The Swantons of County Cork, Ireland ,
Boston, Massachusetts
and
brooklyn, New york

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bandon Bridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Ginni Louise Swanton

 

 

 

 

 


The Swantons of County Cork, Ireland ,
Boston, Massachusetts
and
brooklyn, New york

 

SECTION ONE

Introduction

 

On January 4, 1997, my grandmother, Ksenia Mienscow (Menshov) Haller, passed away at the age of 97. I flew from Seattle to Boston to attend her funeral and to help my mother sort through her belongings. While I was there, I came across family photographs that my grandmother had saved. Some of them dated back to before she and her family emigrated from Russian Poland in 1909.

 

These photographs sparked in me a curiosity about my roots, and I found myself asking the age-old question, “Where did I come from?”  For some reason, at that time, I was more interested in learning about the Irish side of my family. When I asked my parents about our Irish side of the family, however, they had very little information. All they knew was that the family came from County Cork, Ireland, that my father’s grandfather’s name had been Robert Swanton, that he had married Rosanna Hanlon, and that he had been a carpenter.

 

This wasn’t much to go on, and I had no idea where or how to begin my research. I discovered the LDS Family History Centers, and looked up the Swanton surname in their International Genealogy Index. To my surprise, I found quite a few there, and just about all the Swantons in Ireland were from County Cork. In the IGI, the origin of many of the Swantons was recorded as the Skull Dispensary, which struck me as a very strange name.

 

I later learned that Skull was also known as Schull, and was a pretty little town on the water in West Cork, and that a dispensary was the local equivalent of a hospital or lying-in place for expectant mothers.  However, when I first saw the term, Skull Dispensary, I had a mental image of tiny little heads with bodies attached to them being dispensed like Pez candies! I was very new at this, and all these Irish names sounded strange to me.

 

 

I learned about the Griffith’s Valuation, a land valuation that was taken in Cork in 1852, and I pored through the microfilms of it looking for Swantons. I bought a detailed map of County Cork, which showed all the townlands in the area where most of the Swantons had lived. On this map, I highlighted all the townlands where the Swanton name had appeared in the Griffith’s Valuation.

 

I was still no closer, though, to learning about my Swanton family.  I decided to follow the advice given to me by many seasoned researchers, and started to work backwards, finding as much information as possible about my family in Boston.

 

Luckily, I live only thirty minutes from the Pacific Northwest National Archives. I quickly learned about Soundex indexing systems, and eagerly delved into the Boston census records. My biggest thrill was finding my first census record for my great grandfather and his family. This was my first tangible indication that these people were actually real! I soon found more census records, but each contained conflicting information about dates of birth and immigration. However, at least I had a general idea of when my great-grandfather had been born.

 

I learned that civil registration for births, marriages and deaths in Ireland had become mandatory in 1864, and that the indices for these records had been microfilmed by the LDS (Mormons) and were available through their Family History Centers. I ordered the birth indices for the range of years in which I had calculated that Robert had been born and waited about three weeks to receive them. Finally I received a call from my local Family History Center telling me that my microfilms had arrived. These indices provided the volume and page number for the actual records. I noted all the likely candidates, and then ordered more microfilms for the records themselves and waited another three weeks. I was having fun—this was like a treasure hunt!

 

The microfilms finally arrived, and it was very exciting to see copies of the actual handwritten records from the late 1800’s. There were a number of Robert Swantons born between 1864-1868, though, and I still had no idea which one was my Robert Swanton.

 

My next step was to look through the Massachusetts death indices to see if I could find him there. Once I found an index entry that looked like it might be the Robert Swanton I was looking for, I sent to Massachusetts for his death certificate. Success at last! The death certificate showed that this Robert Swanton’s wife had been Rosanna Hanlon, which coincided with the information my parents had given me about my great grandfather. It also gave the names of his parents, who were Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield.

 

Sure enough, one of the Irish civil birth records I had found was for a Robert Swanton, born in County Cork on April 24, 1865, who had these same parents. I had finally found my Robert Swanton! This record also contained an additional piece of information—the name of the townland in which the Swanton family had lived when Robert was born. The townland was Boulteen, and I found it on my map. It was northeast of Schull and south of Enniskeane.

 

 

I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I had actually been. Michael and Elizabeth (known as Bessie) had had 10 children, and Robert was the only one who had been born after 1864, which is when civil birth/death and marriage registration became mandatory. Before then, the only records available were on the parish level. If he had been born before 1864, I would probably never have been able to find out exactly where my Swanton family was from in Ireland. He was the tenth child of Michael and Bessie.

 

Well, the rest, as they say, is history. I progressed from an inexperienced researcher into a dedicated researcher, and in the past four years, I have amassed an immense amount of information about my Irish Swanton family.

 

I’ve spent hours sitting in musty archives, poring over microfilms and thumbing through old dusty tomes. I discovered the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and I looked up many birth, death and marriage records for Swantons in Ireland. I also saw for the first time, the incredible book entitled “The Swanton Family History Worldwide”, which had been written by Louise May Swanton in 1979. Although there was only one mention of my Swanton line in the book (Robert Swanton’s birth), there was an amazing amount of Swanton information in it, going back to 1242 in England. Coincidentally, my interest in my Swanton roots began shortly after Louise Swanton’s death. I like to think that she somehow passed the Swanton research torch on to me.

 

I traveled back to Boston, where I visited the homes where my ancestors had lived in South Boston and Dorchester. I wandered through cemeteries looking for their graves. I visited the Massachusetts Archives, the National Archives, the Catholic Archdiocesan Archives, and the Suffolk County Probate Court. Little by little, I was starting to discover more information about Robert and some of his brothers and sisters.

 

Two years ago, I went to Ireland, where I had the opportunity to look through the Catholic parish registers of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. These records included the records for the united parishes of Enniskeane, Desertserges and Kinneigh.

 

I started with the first parish register in Enniskeane, which dated back to 1813. It was truly an amazing experience to actually handle these books, very carefully, of course, and to see the original records. The first Swanton record I found was for 1817.  Unfortunately, it was very hard to read, and the mother’s name was illegible. I found the baptismal records for nine of Michael and Bessie’s children, as well as many confirmation and marriage records. I typed every Swanton and Bradfield record I found into my laptop computer. I also took digital and film photos of these records. I spent so much time going through the records that Father Sean McCarthy finally just gave me the key to the church.

 

As I looked through the church registers, it was easy to lose track of time. I would stay in the sacristy until about 10 or 11 at night. The later it got, the louder the creaks and groans of the old building became, and finally I’d lock everything up and leave. I’d walk outside in the pitch black, past the cemetery, to Maura Murray’s house. Maura and her husband, Paddy Murray, helped out at the church, and they were the keepers of the church key.

 

I spent many wonderful evenings with Maura, sipping tea in front of her cozy coal fire, and giggling about how creepy the church and the cemetery were at night.

 

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Maura Murray’s cozy coal fireplace

 

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Maura Murray

 

In one of those ironic twists of fate, Paddy Murray told me that his mother had been Anne Swanton from Lissicorrane. In the course of my research, I later discovered that Paddy Murray is my third cousin, once removed.

 

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Paddy Murray, son of Anne Swanton of
Lissicorrane, Cork, Ireland

and “Buttons”

 

I hired a research firm in Ireland to go through the Catholic parish records for the areas in which I knew Swantons had lived. I went back to Boston, and found a treasure trove of information in the probate records.

 

These probate records were the most informative and rewarding records I have found in my research. Instead of simply providing dates and names, they provided details of my ancestors’ lives, which truly brought them alive for me.

 

I’m still uncovering new records, but I decided that at some point, I needed to organize all the bits and pieces of information I had acquired and to just sit down and start writing my family history. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed researching and writing it.

 

I’ve organized this book into three sections. The first section is an introduction. The second section provides information about how the Swantons ended up in Ireland, and some historical background about what was going on there at the time. It includes some early mentions of Swantons in Ireland. The third section is the detailed genealogy of my Swanton line, including photographs and copies of original records.

 

SECTION TWO

The Swantons: From England to Ireland

My Swantons were either descendents of the few Swantons who lived in Ireland during Cromwellian times, or of the Swantons who fought under King William of Orange against King James II in 1690. Swanton is an English name derived from a place in Norfolk[1], and all the Swantons were originally from England.

In 1653, Cromwell formed a new mode of government called the protectorship. The Catholic officers and nobility were forced to abandon their estates in the other provinces and cross the Shannon into Connaught and the County Claire, where Cromwell enjoined them to remain, under pain of death, with express permission to leave them. Here they were subjected to the insolence, oppression, and cruelty of the tyrants who ruled over them.

Cromwell, in the meantime, either wishing to conciliate the Irish by kindness, or give them a favorable opinion of his benevolence, established at Athlone a court of claims, by which it was decreed to grant in those parts of the kingdom, to the proscribed proprietors of lands, (who would be found not to have been implicated in the rebellion,) a portion of land sufficient for their subsistence, and befitting their qualify and pretensions. By this regulation it happened that some of these noblemen enjoyed in Connaught and the county of Claire a fourth, others a third, and some one-half of the revenues they possessed at home. [2]

Two of the recipients of these Connaught Certificates were Michael and Margaret Swanton. Michael is not a common first name for Swantons, and in the 1800’s, it appeared primarily in the Catholic Swanton lines in Dunmanway and Midleton. Michael Swanton was the name of my great great grandfather.

Most of the Swantons, however, arrived in Ireland in 1690 to fight under King William III against King James II. In the History of Bandon, written by George Bennett in 1862, Mr. Bennett notes that “A great many of those that fought in the last campaign under William, settled in and about Bandon, amongst whom were Captain William Scott, who commanded a troop in one of William’s horse regiments at the Boyne, Hornibrook, Swanton, etc.”

In The Story of West Carbery, I found the following Swanton reference:

"The Swantons are still another family which must have arrived in West Carbery about this time as we are told that Swanton was a Williamite arrival in Bandon about 1690. During the following century, the family acquired large estates, and founded the town of Ballydehob, which at one time was called "Swantons Town".

Smith does not mention it at all, so apparently it did not exist in 1749 but in Lewis's Dictionary of 1837 we are told that it had 100 houses and 601 inhabitants, and that a "new line of road, formed by the Board of Works, from Skibbereen to Rock Island runs through it".

In 1768 Richard Tonson demised lands, in and near Ballydehob to William Swanton for lives, renewable for ever, which suggests the two families were then on very good terms. A William Swanton made his Will in 1825, and refers therein to property owned or rented by him in over 70 different townlands, mainly round Ballydehob, but extending westerly to Goleen, Dunmanus and Durrus, and easterly round Skibbereen and beyond Leap."

Edward MacLysaught wrote that “though Swanton is an English name derived from a place in Norfolk, it has become closely identified with West Cork since the 17th century. There are no less than seventeen references to Swantons in Ireland in the15th century, including two Connaught Certificates.[3]

The name occurs frequently in the Cork and Ross wills and in the marriage license bonds for the same diocese from 1690. Practically all the fairly numerous Swanton births of the 19th century were registered in County Cork. In 1853, Griffith found as many as fifty-eight Swanton families in West Cork, and in 1878, there were seven of the name among the large landowners of County Cork, owning between them 11,750 acres.

“A few Swantons do appear in our records elsewhere; e.g., a sheriff in County Kildare in 1675. The most notable of the Cork Swanton family were those who distinguished themselves in France. James Swanton (1760-1820) who at the age of 12 was adopted by his uncle, the Abbe Swanton, served in Berwick's regiment of the Irish brigade and afterwards as a colonel in the French army. Hilaire Belloc was his grandson. His son, Armand (c.1785-c.1830), was also an officer in the Irish Legion. He was said to be the handsomest officer in the French Army.”                                                                                                              

From The Book of Irish Families, Great and Small by Michael C. O'Laughlin

Swanton, of English origins, Swan

“Swanton families are assumed to be of English settler origins. The family is found in County Cork in the 17th century. Cork is traditionally considered the home for the name. The 1890 birth index and Griffith's survey give the name centered in Cork as well. The 1890 index finds 5 of the name in Cork and 2 of the name in Dublin. "Swanton" is found in Dublin and Antrim then.

