John Franklin MCSWAIN George Franklin MCSWAIN John Allison MCSWAIN Charlie MCSWAIN William Henry HOLDEN John A HOLDEN Maude Caldonia HOLDEN Mattie HOLDEN James B CRISWELL Noah D CRISWELL Russell Arbery MCSWAIN Mary G MCSWAIN Mini tree diagram
Jane C MCSWAIN

Jane C MCSWAIN1,2,3,4,1

Mar 18781,2,3,4,1 - before 19134

Life History

Mar 1878

Born in Prairie Township, Arkansas, Arkansas.1,2,3,4,1

16th Sep 1895

Married William Henry HOLDEN in Arkansas County, Arkansas.9,4,1

27th Sep 1896

Birth of son John A HOLDEN in Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas.5,6,2,7,8,9,10,11

22nd Jan 1901

Birth of daughter Maude Caldonia HOLDEN in Arkansas.12,13,3

about 1904

Birth of son Mattie HOLDEN in Arkansas.3

1905

Death of William Henry HOLDEN in Prairie Township, Arkansas, Arkansas.3,4,4,4

28th Oct 1906

Married James B CRISWELL in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1

Oct 1908

Birth of son Noah D CRISWELL in Arkansas.3,14

before 1913

Died in Prairie Township, Arkansas, Arkansas.4

Notes

  • David Murray Raper reports this person's name as Jane R. C. UNKNOWN, and Birth abt 1879 in Arkansas.  David combines the two initials reported in the 1900 and 1910 census.  The C may stand for Caldonia, since she named one of her daughters Caldonia.  She is listed in the 1910 census as Janie C Criswell.  Descendant Jerry Griffitt also reports her as Janie R, and includes the 1900 census for this family.
    --  Ancestry Trees, http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/person.aspx?tid=7336277&pid=-1114688026

    Jane's marriage record reports her as J C McSwain.  I have not been able to determine who her parents are.

    William H Holden
    Birth Nov 1859 in Mississippi
    Death BET 1903 AND 1907 in Prairie, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Marriage 1895 Prairie, Arkansas County, Arkansas, to Jane R Mar 1878
    Born in Prairie, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Died 1930 in Prairie Township, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Children:
    Ethel Holden b Mar 1884 in Mississippi
    John H Holden, Birth 27 Sep 1896 in Arkansas, Death 1 Oct 1978 in Los Angeles City, California
    Caldonia Holden, Birth 22 Jan 1901 in Prairie, Arkansas County, Arkansas, Death 11 March 1995 in Dallas, Polk County, Oregon
    Mattie Holden b 1904 in Arkansas
    --  Holden Family, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/10407308/person/-645503526

    The Holden genealogy provides details, but does not report a full maiden name, only the middle initial R, which also appears in the 1900 census.  The family Jane most likely belongs to is John Franklin McSwain and Mary G McSwain (maiden name).  Records are missing on John and Mary, and they do not appear in the 1880 census, which should be the one reporting Jane's birth about 1878.

    Jane would fit before the lat born son Russell, who also appears in the same area, and married William Holden's daughter Ethel.  Jane was about 12 years older than Ethel, and married Ethel's father in about 1895, after he was widowed.  The location, dates and family connections match for Jane to be John and Mary McSwain's daughter.

    I discovered Jane's record of marriage to William Holden, which reports her name as J C McSwain.  Note that the marriage record gives her husband's name as W F (as transcribed by Ancestry; they do not post the original image).  Family sources report his middle initial as H, and a record found in 2017 reports his full name as William Henry Holden.  This matches his name in the 1900 census, W H Holden.

    Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
    W F Holden, Gender Male, Age 35 (born abt 1860), Residence Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    J C McSwain, Gender Female, Age 17 (born abt 1878), Residence Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Marriage 16 Sep 1895 Arkansas County
    Marriage License Date 13 Sep 1895

    In 1900 Jane is recorded as Jane R Holden, but in the 1910 census her middle initial is reported as C.  The record of their marriage has no middle name.

