina, in the 1800s.

    It was clear from various clues that they were related to the large clan in the Carolinas, but the specific connection was elusive.  The Arkansas McSwain family was not even sure all the first McSwains that appeared first in the 1880 census in Arkansas County were of the same family.  Initial analysis revealed several clues that indicated they were one family, but without the father.  There was an uncertain memory that the father of the men, the husband of "Katy" was named George like one of the sons.

    It was February 2007 before I was able to actually get a look at the censuses from North Carolina.  I finally discovered the problem was that the husband of Katy (Catherine), while named George as thought by the family in Arkansas, was much older than expected.  George was 21 years older than Katy.  This was why I had been unable to make any identification with the many Georges in the Carolina clan.

Sources

  • 1. RootsWeb ID: I4728 -- John McSwain
    • Name: Name: http:/worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=prsjr&id=I4728;;
  • 2. Rutherford/Cleveland County, NC, Burial Information
    • Name: Name: http://www.rfci.net/wdfloyd/cemm5.html;;
  • 3. 1880 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 15 June, Cherokee Township, p 25, Hse/Fam #238
  • 4. 1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 4 September, p 315 (scan 158), Hse/Fam #596
  • 5. South Carolina Death Records, 1821-1955
  • 6. 1860 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 14 August, page 72, Hse/Fam #511
  • 7. RootsWeb Trees
  • 8. 1870 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 19 August, Subdivision 103, PO Yorkville, p 79, Hse #561, Fam #552
  • 9. RootsWeb ID: I6287
  • 10. Hamrick Data Pages
    • http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hamrick/wga75.html
  • 11. South Carolina, Death Records, 1821-1965
  • 12. FamilySearch Trees
  • 13. 1870 Federal Census, Cocke County, Tennessee
    • 23 August, District 9, page 18, Hse #123, Fam #124
  • 14. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
  • 15. Hamrick Data Pages
    • http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~Hamrick/wga81.html
  • 16. RootsWeb -- McSwain-Padgett-Moore-Green
    • http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dwh1951&id=I648
  • 17. 1920 Federal Census, Rutherford County, North Carolina
    • 17 January, District 156, page 10B, Colfax Township, Hse #172, Fam #173
  • 18. 1910 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 27 April, District 43, page 17B, Shelby, La Fayette St, Hse #222, Fam #253
  • 19. 1880 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 15 June, Cherokee Township, p 25, Hse/Fam #239
  • 20. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
  • 21. 1870 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 20 August, Division 103, PO Yorkville, page 80 (scan 496), Hse #562, Fam # 553
  • 22. 1900 Federal Census, Cherokee County, South Carolina
    • 14 June, Cherokee Township, District 2, p 18A, Hse #267, Fam #277
  • 23. Obituary of Hannah McSwain Green, Double Springs, Anderson County, South Carolina
  • 24. 1930 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 25 April, Sandy Run, District 23-26 Page 2A, Hse #20, Fam #23
  • 25. American Civil War Soldiers
    • Name: Name: 16 Sources;;
  • 26. 1870 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 23 August, Township 7, PO Mooresboro, page 7, Hse #46Fam #50
  • 27. 1880 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 3 June, Township 7, Sandy Run, District 71, page 5 (Scan 571A), Hse #46, Fam #47
  • 28. 1880 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 15 June, Cherokee Township, District 167, page 24, Hse/Fam #226
  • 29. 1920 Federal Census, Cherokee County, South Carolina
    • 17 January, Cherokee Township, District 3, page 11A, Hse #188, Fam #190
  • 30. 1910 Federal Census, Cherokee County, South Carolina
    • 22 April, Cherokee Township, District 3, page 6A, Hse/Fam #94
  • 31. 1900 Federal Census, Cherokee County, South Carolina
    • 29 June, Cherokee Township, District 2, page 30A, Hse #488, Fam #500
  • 32. 1930 Federal Census, Cherokee County, South Carolina
    • 11 April, Cherokee Township, District 3, page 7B, Hse #132, Fam #139
  • 33. 1880 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 15 June, Cherokee Township, District 167, page 25 (scan 484), Hse/Fam #241
  • 34. South Carolina Certificate of Death
  • 35. 1900 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 12 June, Sandy Run, Township 7, District 57, page 8B, Hse #139, Fam #142
  • 36. 1880 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
    • 3 June, Township 7, Sandy Run, District 71, page 5 (Scan 571A), Hse #46, Fam #48
  • 37. 1870 Federal Census, York County, South Carolina
    • 19 August, Subdivision 103, PO Yorkville, p 80, Hse #561, Fam #552
  • 38. Hamrick Data Pages

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