Several are found in the works of O'Hart, and some are found as 'wild geese", in the ranks of foreign armies on the continent, as was one James Swanton of the Irish Brigades in France, 1760 - 1828.

Several of the name held estates in Cork in the last century. At least one of the name is found as a sheriff in County Kildare in the latter half 17th century.”

 

Swanton Wills Probated in Cork between 1548 and 1855[4]

 

John Swanton, Letterbellish, 1717

William Swanton, Aghill, 1750[5]

George Swanton, 1757

George Swanton, Banashanaslogh, 1775

John Swanton, Bandon, 1790

William Swanton, Gortnegrough, 1798

Robert Swanton, Ballidehob, 1833

John Clerk Swanton, Bandon, 1836 (husband of Jane)

James Evans Swanton, Aghadown, 1837

Young Swanton, Augaginveen, 1842

James Swanton, Ballydehob, 1843

 

Historic Background

 

The Williamite War

 

The Williamite War began in 1689, when the Catholic King James II of England, was removed from the throne by Parliament. He was replaced by his son-in-law, the Protestant William of Orange, a Dutch prince, who was crowned the King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland on April 11, 1689. William of Orange was known as the Defender of the Faith, and was married to Mary, the daughter of King James II.

King William of Orange

 

After he was deposed, James fled to France, but the following year, he went to Ireland with French support, hoping that the Roman Catholics would help him to recover his throne. The Irish had welcomed the ascension of King James II to the English throne in 1685. James was a Roman Catholic, and they hoped that he would help them recover the land which had been taken from them by Cromwell. Ironically, William of Orange counted the Pope among his close friends.

 

In March of 1689, James and his troops landed at Kinsale in County Cork. They besieged Derry for three months but failed to take it. William of Orange sent his first battalion of troops to Ireland on August 13th 1689, and William himself arrived at Carrickfergus in Antrim on June 14, 1690 with a large army.

 

The war was short and decisive. On July 11,1690, James was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne and he returned to France. The Irish and their French allies continued the fight. But they were again defeated, at Aughrim, and driven back to Limerick. Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan, defended the town, but when no French help arrived he surrendered.

 

The Treaty of Limerick and the Wild Geese

 

On October 13,1691, the Articles of Capitulation, known as the Treaty of Limerick, were signed. Shortly after Sarsfield signed the Treaty of Limerick, a French fleet arrived with reinforcements and many of them urged Sarsfield to disregard the Treaty and to continue fighting. He had given his word of honor, though, and he refused to break it.

 

All who submitted under the Treaty of Limerick were to be allowed to keep their lands if they took an oath of allegiance to King William. One clause of the treaty seemed to promise that Roman Catholics would be free to practice their religion. Believing that they had negotiated a treaty that guaranteed the rights of their people, perhaps as many as twenty thousand Irish soldiers sailed with Sarsfield to France. For the next hundred years, the French Army would include an Irish Brigade which began with Sarsfield's soldiers, and which was fed for the next hundred or so years by a constant stream of young men from Ireland.

 

The majority of the recruits for the Irish Brigade came from the counties of Claire, Limerick, Cork, Kerry and Galway. French ships which arrived on the west coast to smuggle in brandy and wine would depart with recruits for the Irish Brigade. In the paperwork of the ships, the recruits were listed as "Wild Geese", which is how the term originated.

 

Although the term "Wild Geese" usually refers to the men of the France's Irish Brigade, France was not the only destination of these "Wild Geese. " Many went to Spain, where Irishmen had actually been serving for many years in great numbers, forming a number of regiments in the Spanish army. Irishmen served in the Armies of Austria, Russian, Poland and the various German Kingdoms.

 

James Swanton of the Irish Brigade[6]

 

Although I have no known connection with this James Swanton, I have included this information to provide additional historical background information about the Swantons of County Cork.

 

One of these “Wild Geese” was James Swanton. He was born in Cork around 1760. As a boy of twelve years, he was sent to France by his widowed mother, and was adopted there by his uncle, the Abbe Swanton. Upon completing his education, he entered Berwick’s regiment of the Irish Brigade in 1780, and by 1789, he had reached the rank of captain.

 

After the outbreak of the Revolution, he, with eighteen other officers of the old royalist army, was imprisoned at Perpignan, France, in 1792. When a rumor reached his wife that he was in danger of execution, she hastened to Paris and, through the influence of a deputy of the National Convention, secured his release. Unlike so many others of the old royalist officers, he remained loyal to his adopted country and did not emigrate.

 

Promoted to the rank of colonel, he fought through the Revolutionary and early Napoleonic campaigns, during which he was an intimate friend of Henry Clarke, Duke of Feltre and War Minister of Napoleon. His great-grand-daughter, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, the notable English novelist and sister of Hilaire Belloc, describes him as a typical officer of the old school: “stern, narrow-minded, very brave and with a high sense of duty.” He died in 1828 in Paris at the house of his daughter, Madame Swanton Belloc.

 

While still a young lieutenant, Colonel Swanton married Mademoiselle Chasseriau of La Rochelle, a lady of remarkable beauty, by whom he had a son and three daughters. One of the daughters, Louise, married Jean Hilaire Belloc, an eminent painter and professor of drawing at Paris, whose portrait of his wife is in the Louvre. His grandson, Hilaire Belloc, the brilliant writer, was named after him.

 

Louise Swanton Hilloc was interested in English literature and acquired a wide reputation for her French translations of Moore, Byron, Dickens, etc., and particularly for her critical study of Byron. I recently acquired an original letter written by Madame Swanton Belloc, which I’ve included in the appendix of this book.

 

Armand Swanton, son of Colonel Swanton, followed his father’s profession, and he was an officer of the Irish Legion in the French army from 1804 till 1814. In the latter year, he was taken prisoner at the French disasters on the Boher during the Napoleonic campaign in Germany. Sent as a prisoner to Russia, he was exchanged in the following year and fought at Waterloo.

 

After the Hundred Days he followed a course of military studies and, in 1827, was appointed captain in the royal corps of the headquarters staff. He died at Gap, a little town near Aix in Savoy, in his forty-fifth year. Captain Swanton was regarded as the handsomest man in the French officer class of his time. Interested in genealogy, he paid a visit to Ireland to look up the Swanton family records.

 

The Penal Laws

The treaty that Sarsfield had signed at Limerick would never be honored by the British. With cruel irony, the British tore up the Treaty of Limerick and replaced it with the Penal Laws, which stripped the Irish Catholics of their land, persecuted them for their religion and removed every right of their citizenship.

As a foreigner from the Netherlands, King William was not as successful in his dealings with Parliament as he might have been. When he was sworn in as king, he was required to take an oath swearing that he would obey the laws of Parliament and to be guided in his actions by their decisions. The course that Parliament pursued, particularly with regard to the Penal Laws, was not that selected by King William, who favored tolerance.

As a result of the harsh Penal Laws, persons of property could not enter into mixed marriages. Catholic property was inherited equally among the sons, unless one was a Protestant, in which case he received it all. A Catholic could not inherit property if there was any Protestant heir. A Catholic could not possess arms or a horse worth more than £5; Catholics could not hold leases for more than 31 years, and they could not make a profit greater than a third of their rent. Cases against Catholics were tried without juries, and bounties were given to informers against them.

Under the Penal Laws, Irish Catholics were forbidden to receive an education, enter a profession, hold public office, engage in trade or commerce, live in a corporate town of within five miles thereof, own a horse of great value than five pounds, purchase land, vote, keep any arms for their protection, hold a life annuity, be a guardian to a child, attend Catholic worship, or educate their own children themselves.

During the Penal Law days, Protestants and Catholics regarded each other with mutual suspicion and hatred. Secret societies, such as the Whiteboys, were formed by the Catholics. They would go out at night and tear down the enclosures the Protestants erected around the common areas, and would occasionally cut the ear off a tithe collector[7].

Priests and other educated Irishmen who were faithful to the Catholic Church, conducted schools in inaccessible caves or tiny huts, or behind hedges.  They were known as “hedge schools”.  Seumus MacManus, in his book, “The Story of the Irish Race, describes them as follows:

"Throughout those dark days, the hunted schoolmaster, with price upon his head, was hidden from house to house.  And in the summer time, he gathered his little class, hungering and thirsting for knowledge, behind a hedge in remote mountain glen where, while in turn each tattered lad kept watch from the hilltop for the British soldiers, he fed to his eager pupils the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge. Latin and Greek were taught to ragged hunted ones under shelter of the hedges whence these teachers were knows as "hedge schoolmasters. A knowledge of Latin was a frequent enough accomplishment among poor Irish mountaineers in the seventeenth century  and was spoken by many of them on special occasions. And it is authoritatively boasted that cows were bought and sold in Greek, in mountain market-places of Kerry."

Catholics worshipped secretly at Mass Stones, holy outdoor places where the faithful would gather. Priests were hunted down, mercilessly persecuted, and even hung. These were terrible times for the Irish Catholics.

Most of the Penal Laws were repealed by 1793, but some continued until 1829 when the Catholic Emancipation Act became law. 

Swantons: Protestants and Catholics

Although the Swantons who fought under King William were almost certainly Protestants, over the years, many Swantons and their descendants became Catholics, probably after the Penal Laws were repealed. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to convert to Catholicism while the Penal Laws were still in full effect between 1692 and 1793.  Even between 1793 and 1829, the rights of the Catholics in Ireland were still severely compromised.

My great great great grandfather, John Swanton, would have been 26 in 1793 when the Penal Laws were just beginning to be repealed. His children, William, Michael and James all raised their families as Catholics, and at least one of John’s children was baptized in the Catholic faith in 1817.

The following excerpt from the book, “Landed Society in Cork”, provides a good explanation of the interactions and interrelationships that existed between the Catholic and Protestant tenant farmers after the Penal Laws had been revoked. One of the most common and understandable reasons for religious conversions was marriage.

“Rural Protestantism was not the exclusive preserve of the land-owning ascendancy classes in southern Ireland. While not in the great numbers found in the northern counties, there did exist a class of rural Protestant in the south that was neither 'gentry' nor 'poor cottier' nor 'land agent'. This class of farmer was found in pockets throughout the south, usually the result of long-forgotten plantation policy (sometimes by individual lords of the soil over a long period).

One such pocket was in the area from Bandon west to Bantry and south to Skibbereen. Prosperous Protestant tenant farmers inhabited this section of the county, such as the families of Good, Bradfield, Shorten (Bandon), Shannon, Dukelow (Durrus), Sweetman, Trinder (Clonakilty), Swanton, Attridge, Young (Ballydehob), Levis, Roycroft (Schull) Love (Kilmore), and numerous families of Kingston in Drimoleague.

These families intermarried over generations, maintaining their Protestantism with some difficulty since they were so economically close to many Catholic families around them, and producing an intermarriage pattern more complex than that of the gentry. Such Protestant farming families provided the raw material in the 1830s when, through the medium of the Orange Order the gentry tried -- for a brief period -- to imitate Catholic 'mass' politics.

When observed from afar, county landed society in early nineteenth century Ireland seemed self-contained, introspective almost unitary. In many respects, it was almost an extended familial unit in itself -- a conclusion buttressed by the complex interrelationships built up over generations between various families in the county. This notion of an 'extended family' covers more than a concept of two-dimensional relationship -- of cousins marrying, of rows between families. Rather, it represents more mundane matters -- of money, of patterns of land ownership, of the very basic means by which families and individuals within landed society held their positions, improved and disimproved their lot relative to each other.”