    1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 June, Prairie Township, District 7, page 18A, Hse #21, Fam #212
    Holden, William H  Head  W M Nov 1859 40 Married 5 years MS MS MS Farmer Rents
    Holden, Jane R Wife W F Mar 1878 22 Married 5 years 2 children/1 living AR SC SC
    Holden, John H Son W M Apr 1896 4 Single AR MS AR
    Holden, Ethel Dau W F Mar 1884 16 Single MS MS MS
    Wigly, Margaret Mother W M May 1843 57 Widow 4 children/2 living NC NC NC

    We see here that before 1900 James' second wife Janie Holden had one child, John H, born in 1896.  Jerry Griffitts reports a child Caldonia born in 1901, who was his grandmother.  In the 1910 census with James' household, we find 9-year-old Caldonia, but also Mattie (whose entry looks like Wattie), born about 1906.  Jane is reported in 1900 as Jane R but in 1910 it is Jane C, as her first marriage record above.

    In June 2017 new investigation in the cemeteries of the Ethel and St Charles area led to the discovery of clarifying relationships between several families in the area already known to be related in various ways.  Followup led to the Robnette genealogy which provided a configuration of William H Holden's two marriages, which helped confirm family relationships.  One problem is the name reported in different sources for William Holden's first wife.

    Jerry Robnette has only a first name as Margaret.  Some other sources have her as Mary E Wigly.  Documentation has been tenuous but in 2020 more records were found on Mary and other family member and the profile is firmed up better.  It seems definite that her name was Mary, though one or two genealogies call her Margaret.

    Robnette provides some more details about the relationships and configuration of William Henry Holden.  These relationships enabled us to make several connections between the Holden, McSwain, Criswell and Jones families.  William and Janie's daughter Ciscela (Cicely/Sissily) married Robert Foote Jones.  A Jane E Holden Jones is also identified as a half-sister of Ciscela in a 1903 photo, instead of her step-mother.  Several censuses were reviewed, some added and other records covereed to clarify the overall family structure.

    William Henry Holden
    Birth NOV 1859 Mississippi, USA
    Death ABT 1905 Prairie, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Parents:
    John Bell Holden 1844-1882
    Margaret R J Criswell 1843-
    Spouse 1 Margaret Birth 1860, Death Unknown
    Children:
    Ciscela "Sissily" Ola Holden 1882-1957
    Ethel E Holden 1884-1939
    Spouse 2 Janie R C McSwain
    Birth MAR 1878 Prairie, Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States
    Death 1930 Prairie Township, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Children:
    John H Holden 1896-1978
    Caldonia Maude Holden 1901-1995
    Mattie Holden 1904-1910
    --  Jerry Robnett, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/12478704/person/26219058800/facts

    William died in 1905.  Janie married widower James B Chriswell.

    Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
    Janie Holdon [Holden], Age 28 (born abt 1878), Residence Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    J B Criswell, Age 36 (born abt 1870), Residence Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas
    Marriage 28 Oct 1906 Arkansas County
    Marriage License Date 27 Oct 1906

    In the 1910 census we see Janie and James' son, 1.5-year-old Noah Criswell.

    1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 April, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 15, page 2A, Hse/Fam #18
    Criswell, James Head M W 39  2nd marriage, married 3 years  MS SC AL Farmer
    Criswell, Janie C Wife F W 32   2nd marriage, married 3 years  Borne 6 children, 5 living  AR NC NC
    Criswell, Bryan R  Son M W 10  AR MS AR Farm Laborer
    Criswell, Noah D  Daughter [sic] M W 1yr 6mos  AR MS AR [born Oct 1908]
    Holden, Caldonia Step-daughter F W 9 AR MS AR
    Holden, Wattie [Mattie?] Son [Step-Son/Step-Daughter?] F W 6 AR MS AR

    It appears that Jane died before the 1920 census, but it is not clear just when.  I have found no record of her death.  Jerry Griffitts reports (with no source documentation) that she died in 1930, but it is clear that James Criswell's wife in 1920 is 53-year-old but Mattie, while Jane would be about 42.  The marriage records of Arkansas County report that James and Martha (Mattie) Connelly married in 1913.  So we can say that Janie Holden died before that time.

    The Holden genealogy reports that Jane died in 1930, but I have been unable to find any documentation related to her death.  James married for the third time before the 1920 census, where his wife is Martha, last name unknown.  It appears that Jane died, but if the couple was divorced, I have found no record of that nor any information on Jane from their to her reported death in 1930.

Sources

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