After the Penal Laws were repealed in 1829, life was still hard for the farmers in County Cork. They worked their land from sunup to sundown, trying to grow enough crops to sustain their large families and to pay their rent.

The women worked as hard as the men, taking care of their homes and families. They did most of the cooking in bastables--pots that were hung from a crook in the large fireplace. They bore and raised large families, and often had three or four children under the age of six to tend to at any given time. It wasn’t unusual for a woman’s child-bearing years to extend over 20 years.

They cared for the animals, tending to their feeding, milking, egg gathering, and cleaning. They churned the butter and tended the small family gardens. Doing the family laundry must have been a grueling, day-long chore.

Fires were fueled by turf, which was cut from nearby bogs, stacked, dried, turned, and hauled to the home in small turf carts drawn by donkeys. Fields were plowed using teams of horses and crops were planted, harvested, and threshed by hand.

Although the work was hard, there was a simplicity and joy to their lives. Weddings, births, fairs, and even deaths were acknowledged and celebrated with music and dancing. There was a strong sense of community, and families and neighbors looked out for each other.

Enniskeane/Dunmanway Swantons and Midleton Swantons

Both of these Swanton branches were Catholic. The Enniskeane Swantons were primarily farmers and carpenters; the Midleton Swantons were sailors/boatmen. However, I believe that these two families may have been related.

In the Roman Catholic parish records for Dunmanway, there’s a record for the marriage of Jeremiah Swanton to Mary Fehilly on February 14,1860.  Their children, Garrett (1862), John (1865), Anastasia (1869), and Eugene (1870) were all baptized in Dunmanway. There is also a record of Garrett’s baptism in Midleton on the same day he was baptized in Dunmanway.

Jeremiah and Mary’s  daughter, Johanna, was baptized in Midleton in 1866, and Jeremiah’s occupation was given as a boatman. The birth of their son, Owen in 1870 was registered in the Union of Midleton. Eugene and Owen are sometimes interchangeable names.

One possibility is that Mary Fehilly Swanton was originally from the Dunmanway area, and wanted to have her children baptized there. Many of the Midleton Swantons emigrated to the Boston area, settling in Springfield, MA.


SECTION THREE

The First Generation of My Swanton Family in Ireland

John Swanton

 

 

I believe that my great-great-great grandfather[8], John Swanton, was born in County Cork in 1767. In 1823, a John Swanton, according to the Tithe Applotment Records farmed 28 acres in the townland of Maulnarouga, which was a bit south of the town of Enniskeane.

 

In 1852, John Swanton was a farmer and he lived in the townland of Cappeen West in the parish of Kinneigh.[9] He was probably a Catholic, as one of his children (Pat or Cate), was baptized a Catholic in 1817.

I don’t know what his wife’s name was, but based on the naming patterns for his female ancestors, it may have Elizabeth or Anne. I did find the marriage for a John Swanton to a Joanna Crene (Crean) in the Bandon Catholic parish registers. They were married in February of 1804, and their marriage witnesses were James Buckley and Joanne Crene (Crean).  The name Johanna or Joanna appears in almost all my early Swanton families, so it’s possible that my ggg-grandmother was Joanna Crene Swanton.

According to local naming conventions, the first daughter was named after the mother’s mother, although this convention was not always followed.

John lived a very long life, especially for those days. According to his civil death record, he died a widower of old age at the age of 98 on May 18,1865 in Coppeen. His death was reported by his son, James Swanton, who also lived in Coppeen in 1885.

 

A Johanna Swanton who was born in 1771 died at the age of 97 in Coppeen on March 13, 1868. She was a farmer’s widow when she died. She died of old age with no medical attendance. Johanna Swanton’s death was reported by James Swanton of Coppeen, who was John Swanton’s son.[10]  Perhaps John Swanton’s death record incorrectly reported that he was a widower in 1865. Another possibility is that this Johanna had been married to one of John Swanton’s brothers and was John’s sister-in-law. This may have been Joanne Crene.

 

John Swanton and his wife probably had many children, but the only ones I know about are William, James, and Michael and Pat (or Cate), and possibly John. John was 45 years old when his first known child, William, was born.

 

There is a reference to a will of a William Swanton in 1750 in Aghill (Aghyohill), which was also in this area, so perhaps John’s father was William. These are both definitely names that have appeared in my Swanton family for generations.

 

William Swanton was born in 1812[11], James Swanton was born in 1813, and Michael Swanton was born in 1815. [12] Pat (Cate) Swanton was born in 1817. Michael Swanton was my great great grandfather. There may also have been another brother named John Swanton, named after his father.

 

Second Generation

Children of John Swanton
Pat (or Cate) Swanton

 

Pat (or Cate) Swanton was baptized in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane in 1817. His or her father was John Swanton and the mother’s name was unreadable. The baptismal sponsors were Brien Riobirth and Mary Breen. I wasn’t able to find more records about Pat (or Cate).

Second Generation

Children of John Swanton
John Swanton and Ellen Donovan

 

In February of 1835, John Swanton and Ellen Donovan’s son, Timothy Swanton, was baptized in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. I have no definite proof that this John Swanton was the son of John Swanton of Coppeen, but the date and location makes this very likely.

 


Second Generation

Children of John Swanton
William Swanton, Julia Lyons (Lyne) and their Descendants

 

 

 

William Swanton was born around 1812[13], in County Cork, Ireland. He was the son of John Swanton of Coppeen, County Cork[14].  William Swanton married Julie Lyon(s) (possibly Lyne) in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, County Cork, Ireland on November 11, 1839. The witnesses to their marriage were W. John Harris and William Shannahan. Julia and William were married by Father T. H. Hayes.

 

                                  Marriage Record of William Swanton and Julia Lyons

Enniskeane Church.jpg 42.3K

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Enniskeane, County Cork

 

Julia Lyons was born in 1815 in County Cork, and her parents were Daniel Lyon(s) and Nancy Donovan. William and Julia were married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane on September 23, 1838. They lived in Cork until about 1850. All five of their children were born in Ireland:

 

Ann Swanton was born on September 23,1838. She was baptized in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, and her baptismal sponsors were John Swanton and Ann Lyons.

 

Daniel Swanton was born in 1843, and John Swanton was born in 1844. I wasn’t able to find their baptismal records.

 

William Swanton was born on April 20,1846. He was baptized in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, and his baptismal sponsors were John Crowley and Mary Coffey.

 

George Swanton was born in February of 1849. He was baptized in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, and his baptismal sponsors were John Lyons and Mary Donovan.

 

Sometime after 1850, William and Julia immigrated to the United States. On July 17,1860, William and Julia Swanton lived in the town of St. Albans, Franklin County, Vermont. Their ages on the 1860 Vermont Federal Census were recorded as William, 35, and Julia, 32. Their sons, William Jr., 10 and John, 8 lived with them. William Swanton’s occupation was listed as carpenter.

 

William Swanton became a naturalized citizen of the United States on September 2,1880. His naturalization took place in the US District Court, Burlington, Vermont. The witnesses for his naturalization were J. B. Sullivan and James Scott. They swore that they had known William Swanton for at least the previous past five years, and they attested to his good, moral character and his belief in the principles of the Constitution.

 

Ann Swanton, the daughter of William and Julia, married James Mullen on July 21,1863. They had seven children: John, Julia, George, James, Charles, Thomas, and Anna.

 

James Mullen died on May 6, 1898 and is buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Swanton, Vermont. His wife, Ann Swanton Mullen, died on May 7,1878 of consumption. I don’t know where Ann was buried - her name is not listed on the gravestone with James. 

 

William and Julia’s son, Daniel, died on September 25,1863 at the age of 15, Daniel Swanton is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans, Vermont.

William Swanton died on February 24,1894 at the age of 82.  His occupation was recorded as “pauper”, and he was buried in the Poor Farm Cemetery in Sheldon, Vermont. His gravestone is very rough and simple—it looks as though it was chiseled by hand. It reads “William Swanton  1894”. His death record didn’t give the name of his father. Julia Lyons Swanton died of heart disease on December 7,1883 at the age of 68.

 

 

William Swanton’s Grave Stone

 

 

 

 


Second Generation

James Swanton and Catherine Carty (McCarthy)[15]

 



James Swanton was born in County Cork in about 1813. His father was John Swanton.[16]  James Swanton was the occupier of the farm at Coppeen in 1865 and in 1868, when he was the informant of the respective deaths of his father, John Swanton and Johanna Swanton, who may have been either his mother or his aunt.

 

James Swanton married Catherine McCarthy (Cate Carty) on February 23,1841 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, County Cork. They were married by Father J. A. O’Sullivan. The witnesses to their marriage were Jeremiah Carty and Jeremiah Murphy. No parents’ names were recorded.

 

Catherine McCarthy was born in 1814 and died on September 22,1864 in Coppeen, County Cork. Cate was only 50 years old when she died of mortification of the arm, the result of an accident. The time between the accident and her death was 4 days. This was long before antibiotics were discovered, and minor flesh wounds often became infected, resulting in death. Her death was reported by the coroner.

 

James Swanton and Cate Carty Swanton had four children:

 

Catherine (Cate) Swanton was baptized on March 25, 1843 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. Her baptismal sponsors were John and Bett Swanton.

 

George Swanton, born 1844, married Ellen Sweeney and Margaret Hurley Dorne

 

Ellen (Nell) Swanton, born May 21,1846

 

John Swanton, born 1849, no further information

 

Johanna (Anna) Swanton was baptized on January 22, 1850 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. Her baptismal sponsors were Con Crowley and Ellen Collins. On February 23, 1841, she married Cornelius McCarty in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. Cornelius became a naturalized citizen of the United States on October 18, 1978.

 

Cornelius and Johanna had a daughter, Ellen, who was born in Boston in 1877. She married Patrick Colleran, a horse and buggy driver for Pickwick Ale in Boston. They had twelve children:

 

William

Michael

James

Mildred

Margaret

Marion

Helen

Annie

Madeline

Bridget

Patrick

Edward

Cornelius

 

Three of these children, Marion, Margaret and Mildred were still alive as of 2001.


 


Second Generation

descendants of James Swanton and Catherine Regan reily swanton

(Second Marriage for george)[17]

 

 

On June 10, 1871, James Swanton, the son of John Swanton, and the widower of Cate Carty Swanton, married for the second time. James married Catherine (Kate) Reily (maiden name Regan), a 45 year old widow, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, County Cork. They were married by Father Daniel Coveney, the parish priest.

 

The witnesses to James’ and Cate’s marriage were Margaret Crowley and Mary Regan. In the parish marriage record, James’ father’s name was recorded as John Swanton, farmer, deceased, and Kate’s father’s name was Patrick Regan, farmer, deceased.

 

Although James was over 60 years old, on August 1, 1874, he and Kate Regan had a son, James Stephens (Stevens) Swanton. At the time of their son’s birth, James and Kate lived in the village of Coppeen, in the townland of Cappeen West, in the parish of Kinneigh, in the Poor Law Union of Dunmanway, County Cork.

 

On January 28, 1875, the following article appeared in the West Carbery Eagle newspaper, and it most likely referred to this James Swanton.

 

HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE

 

To the Editor of the Cork Constitution

 

Sir -- You would oblige by giving insertion in your influential Journal to the following good act of an agent, which sufficiently speaks for itself: -- A tenant of the Earl of Bandon's, named James Swanton, living in Kinneigh, presented himself on Saturday last at the office in Bandon. When asked for the half-year's rent, which was a considerable time overdue, he answered that he could not pay it. He explained, however, that his inability to pay arose from domestic troubles, bad harvests and losses in cattle, etc.

 

What is the reply of Edward Applebe Esq., Lord Bandon's agent, to this statement? Does he serve a notice to quit? No -- he pays out of his own pocket 12 pounds 10s, the amount of the half-year's rent for Swanton, who returns home with a light heart, blessing his benefactor.

 

What was the surprise and gratitude of that fabulous character from whose shoulders the hump was removed by the wand of the fairies, compared with the wonder and thanks of this poor man from whose mind a real mountain of care was removed by this generous act?

 

When the kindness of the agent is so great, what may not this poor man hope for from the munificence of his noble landlord? - I am your obedient servant,

 

Signed
OBSERVER

 

In 1888, James and Kate Regan Swanton, decided to join their families in America. With their son, James Stephens Swanton, they sailed to Boston on the S. S. Catalonia, arriving on June 4, 1888. James Swanton Sr. was about 75 when he emigrated, Kate was 57, and James Jr. was 14.

 

Their passage was paid for by a stepdaughter, Anna Crowley of Plymouth, MA. Anna may have been Kate Regan Swanton’s daughter from her first marriage.[18] The notes on James Swanton’s immigration record indicated that he had three other daughters there.[19] On this immigration record, James’ occupation was recorded as a laborer.

 

James Swanton died at the age of 75 of bronchitis the day after Christmas, on December 26, 1888, just six months after he arrived in Plymouth. Kate Regan Swanton died in Plymouth in 1909.


Third Generation

Children of George Swanton and Ellen Sweeney[20]

 

 

 

On June 28, 1870, George Swanton, the son of James Swanton[21] and Cate Carty Swanton, married Ellen Sweeney, the daughter of William Sweeney[22], farmer, in the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. Their marriage was witnessed by James Swanton and Patrick Daly, and was performed by Father Daniel Coveney.

 

When he and Ellen married, George Swanton was 27 years old and was a bachelor farmer living in Castletown in the parish of Kinneigh. Ellen Sweeney was 24 years old, and was a spinster living in Shanaclough, a townland in the parish of Kinneigh.

 

After their marriage, George and Ellen Sweeny Swanton lived in the village of Coppeen. George and Ellen had seven children:

 

Catherine Swanton

     Ellen Swanton,

James Swanton

William Swanton, born January 28, 1876, Coppeen.

     John Swanton, born March 3, 1877, Present at birth: Alice Gallivan

Johanna Swanton, born December 15, 1878, Coppeen, Present at birth: Kate Crowley.

Hanora Swanton, born March 30, 1880, Coppeen, died at birth. Present at birth: Kate   Crowley

 

Catherine Swanton born August 10, 1871, Coppeen, informant of birth: George Swanton was confirmed on August 26, 1884 at the age of 12. She lived in Coppeen when she was confirmed.

 

Ellen Swanton born October 15, 1872, Coppeen, informant of birth: George Swanton.

was confirmed on August 4, 1886 at the age of 12. She lived in Lissicorrane at the time. On August 30,1893, at the age of 19, she gave birth to a son, John. The father’s name was John Coakley. At the time, Ellen was a domestic servant living at Lissicorrane. I found no record of a marriage between Ellen Swanton and John Coakley.

Ruins of Coakley Home in Lissicorrane
near the Swanton Home

Photo by Colum Cronin, copyright 2001

 

Ellen Swanton emigrated to Boston, where she married John J. Feeney on February 12, 1907. They were married by Philip F. Sexton, a Catholic priest at 55 Broadway, South Boston. This was John Feeney’s second marriage.

 

In 1911, John Swanton (Ellen’s son?) was 18 and worked as a farm servant for Richard Lynch, a Catholic farmer in the townland of Annaharlick, in the parish of Kinneigh.

 

William Swanton (b. January 28, 1876) was confirmed in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane in 1890, at the age of 14. When he was 23, he immigrated to Boston in 1899. In June of 1900, he worked as a day laborer and lived at 82 Freeport Street with his cousin, Patrick Sweeney, Patrick’s wife, Mary, and their sons, Dennis and Thomas Sweeney. 

 

Patrick Sweeney had been born in Ireland in 1867 and had immigrated to the United States in 1890, where he worked as a city laborer. He was a naturalized citizen. Patrick’s wife, Mary, was 28 and she had been born in Ireland. She had immigrated to the United States in 1893. Dennis was 2 years old, and Thomas was 1, and they had both been born in Massachusetts.

              

Johanna Swanton (b. December 15, 1878) immigrated to Boston. In 1922, she lived at 2 Lincoln Place in South Boston with her half sister, Mary Anne Swanton Scanlon[23] Johanna died, unmarried, in Boston, on August 9, 1922.

 

I haven’t been able to find any information about James Swanton (born January 15, 1874, Coppeen,) or John Swanton (born March 3, 1877).

 

Ellen Sweeney Swanton died on April 3, 1880 in Coppeen of pneumonia[24], just 4 days after the birth of her daughter Hanora on March 30.

 

Second Generation

Children of George Swanton and Margaret Hurley Dorne[25]

 

 

 

On February 12,1881, George Swanton, the widower of Ellen Sweeney Swanton, living in Coppeen, married Margaret Hurley Dorne[26], a 28 year old widow who lived in the townland of Lissicorrane, in the parish of Kinneigh.

 

Margaret was born in 1853, and her father was William Hurley, a farmer. George and Margaret were married in the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, and their marriage witnesses were Daniel Coakley and William Hurley.

 

Sometime after the birth of their first child in 1882, and before the birth of their second child in 1886, George and Margaret Hurley (Dorne) Swanton moved to Lissicorrane.

 

 

Ruins of the Swanton Home in Lissicorrane

Photo by Colum Cronin, copyright 2001

 

George and Margaret Hurley (Dorne) Swanton had the following children:

 

Anne Swanton, born October 14, 1882, Coppeen

Mary Anne Swanton, born on March 11, 1886, Lissicorrane

George Swanton, born on December 11, 1887, Lissicorrane

 

In 1901, Anne Swanton was 18 and worked as a general domestic servant for the Kingston family in Enniskeane. Mary Kingston, 27, was the head of the family, and she had two daughters, Ada, 7, and Hilda, 1. Mary Kingston was a widow, and was of the Church of Ireland faith.

 

Mary Kingston was born in 1871. Her maiden name was Mary Wood, and her father was Richard Wood of Castlelands - just north of Enniskeane. She married her first cousin and ran the Post Office in Enniskeane until her death in 1926. Her daughter Ada took it over and ran it until her death in the 1970's. There is a family story that Hilda was dropped on her head when she was a baby and never fully recovered, dying at the age of 11 in 1911[27].

 

In 1911, Annie Swanton was 27, and she worked as a domestic servant for the Nyhan family in Kinneigh. The Nyhan family was Catholic, and consisted of John, 79, a retired farmer, his wife, Anne, 78, their son John, 38, who now ran the farm, and their son, James, 46. The other family members were John’s wife, Mary, and their children, Con, 5, Denis, 4, Mary, 2, and Tom, 1 month.

 

On June 12,1920, at the age of 36, Anne Swanton married James Murray, a laborer from Palace Anne on June 12, 1920 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. They had at least one son, Patrick Murray. Patrick Murray married Maura, and they had a son Noel and two daughters.

 

In 1998, Patrick and Maura Murray lived in the town of Enniskeane, next door to Thomas and Maura Bradfield, who are also related to me through my Bradfield line. Patrick, Maura, and their son, Noel, help Father Sean McCarthy out at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

 

Mary Anne Swanton immigrated to Boston, where she married William Scanlon on November 29, 1911. They were married in the Gate of Heaven Catholic Church in South Boston, MA by Father R. J. Johnson. Their marriage witnesses were Patrick Scanlon and Julia Casey. On August 9, 1922, Mary Anne Swanton Scanlon lived at 2 Lincoln Park in South Boston, Massachusetts with her half sister, Johanna (Hannah) Swanton.

 

According to the Ireland census, in 1901, George was 57 and owned a farm in Lissicorrane, where he lived with his wife, Margaret, 50, his son George, 13, a scholar, and his grandson, John, 7, a scholar. There was no mention of their daughters, Anne and Mary Anne Swanton. George and Margaret spoke both English and Irish, and could read and write. [28]

 

In 1911, George and Margaret Swanton still lived on the farm in Lissicorrane. George was 69 and Margaret was 61. Their son, George, 22, lived with them, as well as George’s granddaughter, Jane Good, who was 2.

 

 

FIFTH Generation
 George Swanton and ELLEN BURKE swanton

 

George Swanton and Ellen Burke Swanton.jpg 220.3K

George and Ellen Burke Swanton[29]

Photograph contributed by the Enfield Swantons

 

George Swanton was born on December 11, 1887. He married Ellen[30] Burke. The children of George and Ellen Burke Swanton are:

 

               Dennis Swanton, born 1936

               George (Seiorse)

               Margaret (May)

               James (Jim)

               Cathleen (Kit)

               William (Liam)

               John (Sean)

               Thomas (Tom)

 

 

In 1956, George and Ellen Burke Swanton purchased a farm (plot #4) in the townland of Moneygaff East, Coppeen in the parish of Kinneigh from Jack Brennan. In 1969, the Swantons also took over the Sullivan’s farm (plot #5). Moneygaff is also referred to as Moneygove and Munigave.

 

George Swanton, the husband of Ellen Burke Swanton died, a widower, on January 24, 1969 at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Dunmanway. The cause of George’s death was myocardial degeneration (12 months), arteriosclerosis (2 years), and senility (12 months). When he died, he lived in Coppeen, Enniskeane.

 

His wife, Ellen Burke Swanton died on March 9, 1967 at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Dunmanway at the age of 67 of myocardial degeneration (2 years), senility (3 years), and chronic nephritis (12 months). Her death was reported by Anne Keller, a nurse at St. Anthony’s. When Ellen died, she lived at Moneygave (Moneycove/Munigave/Moneygaff), Coppeen, Enniskeane.

 


 

 

FIFTH GENERATION

DESCENDANTS OF GEORGE AND ELLEN BURKE SWANTON

 

 

The oldest son of George and Ellen Burke Swanton, Denis Swanton, died on May 12, 1946 at the age of 16 of asphyxiation caused by drowning in the Bandon River at Ballineen. His death record states that this drowning was accidental. A post-mortem was held on June 1,1946. Dennis was a box-maker.

 

Their second son, George (Seoirse) Swanton, married Mary Murray and they had six children.

 

 

 

In 1998  George and Mary Murray Swanton still lived in Coppeen. George (Seiorse) Swanton died on November 11, 1999 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bantry. Following is the obituary[31] for George Swanton that was published in the Cork Examiner on November 12, 1999:

 

During a trip to Ireland in April of 2001, I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to visit the Swanton home in Munigave and to meet Mary Murray Swanton, the widow of George (Seoirse) Swanton, and her children. The outside of the house is painted a beautiful robin’s egg blue, and inside, it is spacious, warm, and beautifully kept and decorated.

 

Swanton House in Coppeen 2.jpg 388.1K

Swanton Home in Moneygaff East, Coppeen

Geraldine and Mary Murray Swanton (Seoirse’s wife)

Photo by Ginni Swanton, 2001

 

 

Geraldine and Mary Swanton, Coppeen.jpg 347.8K

Geraldine Swanton and her mother, Mary Murray Swanton

at home in Munigave, Coppeen

 

I also had an opportunity to meet Tom Swanton, the brother of George (Seiorse) Swanton. Tom lives in a trailer on the Swanton land in Munigave. We had a lovely visit, and Tom serenaded me with many original songs. He is quite a delightful character! I recently learned that Tom has been to the village of Coppeen and is living in a Council house.

 

Tom Swanton of Coppeen.jpg 328.2K

Tom Swanton of Munigave

 

Tom Swanton 3.jpg 349.2K

Tom Swanton and his trailer at Munigove

 

I also visited with Tom’s brother, Jim, who now lives in Castletown, and we had a nice chat over a couple of pints of stout at the Castletown pub with Colum Cronin, a local songwriter and singer with whom I’d been exchanging e-mail. Jim was born in 1929.

 

James (Jim) Swanton of Castletown.jpg 429.2K

Jim Swanton of Castletown

 

During my visit, I met many more of the Swanton family. We all got together one evening in Clonakilty and we had a great time sharing photos and getting to know one another.  Everyone was very hospitable and welcoming, and seemed very interested in the research I had done.

 

The Coppeen Swantons believed that our Swantons were originally from Ballydehob, and had been there during the 1798 uprisings. There was some comment about them having been “great fighters”, the implication of which was that they were really just great talkers. According to family stories, the Swantons then lived in Ballinascarthy (hometown of Henry Ford) before moving north to the Enniskeane/Coppeen area.

 

Eileen, Mary and Geraldine Swanton, Paddy Murray.jpg 393.6K

Eileen Swanton Brennan, Mary and Geraldine Swanton

and Paddy Murray

 

Richard Bradfield, Margaret Swanton O'Sullivan, Eileen Swanton, Mary Swanton.jpg 418.6K

Richard Bradfield, Margaret Swanton O’Sullivan, Eileen Swanton Brennan

and Mary Murray Swanton

 

 

Margaret Swanton's wedding photo 2.jpg 443.2K

Margaret Swanton O’Sullivan’s Wedding Photo

 

 

William (Liam) Swanton currently lives in Skibbereen. He spend most of his career as a pig trader. His daughter, Geraldine, and her husband, Cillian Ryan live in Birmingham, England. I visited them on my last trip to Europe. Geraldine is a lawyer with an incredible vocabulary, and Cillian is an academic.

 

John (Sean) Swanton and his wife, Eileen Driscoll live in Enfield, England with their three daughters, Claire, Susan and ?. Their son, Dennis, died of cancer at the age of 20. Susan is an actress specializing in physical comedy.

 

 

Dennis Swanton Obituary 2.jpg 218.1K

Dennis Swanton’s Obituary,Enfield, England

 

Claire Swanton and Eileen Driscoll Swanton, Enfield, England.jpg 463.7K

Clare Swanton and Eileen Driscoll Swanton of Enfield, England

 

Sean Swanton.jpg 354.5K

Sean (John) Swanton of Enfield

 

Sean and Eileen Driscoll Swanton's daughter.jpg 406.9K

Swanton girl from Enfield

 

Eileen Driscoll Swanton.jpg 431.9K

Eileen Driscoll Swanton of Enfield

 

 

Susan Swanton.jpg 228.8K

Susan Swanton of Enfield, England

 

Swanton Coat of Arms.jpg 175.0K

Swanton Coat of Arms from Enfield Swantons

 


Fourth Generation
Children of James Swanton and Catherine Carty

 



ellen swanton and john hurley

 

Ellen (Nell), the daughter of James Swanton and Cate Carty Swanton, immigrated to Boston. There is a record for Helen Swanton, a 20 year old spinster[32] arriving in Boston on May 3, 1869 on the S. S. Hecla, and this may have been Ellen Swanton.

 

On April 5, 1875, Ellen Swanton married John Hurley, a laborer. They were married by Father John F. Gormley, a Catholic priest. John was born in 1849 in Ireland, and he was the son of Richard and Mary Hurley.

 

Fourth Generation
Children of James Swanton and Catherine Carty


Catherine Swanton

 

Catherine Swanton may have been the next of James’ and Catherine’s children to leave Ireland. Although I have not been able to find a marriage record for her either in Ireland or in Massachusetts, on May 15, 1870, a 20-year old girl[33] named Catherine Swanton arrived in Boston on the S. S. Samaria.
 
johanna swanton and cornelius McCarty

Johanna[34] Swanton arrived in Boston on May 30, 1870, sailing on the S. S. Siberia. On the passenger record, her age was recorded as 19, and her occupation was “spinster.”[35]

On February 13, 1873, at the age of 19[36], Johanna Swanton married Cornelius McCarty (McCarthy)[37], a trader. They were married by a Catholic priest. Cornelius was born in County Cork. His parents were Michael and Margaret McCarthy.

 

Cornelius McCarthy became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1886. He and Johanna lived in Roxbury, Massachusetts and had eight children.[38] I only know the name of one of their children, Ellen McCarthy, who was born in Boston in 1877. Ellen married Patrick Colleran, the son of Daniel and Johanna Colleran of Roscommons, Ireland, and they had nine children.

 

James’ and Catherine Carty Swanton’s son, John Swanton, immigrated to Boston, arriving either on May 3, 1871 at the age of 23 on the S. S. Samaria, or on April 15, 1868 at the age of 22 on the S. S. Tripoli.

john swanton and bridget mahony hurley and Descendants

On August 13, 1871, John Swanton married Bridget Mahony Hurley, a widow who had a year-old baby named William Hurley. Bridget’s first husband, who may also have been William Hurley, had been born in Ireland,[39] but his son, William, had been born in Massachusetts. Bridget immigrated to the United States in 1868.[40]

John and Bridget were married at the Sacred Heart Church in Cambridge by Father Shinnick, a Catholic priest. Their marriage witnesses were Patrick J. Mahoney and Hannah Swanton[41]. Bridget Mahony Hurley was born in Ireland around 1842. Her parents were Jeremiah and Anne Mahony. At the time of their marriage, John Swanton was a laborer.

Bridget and John Swanton’s first child was born on October 13, 1872 in Cambridge, MA. It was a girl, and they named her Ellen. Ellen Swanton was baptized in the Sacred Heart Church in Cambridge, MA. Her baptismal sponsors were Patrick Mahoney and Ellen Swanton[42]. When Ellen was born, John’s worked was as a grocer. 

Bridget and John’s second child was also a girl. She was born on October 7, 1874 in Cambridge, MA.[43] When she was born, John was working as a laborer.

1876 was a very difficult year for this Swanton family. In April 1876, John Swanton developed cancer of the thigh. He suffered from this condition for four months, and died on July 26, 1876 at the age of 33 in the Cambridge Hospital. At the time of his death, he was working as a bartender.

Just two weeks after John’s death, on August 9, 1876, little Anna Swanton died of diphtheria at the age of one year and eight months.

By 1886, Bridget had become a naturalized citizen of the United States.

After John died, his widow, Bridget Swanton, supported herself and her daughter, Ellen, by running a boarding house. In 1900, Bridget lived at 409 Cambridge Street and had seven boarders, including her daughter, Ellen Swanton, and her son, William Hurley. Ellen was 26 years old and worked as a hat maker. William was 29 years old and worked as a machinist. Bridget Swanton was now 55 years old. By 1900, Bridget Swanton had given birth to six children, but only three of them were still living. I only know of Ellen, Anna and William.

In 1900, the other boarders living at Bridget Swanton’s boarding house at 409 Cambridge Street were:

Emma Ryan, single, age 14, born April 1886 in Massachusetts. Emma’s parents were also born in Massachusetts. Emma Ryan was a chocolate dipper.

John Johnson, single, age 28, born May 1872 in Sweden of Swedish parents. He had immigrated to the United States in 1892, and was not a naturalized citizen. He worked as a ladder maker.

Oscar Johnson, single, age 23, born January 1877 in Sweden of Swedish parents. He was probably John’s brother. He immigrated to the United States in 1897 and also worked as a ladder maker.

Mary Gardener, widowed, age 70, born March 1830 in Ireland of Irish parents. She had never had any children. Mary immigrated to the United States in 1860.

Daniel Lorden, single, age 48, born December 1852 in Ireland of Irish parents. He immigrated to the United States in 1880, was a naturalized citizen, and worked as a janitor at a pump works.

As the keeper of a boarding house, Bridget would have tended to the house, making sure that the rooms were clean and tidy, and cooked and served the meals. She may have also laundered her boarders’ clothing—for an additional charge, of course.

Modern conveniences such as vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, and washing machines had yet to be invented, and taking care of a home in 1900 was a tedious and time-consuming proposition.[44]

Bridget was probably also a surrogate mother to young Emma Ryan, John and Oscar Johnson, and a confidante and friend to Mary Gardener and Daniel Lorden.

In 1910, Bridget and Ellen Swanton lived at 119 Otis Street in Cambridge, MA. William Hurley no longer lived with them. Only two of Bridget’s children were still living by now, so perhaps William was dead. Ellen Swanton was 29, still single, and working as a seamstress, sewing linings for caskets. [45]

In 1910, there were only two lodgers living with Bridget and Ellen. They were:

Dennis Hayes, single, age 42, born in Massachusetts of Irish parents. He worked as a cooper in a sugar refinery.

John Waterhouse, single, 58, born in England of English parents. He worked as a baker in a bakery.

In 1920, Bridget and Ellen Swanton still rented their home at 119 Otis Street in Cambridge[46]. Ellen was 37 and still single. She was now working as a dressmaker. Bridget was now 65, and she was no longer taking in lodgers.

Bridget Mahoney Hurley Swanton died in 1923 and was buried in Arlington, Massachusetts. Ellen Swanton died in 1956 in Cambridge, still single.

Fourth Generation
Children of James Swanton and Kate Regan
James Stephens Swanton and Mary Abbie Kingsley and Descendants

 

In 1920, , James Stephens Swanton, the son of James and Kate Regan Swanton, was living with his sisters[47], Annie and Margaret Crowley in a two-story house at 54 Allerton Street in Plymouth, MA. James was working as a carpenter, doing general work.[48]

On June 26, 1932, James Stephens Swanton married Mary Abbie Kingsley, who was employed as a governess. When they married, James was 58 and Mary was 37. Mary was born in 1895 in Massachusetts. Her parents were John M. Kingsley and Ella R. Raymond.

On April 18, 1933, their first daughter, Catherine Rebecca Swanton, was born. Their son, James Stephens Swanton Jr. was born on May 4, 1938. Catherine married a man with the surname of Brock.

James Stephens Swanton Sr. died on December 7, 1954 at the age of 80 of chronic myocarditis. He worked in real estate. He was a tall, thin, gaunt-looking man with hollow cheeks.[49]

The following obituary appeared in the Boston Globe on December 10, 1954:

“Jas. S. Swanton of Plymouth, 80, Dies

PLYMOUTH. – James S. Swanton, one of the town’s best-known elderly residents, died here Tuesday after a long illness in his 81st year. His home was at 54 Allerton Street. Mr. Swanton was born in Ireland, but most of his life was passed in Plymouth where for many years he was active in the town’s civic and business life.

He was a son of the late James and Kate (Regan) Swanton. For 50 years he was engaged in the real estate and contracting business and was an appraiser for the Plymouth Veterans bureau. He was a member of the board of assessors, a charter member of Plymouth Lodge, BPOE, a member of the Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus, of the MCOF, of Plymouth Grange and an honorary member of the Southeastern Mass. Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Swanton also was sexton of St. Peter’s church for the past 53 years.

Surviving him are his widow, Mrs. Mary (Kingsley) Swanton, a daughter, Miss Catherine Swanton, and a son, James S. Swanton Jr. The funeral will be Friday morning at 8 o’clock from the funeral home, 150 Court Street, followed by a solemn high mass of requiem in St. Peter’s church at 9 o’clock. Interment will be in St. Joseph’s cemetery, Plymouth.”

Mary Abbie Kingsley Swanton died in 1962 at the age of 67.

James’ and Kate’s daughter, Catherine, married a man named Brock.

 

Second Generation

Michael Swanton and Elizabeth (Bessie) Bradfield

 

 

Michael Swanton and Elizabeth (Bessie) Bradfield Swanton were my great great grandparents. They were married on February 24, 1843 in the Roman Catholic Church Murragh in County Cork.  Their marriage witnesses were John Swanton[50] and Anne Hurley. Bessie’s parents were Michael and Martha Bradfield of the townland of Killowen in the parish of Killowen.

 

Bessie’s father, Michael Bradfield was born in 1786. He was a farmer and my great great great grandfather. Michael Bradfield died on May 29,1866 at the age of 80 at his farm in Killowen. The cause of his death was shock caused by a severe fall.

 

Front of Bradfield homestead.jpg 24.6K

Bradfield House in Killowen

 

Maura Harte Bradfield, Michael John and Tommy Bradfield in kitchen of Bradfield farm.jpg 72.6K

Kitchen of Bradfield House

Maura, Michael and Tommy Bradfield

 

There is a family cemetery on the Bradfield farm, but the stones have been worn smooth by time, and no writing is discernible on them. This may be where Michael and Martha Bradfield are buried. There is also a Bradfield family plot in the old Murragh cemetery.

 

Bradfield, James, 1809, Old Murragh Cemetery.jpg 521.6K

This stone was erected and this ground registered by Thomas Bradfield in memory of his father James Bradfield who departed this life July 6th, 1809, aged 46 years.

 

The James Bradfield for whom this stone was erected was born in 1763, and he may have been Michael Bradfield’s father and my gggg-grandfather.

 

In 1852, Michael Swanton lived in Derrigra, which was part of the town of Ballineen in the parish of Ballymoney, County Cork.  Michael Swanton later moved to the townland of Boulteen in the parish of Desertserges, where he was the local pound keeper at Boulteen Cross Roads. The job of a pound keeper was to impound trespassing animals. Michael Swanton was also a carpenter. This area was renowned for its poteen, a potent drink distilled from potatoes and sugar, and I suspect that Michael may have had a fair amount of skill in its making, as well.

 

According to legend, poteen has been produced in Ireland since the first potato was harvested. The term 'Irish moonshine whiskey' has been in use from around 1660. A levy was then introduced on the legal distillation of spirits carried out privately and unless the operator was licensed by the State, it would be deemed an illegal act and therefore a criminal offence. Not surprisingly a substantial element of the Irish population were elevated to the 'criminal classes' overnight!

 

Boulteen is a small townland of 212 acres[51], and was located next to the manor house of Mount Beamish.  In 1823, William Daunt, Dr. John Beamish, Florence Carthy, John Buttimer, John Regan and John Cummins lived in Boulteen.

 

In 1864, the occupants of the townland of Boulteen were:

 

1a. Joseph Moore, who rented a house, shop, and 54 acres, 9 perches, from Dr. John Beamish.

 

2a. Thomas Buttimer, who rented a house, shop, and 74 acres, 1 rood, and 7 perches from Dr. John Beamish.

 

3ab. Thomas Baldwin, who rented a house, shop, and 84 acres, 17 perches, from Dr. John   Beamish.

 

3c.  Michael Swanton, who rented a house, office, and pound on 20 perches from Thomas Baldwin, valued at 1 pound.

 

In the 1800’s, a fair used to be held at the Boulteen Cross Roads every year in June. I visited the Boulteen Cross Roads in 1998, and again in 2001. They were simply two intersecting grass roads with swinging iron fences on the road to Bandon and points west. No houses remained, although I found some stone ruins that appeared to be from old houses.

 

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Remains of a house at Boulteen Cross Roads

 

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Old Boulteen Road

 

Although the tenants changed quite a bit from 1867-1870, Michael Swanton continued to rent the same property. He rented first from Thomas Baldwin, then from Thomas Bennett, and later from Mary Moore, a descendant of the Joseph Moore who had rented the property at 1a in 1864.

 

In 2001, the site of the pound that Michael Swanton rented was covered with a tangle of vegetation. The owner of the land in 2001 (Tim) told me that it is said that many people died there during the famine, and that he is never going to clear that area.

 

On October 20,1877, an M. Swanton of Dunmanway contributed 2 pence, 6 shillings toward a fund for the widow of John Hayes of Ballincorriga, who had contracted fever while attending to his sick wife, and died, leaving 9 children[52]. The M. Swanton who contributed to this fund may have been my great great grandfather, Michael Swanton.

 

Over a 21-year period, Michael and Bessie had ten children:

 

John Swanton, b. 1843 d. 1913

Anne Mary Swanton, b. 1847

Michael Swanton, b.1849 d. 1922

Johanna Swanton, b. 1851

Ellen Swanton, b. 1854 d. 1932

William Swanton, b. 1856 d. 1921

Martha Swanton b. 1857 d. 1927

George Swanton b. 1859

James Swanton, b. 1862 d. 1901

Robert A. Swanton, b. 1865, d. 1933 (my g-grandfather)

 

Parish baptismal records don’t include the name of the townland where the family lived. Robert was Michael and Bessie’s tenth and last child,, and the only one who was born after 1864, which is when civil registration became mandatory. His civil birth record confirms that the family was living in Boulteen at the time of his birth (April 24, 1865).

 

Michael and Bessie and their family survived the potato famine of 1845-1847, although it appears that they didn’t have any children in 1845 or 1846.

 

In August of 1880, Michael, Bessie, and their sons James and Robert, left Ireland, immigrating to Boston, Massachusetts. Michael would have been 65 and Bessie about 60 years old then.

 

I wondered why Michael and Bessie decided to emigrate after they had spent most of their lives in Ireland. I found a number of newspaper articles that appeared in the West Carbery Eagle between January 10,1880 and March 13, 1880 that painted a grim picture of the dire conditions that existed in the united parishes of Enniskeane, Kinneigh, and Desertserges. It is very likely that Michael and Bessie Swanton were among those who attended the meeting held at the Enniskeane Church on January 31,1880.

 

January 10, 1880[53]

A group of men from the Castletown area traveled to Bandon to tell the Guardians of the Bandon Union about their plight.

“The relieving officer went outside the door and was accosted by about twenty five men, fine specimens of the Irish peasantry, but many of them bearing on their countenances the impress of hunger. They were men of ages varying from eighteen to sixty, and had traveled from Castletown to Bandon, a distance of ten miles, breakfastless. Three men were selected to lay their grievances before the guardians -- an old man, nearly sixty years of age, and two middle-aged men.

Spokesman: We are very destitute and don't know what to do. All we came here for is to try to live in the land as long as God Almighty will leave us. We don't want to beg a farthing as long as we are able to work. It's only right to give a man fair play. If you don't give us work, let us be put into gaol[54], or let us die.”

 

January 31, 1880[55]

 

“The inhabitants of Castletown Kinneigh and the surrounding districts crept on Tuesday, the 20th inst., as half-starved and emaciated beings, to assist at a meeting, held at Castletown village having for its object the proposing of some resolutions, or instructing some means to alleviate their present more direful distress. Half-starved they rose, and cast aside their inactivity at last, hunger pinching them, and pronounced emphatically (of which I am an every-day witness), that starvation was knocking unmercifully at their cabin doors.”

 

January 31, 1880[56]

 

MEETING AT ENNISKEANE

 

After the 12 o’clock Mass on Sunday a meeting was held in the Roman Catholic chapel-yard of Enniskeane to take steps to endeavour to alleviate the deep and widely felt distress prevalent in the united parishes of Enniskeane, Kinneigh and Desertserges. An immense number attended, though the day was very wet, and I am sorry to say that want was visible in the faces of many of the poor labourers present, and yet, with that feeling innate to the Irishman—rather starve than complain or beg—they appeared to suffer their hard lot without a murmur.

 

The Rev. Michael Delay, the respected P.P. was moved to the chair, and Mr. O’Driscoll was requested to act as secretary to the meeting.

 

The Rev. Chairman, in his usual lucid and impressive manner, explained the object of the meeting, and in the course of his remarks, said that he felt heartfelt sorrow that such an amount of distress existed in his parish. He waited on J. R. Berwick, Esq., J.P., the feeling and popular agent to his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and also on Mr. Doherty, J.P., agent to the Earl of Bandon, asking them to devise some means to keep the people from starving, and he was happy to tell them that both gentlemen received him in the kindest manner, and promised to provide employment forthwith for the labourers on the respective estates which they represented.

 

The Earl of Bandon had some labourers employed in the northern part of the parish, and will employ others in some other parts of the parish immediately. So much alive to the present and state of the locality is Mr. Berwick, that he authorized him to say that every farmer on the estate of his Grace of Devonshire, in the parish, may instantly employ labourers for draining, &c., and his Grace will allow them for it.

 

Mr. Berwick will also employ a number of labourers to-morrow clipping off the trees in the plantations near Enniskeane, in order to provide for present very pressing cases. The Rev. Chairman further said that Mr. Conner, J.P., of Manch, a gentleman who had a long and varied experience as guardian, chairman of dispensary committees, &c., told him that he knew the people to be actually starving. He, Mr. Conner, had a considerable number of men employed at a distant portion of his property, and hoped, in a very short time, to be able to employ several others at Manch. But, said the Rev. Chairman, there is a class of labourers who have my fullest sympathy—those who are engaged to work for farmers during the whole year, at 4d. or 6d. per day, the rent of their little cabins, and potato-ground. I will not harrow your feelings by reminding you of what the latter was worth, especially last year.

 

He impressed on them the necessity of patience and trust in God, and He, in His goodness would not neglect them, and the landlords would do all they could to employ labour, as Lady Carbery is doing at Phale.

 

VOICES: Long live your reverence.

 

Mr. Patrick Harrington, P. L. G.[57], Kinneigh, proposed, and Mr. Patrick Foley, seconded the following Resolution:--“Resolved—That it is our painful duty to record that very severe destitution prevails in this parish, and that unless immediate and effective steps be taken to remedy same, starvation will be the deplorable consequence.”

 

Mr. Harrington said that to his own knowledge parties in that locality were obliged to subsist on one meal of stirabout in the day, and that he saw men before him who had not the price of a half-penny bun for themselves and family. He would beg to impress on those who could afford it to keep his countrymen from starving.

 

The resolution was passed unanimously.

 

Mr. Denis Mahony, Clonomara, proposed, and Mr. C. O’Sullivan, seconded: --“That the following be, and are hereby appointed a Local Relief Committee -- “The clergymen of all denominations, the dispensary doctors, the P.L.G’s of the locality, the members of the Dispensary Committees, and the following gentlemen: -- Messrs. D. Connor, Jun., Manch; John Carey, and Thomas Kearney, Currycrowley; B. Scofield, Knockaneady; P. Lordan, Liscroneen; Denis Crowley, Ahillnane; Wm. Daunt, Enniskeane; James Chambers, Teadies; P. Harrington, P. Foley, Kenneigh; Joseph Fuller, Castletown; James Welply, Denis Mahony, Clonomara; Dan Crowley, Lissecorrane; Dan Crowley, Ardkilleen; Dan Hurley, Clonereague; Lawrence Buckley, Moneygoff; P. Donovan, Derryville; J. Flynn, Tullimurrihi; David Walsh, Ahiohill; E. White, Garavauler, with power to add to their number.”

 

The want of fuel is also much felt, as several poor families have no fuel, except the hulls of flax, which the proprietor of the local scutching mill (James Hutchinson Swanton of Ballydehob) is kind enough to give them. The Rev. Chairman relieved some of the most urgent cases out of his own private purse.

 

After a vote of thanks to the Chairman the meeting separated.

 

February 21, 1880[58]

 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE WEST CORK EAGLE.

 

SIR,--I send you a copy of a letter addressed by me to the Land League, which you will kindly publish in your next edition, and thus help us in our present difficulties. Yours very truly,

 

T. MURRAY, P.P.

 

Drimoleague, Feb. 18th, 1880

 

DEAR SIR, -- On behalf of my poor parishioners I beg to appeal to your association for aid to enable us to keep our poor farmers in their holdings and the poor labourers from starving. This is not exaggerated language, but the real truth. I have in this parish at present, over twenty farmers ejected from their holdings during the past year, and now in actual want of food for themselves and children.

 

On one townland alone the landlord has ejected four tenants during the past year, some of them as yet keeping possession till the Sheriff’s officers came and thew them on the roadside, or rather hillside, as there is no road in the locality.

 

This very morning the wife of one of these victims of landlordism was with me for advice about what to do. She had struggled with the perseverance of the Irish farmer to retain her land, and by appealing to friends and the charitable made up a year’s rent and took it to the landlord, but she was spurned from his presence and told that she should pay ten pounds besides for costs, and thus that poor creature who, a few years ago was a strong and handsome woman, appears today a heap of rags and the very personification of wretchedness.

 

This is no isolated case. There is on the same property a worse case if possible. He has eleven in family, and but himself to provide for them; even last year when ejected he would not get his manured field for potatoes. The ejected farmer makes but a bad daily labourer, his spirits are crushed, and he has no heart to push his claims forward, but prefers to hide his privations, and thus it is not easy often to reach such cases till extreme distress compels him to disclose his wants. And if this be the case with our farmers, need I say that our labouring population must be wretched in the extreme.

 

In my entire parish there is not a single landlord giving work to a labourer, nor have they come forward to subscribe to our fund for relieving the distress in our district, although they are receiving thousands of pounds annually.

 

What has become of the saying that “property has its duties?” I shall not add anything else, but that your aid shall be given to objects most worthy of it, and distributed as you shall order. We have in this parish already committees for distributing the aid obtained from the other public funds in your city, and if you should wish to avail of this mode, I will be happy to comply with your wishes, otherwise, it shall be effected as you shall order, and to the class of persons you wish. You will be pleased to lay this appeal before the Land League, and ask for a favourable consideration for it, and believe me, yours very faithfully,

 

T. MURRAY, P.P.

 

March 13, 1880[59]

 

“One hundred and thirty-five families got relief. The number of destitute applicants is so much on the increase that, unless subscriptions from the landlords and other sources come soon and liberal, the consequences will be deplorable.”

 

In light of the desperate conditions that existed in the Castletown-Kinneigh and surrounding areas in 1880, it isn’t surprising that Michael and Bessie Swanton decided to leave Ireland and to immigrate to the United States.  It also isn’t surprising that their son, Robert, who was my great-grandfather, never talked about his life in Ireland to any of his family. The only thing he ever told his family was that “he was born by the bridge.”[60] Perhaps this bridge spanning the Bandon River near Enniskeane was the one to which he was referring.

 

 

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Bandon Bridge near Enniskeane

 

It was very common in those times for Irish immigrants to join family members who had already emigrated and who were settled in their new homes. Michael and Bessie’s son, John Swanton and his wife, Mary McCarthy Swanton, had immigrated to Boston in 1873, and had settled in South Boston, Massachusetts.

 

Making the decision to leave their homeland of more than 60 years probably wasn’t easy for Michael and Bessie, in spite of the hardships they had endured there. They were leaving behind a lifetime of friends, memories, and a way of life that their families had followed for generations.

 

Nevertheless, Michael and Bessie sold their household furnishings, packed up their meager possessions, and in August of 1880, they departed from the port of Cobh[61], County Cork, on the S. S. Samaria with their sons James, age 18 and Robert, age 15, bound for Liverpool and eventually Boston, where they arrived on August 15.

 

Passenger list for the S. S. Samaria, listing the names of

Michael, Elizabeth, James and Robert Swanton

Arrived in Boston on August 15, 1880

 

The S. S. Samaria was built in 1868 by J. & G. Thomson, Ltd., Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland, and was part of the Cunard Line. It weighed 2,605 tons, and was 320’ long and 39’ wide. Propelled by a single screw, it traveled at 12 knots an hour. It had two masts and one funnel, and an iron hull. It could accommodate 130 cabin passengers and 800 third class passengers. Michael, Bessie, Robert and James traveled in third class. The journey would probably have taken up to two weeks, depending upon the sea conditions. The S. S. Samaria was scrapped in 1902.

 

 

S. S. Samaria

 

Although Michael was 65 and Bessie when 60 when they emigrated to Boston, both of their ages were recorded as 50 on the Samaria’s passenger list, and James’ and Robert’s ages were recorded as 15 and 13, although they were actually 18 and 15. There is quite a bit of disparity in the ages my Irish ancestors provided for various records. It’s possible that they didn’t remember exactly when they were born, or they simply didn’t care. Another theory is that they might have represented themselves as younger on the passenger list in order to ensure passage. A 50-year old man would have been perceived as more able to find a job in the United States than a 65-year old man.

 

Although the Irish had been immigrating to Boston since before the potato famine, it had been at a slow enough rate that they could easily be accepted and assimilated into the area. During the potato famine, thousands of Irish immigrants poured into Boston, and their sheer volume made it very difficult for them to be assimilated. Many of the Irish who arrived in Boston during the famine years were ill, destitute, and unable to work. Large families crowded together into wooden-frame tenements with inadequate sanitary facilities and ventilation.

 

The Irish were regarded as drunkards and brawlers, and were not welcomed by the locals, who hung “Irish Need Not Apply” signs in their store windows. Taverns sprang up on every street corner, and they provided a place for the Irish men to get together and enjoy the company of their fellow countrymen.

 

Often, Irish families were supported by their women, who hired themselves out as domestics, while the men tried to find day labor.

 

By 1880, the flood of immigration into Boston had diminished. The Irish were carving out a niche for themselves in their new home, and were slowly becoming assimilated and accepted. Ambitious Irishmen had risen up from menial jobs and were now successful real-estate investors and contractors. The Irish were also becoming involved in politics, and in 1884, Boston elected its first Irish mayor.

 

Although by 1880, attitudes in Boston were more favorable toward the Irish, the Irish still tended to live together in close-knit communities, carrying on their religion and traditions, and raising their children as their parents had raised them.

 

South Boston at the Turn of the Century

 

The following excerpt from the book “South Boston: My Home Town” by Thomas H. O’Connor, paints a colorful and evocative picture of South Boston before the turn of the century.

 

“All the heavy trucking of freight throughout the city was still done on huge four-wheeled wagons called drays, about the size of a modern ten-ton truck and drawn by two, four or sometimes even six great horses, which were kept stabled in South Boston. Every morning at seven o’clock, the noise of clopping hooves resounded loudly on the cobblestones of the lower end as hundreds of drays rumbled down Third Street on their way to the Broadway bridge. Once the parade had passed, the children would get up, have their breakfast of oatmeal and cocoa (fresh milk was a scarcity), and leave the house about 8:30 to make it on time for school, which started at nine.

 

Once the children were in school, the streets filled with the sounds of peddlers, each with his own distinctive cry, calling out their wares and rousing the housewives of the neighborhood. The vegetable man yelling “fresh tomatoes!” made his way through the streets with fresh vegetables for the kitchen table. The fish man bawling “haddock and mack-er-ellll!” was a popular figure on Thursdays and Fridays, although his wagon usually attracted every cat on the street because he butchered the fish as he sold them. The rag man, with his broken-down wagon and worn-out nag, rattled along shouting, “Any rags, any bones, any bottles today?”

 

The scissors-grinder, with his complicated contraption of wheels, levels, foot-pedals, pulleys and bells, was always a fascinating sight. The soap-grease man sliced off a bar of very heavy, dark-brown laundry soap and gave it to the housewife who handed over her used fats and grease. The piccalilli man went around with two or three different kinds of relish on his cart, lading it out for a modest price. Frequently, the tinkling sounds of “O Sole Mio” of “Funiculi Funicula” brought people into the streets. Sometimes it was the organ-grinder, balancing his portable organ on its single wooden leg; sometimes it was the hurdy-gurdy man, pushing his large upright organ along on two wheels. But almost always it was the antics of the monkey that captured the attention as he went through the crowd at the end of a long chain collecting pennies and nickels in his little red cap.

 

On hot summer days, the watering cart sprinkled water on the broiling streets; and in days before refrigeration, the ice man was always in great demand as he lugged huge cakes of ice on his back up two or three flights of stairs to the icebox in the kitchen. “

 

South Boston, MA at the Turn of the Century

 

Michael, Bessie, Robert and James arrived in Boston in August 1880, just after the census had been taken. This may have been deliberate timing on their part, as many of the Irish were reluctant to answer the questions the census takers asked. [62] Their position in their new home was very tenuous, and they may have felt that the less people knew about them, the better.

 

Michael, Bessie, Robert and James would have been greeted at the dock by John, Mary, and their children. Their first night in Boston would have been a time of rejoicing and celebration, with simple, but ample, food and drink. It had been more than 6 years since Michael and Bessie had seen their son John, his wife, and their grandchildren.

 

This was the also first time that Michael and Bessie met their three granddaughters, who had all been born in Boston. The oldest girl, Elizabeth, was 4 years old and had been named after her grandmother. The next granddaughter was Catharine, who was 2, and little Mary, who was nine months old. The boys had been born in Ireland, before John and Mary had emigrated, and James was 8 and John was 6.

 

Michael and Bessie moved in with John, Mary, and their five children. They lived at 306 West Second Street in South Boston, Massachusetts, a predominantly Irish community. They lived in a 2-family house, and with the new arrivals, the Swanton household was now comprised of twelve people. Another seven lived in the McDonald household in the same house, bringing the total number of the inhabitants of the house up to 19.

 

In 1882, three more of Michael and Bessie’s children immigrated to Boston. William arrived at the Port of New York on May 1,1882, and it is very likely that his sisters Ellen and Martha came over with him, as they both also arrived around the same timeframe. William didn’t move in with his already crowded brother, John. Instead, he lived on South Street in Boston.

 

Sometime before 1883, John Swanton, his family, and his parents and brothers, moved down the street to 274 West Second, which presumably had more room to accommodate them all. [63]  Ellen Swanton and Martha Swanton may have moved into the house at 306 West Second then, as Ellen, her husband and their children still lived there in 1898.

 

In 1883 and 1884, Bessie and Michael celebrated the marriages of three of their children. On February 6, 1883, Martha Swanton was married to Michael Crowley; September 30, 1884 Ellen Swanton was married to Michael Cleary, and on October 5, 1884, William Swanton was married to Anne O’Neill.

 

Bessie Bradfield Swanton died on Sunday, June 28,1885 at her home at 274 W. Second St., South Boston of heart disease at the age of 65, just five years after she left Ireland. Her funeral was held on Tuesday, June 30,1885, with a high mass at St. Vincent’s Church in South Boston.

 

 

Bessie died just one month before Ellen Swanton Cleary’s first child, Margaret Cleary, was born, and two months before her son James Swanton married Ellen Ahearn.

 

Five months later, her granddaughter, little Margaret Cleary died, and she was buried with her grandmother in Old Calvary Cemetery. In 1887, Elizabeth Crowley, just a year old and the first child of Martha and Michael Crowley was also buried there, and in 1898, Elizabeth’s 4-year old brother, John Crowley, joined them in this grave.

 

In 1921, Annie Swanton, the wife of William Swanton, Bessie’s son, was buried in the same grave as Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton. William had a stone engraved with the names of his mother and his wife. Although Bessie had died in 1885, the year 1884 was erroneously carved on her gravestone.

 

 

After Bessie’s death, Michael had no reason to remain in Boston. Most of his children were married now and they were busy raising their own families. Michael was homesick--he missed his old friends and his old home, and he decided to return to Ireland.

 

When Michael and Bessie had left Ireland in 1880, their son, Michael, and his wife, Jane McCarthy Swanton, moved into their old home in Boulteen, County Cork. Michael and Jane lived there on May 1,1884, when their son, James, was born. There are no records indicating where Michael Swanton Sr. lived when he returned to Ireland after Bessie’s death. Perhaps he went back to live with Michael and Jane, although it was about this time that Michael and Jane immigrated to New York.

 

I haven’t been able to find any more information about Michael and Bessie’s other children, Anne, George and Johanna.  They may have remained in Ireland, and perhaps Michael stayed with one of them when he returned to Ireland

 

Michael Swanton Sr. had been plagued with health problems since 1880, suffering from stricture of the urethra. On August 17,1890, he died at the age of 75 after a 2 month-long bout with urinary fever, doubtless contributed to by his chronic condition. Michael died in the Bandon workhouse.

 

The workhouses had been Ireland’s poorhouses during the famine years, but in later years, they were used as homes for the sick and elderly. I couldn’t help but wonder, though, why Michael’s children didn’t take care of him during his last illness, but left him to die alone and forgotten in the workhouse, and to be presumably buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave.  This always bothered me, but in 2001, during a trip to Ireland, I finally came across the answer to this puzzle in an entry from the minutes of the guardians of the Bandon workhouse.

 

Masters Report of the Union of Bandon Guardians

 

I beg to report that on the 16th of June 1890, a man named Michael Swanton was admitted to this Workhouse Hospital as sick, on the 19th July I received a money order from the Revd. Wm. Murphy, P. P. of Enniskeane for him sent to him by one of his sons in America. I got the order cashed in due course. The man died on the 17th inst. And some of his friends came to me to claim the money. I refused to give it, and will now respectfully ask for the Guardians’ instructions on the matter “being read the Board ordered that the Union charges be deducted from the money and the balance returned to the Revd. Mr. Murphy, P.P.

 

 

Finding this information made me feel a lot better. Now I knew that Michael had not been abandoned and forgotten by his family. It was probably Michael’s son, William, who had sent the money, as he was the only one in the family who had any. This also let me know that Michael had some friends in the workhouse, although they seem to have been far too interested in acquiring the money William had sent for Michael’s care.

 

A couple of questions remain: did Father Murphy use the remaining money to give Michael Swanton a proper Catholic Mass and burial, and if so, where was Michael buried?  Perhaps someday I’ll be able to learn the answers to these questions.

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

John Joseph Swanton and Mary Theresa McCarthy

 

John Joseph Swanton was born on November 15,1843[64] in County Cork, Ireland, the first child of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth (Bessie) Bradfield Swanton.  He was born almost exactly nine months after Michael and Bessie were married, before the start of the potato famine in Ireland. He was named after his grandfather, John Swanton.

 

When John was born, the Swanton family may have lived in a section of the town of Ballineen known as Derrigra, in County Cork, Ireland. [65] That is where they lived in 1852[66]. In 1860, John and his family lived in the townland of Boulteen at the Boulteen Cross Roads, where Michael ran the local animal pound[67]. At age 16, John Swanton was confirmed in 1860 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. 

 

On June 27,1869, John Swanton married Mary McCarthy, the daughter of Daniel McCarthy, a servant, in the Roman Catholic Chapel at Dunmanway. Mary McCarthy was also a servant, and she lived in Dunmanway at the time of her marriage. The witnesses to their marriage were Patrick Sheehy and Mary Collins. In 1869, at the time of his marriage, John Swanton lived in Ballineen and was a servant.[68]

 

In 1870, John was working as a carpenter in Ballineen. On October 8,1870, John and Mary’s first child was born. It was a boy, and they named him Michael after John’s father. The birth was reported by Johanna McCarthy, of Ballineen, who had been present at the birth.  Unfortunately, the baby died the following day, and the cause of his death was recorded as “delicate since birth.” There is no record of his baptism. He was probably baptized by Johanna McCarthy shortly after his birth, as Catholics are allowed to perform baptisms in the event of an emergency.

 

John and Mary’s second child was born on September 23,1871. It was another boy, and they named him John Joseph after his father. John Joseph Swanton Jr. was baptized on September 24,1871, in the Roman Catholic Church in Dunmanway, although the family was still living in Ballineen at the time. His baptismal sponsors were John Regan and Catherine Coursey.

 

On October 31,1873, John and Mary’s third son was born. They named him James Patrick, and he was baptized on November 1 in the Roman Catholic Church in Dunmanway. His baptismal sponsors were Daniel McCarthy (possibly his grandfather or his uncle) and Norrie Neil. By now, the family was living in Dunmanway on Cat Lane. This was known as a rather rough, disreputable area, but it may have been all that the family could afford at the time.

 

John Swanton was not in Ireland when his son, James, was born. On September 12,1873, John arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and eventually ended up in Boston. I believe that he was the first of all his brothers and sisters to leave Ireland. He probably went in advance without his family to make housing and employment arrangements, so that when his family joined him, they would have a home to go to. On June 1,1874, Mary McCarthy Swanton sailed on the S. S. Marathon, arriving in Boston with her sons, John and James.

 

John and Mary must have had a happy reunion when he met her at the dock, and he got to see his new little son, James, for the first time. After traveling overseas with two small children for two weeks, I can imagine that Mary was delighted to let John take care of them for a bit!

 

John and Mary Swanton lived at 335 West Second Street, South Boston, where their first daughter was born on July 23,1875. They named her Elizabeth after John’s mother, Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton. Elizabeth Frances Swanton was baptized on July 25,1875 at St. Vincent de Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in South Boston. Elizabeth’s baptismal sponsors were John Swanton and Cate McCarthy.

 

The Swantons moved to a two-family house at 306 West Second Street, where their second daughter, Catherine, was born on October 4,1877. Catherine E[69]. Swanton was baptized on October 7 at St. Vincent’s Church. Her baptismal sponsors were James (or John) Hurley and Joanna Swanton. Catholic baptism records were recorded in Latin, so Joanna Swanton could have been Johanna or Anne Swanton. [70]

 

The Swantons shared the house at 306 West Second Street with John McDonald, a carpenter from Scotland, his Canadian wife Frances, and their children James, Kenneth, Marcella, Flora and Samuel. John Swanton was also working as a carpenter, and he may have met John McDonald through his work.

 

John and Mary Swanton’s family continued to grow. On August 6, 1879, they celebrated the birth of their third daughter, Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen was baptized on August 10 at St. Vincent’s Church. Her baptismal sponsors were Patrick Walsh and Helena (Ellen) Swanton.[71]

 

On August 15, 1880, John’s parents, Michael and Elizabeth Swanton, came over from Ireland with their sons Robert and James, and moved in with John and Mary at their home on 306 West Second Street in South Boston. Mary must have welcomed Elizabeth’s help, as she now had six children under the age of 10. However, there were now twelve people living in their apartment, and things must have been getting a bit crowded. 

 

On July 25,1881, Mary McCarthy Swanton gave birth to her seventh child, a girl they christened Johanna. Johanna was baptized on July 31 by Father O’Neil at St. Vincent’s Church. Her baptismal sponsors were F. Brennan and Catharine Coughlin.

 

On May 1, 1882, John’s brother, William, and his sisters, Ellen and Martha, arrived in New York, and joined John and Mary in Boston. William got his own apartment on South Street in downtown Boston, and Ellen and Martha may have moved in with him.

 

On August 3,1883, Daniel Swanton, John and Mary’s ninth and final child, was born. Daniel was baptized by Father James O’Neil at St. Vincent’s Church on August 5. His baptismal sponsors were Patricia Catharine Scanlan and William Swanton.

 

Sometime before 1883, John Swanton, his family, and his parents and brothers, moved down the street to 274 West Second, which presumably had more room to accommodate them all. [72]  Ellen Swanton and Martha Swanton may have moved into the house at 306 West Second then, as Ellen, her husband and their children still lived there in 1898.

 

On July 5,1884, John Swanton filed his declaration of intent to become a United States citizen.

 

John’s mother, Bessie Bradfield Swanton, died on Sunday, June 28,1885 at the age of 65. She died of heart disease at her home on 274 W. Second Street in South Boston.

 

The following announcement of Bessie’s death appeared in the Boston Globe:

 

SWANTON: -- In this city, 28th inst., Elizabeth, beloved wife of Michael Swanton. (Funeral Tuesday from her late residence, 274 Second Street. High mass at St. Vincent’s Church. Relatives and friends invited.)

 

After Bessie’s death, John’s father, Michael Swanton, returned to Ireland, and in 1886, James and Robert moved into their own apartments. John and his family moved to 203 West Third Street. In 1887, John Swanton worked as an undertaker at 212 West Third Street[73]. He still lived at 203 West Third Street.

 

On September 8, 1886, John Swanton became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The witnesses for his naturalization were Richard J. Daley of 236 West Third Street and Cornelius F. Hennessy of 157 Silver Street, South Boston. They swore that they had known John Swanton for at least the past five years, and they attested to his good, moral character and his belief in the principles of the Constitution.

 

John’s naturalization oath read:

 

“I, John Swanton, do solemnly swear, that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever,  -- particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, whose subject I have heretofore been; and that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America – so help me God.”

 

John’s wife and children automatically became naturalized citizens when John was naturalized.

 

In 1890, John and Mary Swanton lived briefly at 280 Boston Street near Dorchester. In 1891, they moved to 38 Beldon Street, which was also near Dorchester, and which would be the family’s home for the next 25 years.

 

From 1891 to 1895, their son, John Joseph Swanton Jr., lived with his family at Beldon Street and worked as a trimmer at 15 Milk Street in Boston.

 

Fourth and Fifth Generations
Descendants of John Joseph Swanton
and Mary Theresa McCarthy

 

 

On March 22, 1897, John and Mary McCarthy Swanton’s son James, who was also a carpenter, died at the age of 25 of phthisis[74] which is an old-fashioned term for tuberculosis. Phthisis means shrinking, and describes the progressive, wasting nature of the disease. James was single and still living at home with his parents at 38 Beldon Street when he died.

 

On January 3, 1898, John and Mary’s oldest daughter, Elizabeth Swanton, married John A. Boyd, a barber who was originally from East Booth Bay, Maine. John’s parents were Elijah P. and Helen J. Boyd. Elizabeth was 23 and a dressmaker when she married John. They were married by Alfred Woodbury, Justice of the Peace, 857 Washington Street, Boston, MA.

 

Since Elizabeth had been raised in a staunch, Catholic household, I found it odd that she wasn’t married by a Catholic priest. If John Boyd wasn’t a Catholic, he and Elizabeth could still have been married in a Catholic church, provided he swore to raise the children as Catholics. Perhaps he wasn’t willing to do this. Another possibility is that Elizabeth’s parents didn’t approve of her plans to marry John, so perhaps Elizabeth and John eloped.

 

Elizabeth Swanton’s marriage to John Boyd didn’t work out and they were divorced a short time after their marriage. Divorce was very uncommon in those days, especially in Catholic families. On December 24, 1903, Elizabeth married for the second time. She married Bryant Varnum Stone, a salesman who had been born in 1878 Houlton, Maine. His parents were Varnum P. Stone and Sarah J. Porter. Elizabeth and Bryant were married by C. E. Davis, G., 57 Rutland Street, Boston, MA.

 

Just a month after Elizabeth Swanton married John Boyd, her sister, Catherine, aged 21, married Patrick J. Finan. Catherine and Patrick were married on Valentine’s Day of 1898 at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston by Father Francis X. Dolan of 75 Union Park Street, Boston. The witnesses to their marriage were Thomas A. Sullivan and Mary A. Donovan. Patrick was born in Boston in 1873, and was the son of Patrick Finan and Mary A. Sutherland. When she was married, Catherine was a shoe worker and she lived at 1309 Washington Street in Boston.

 

There is an odd aspect to their marriage, as well. The civil record for Catherine and Patrick’s marriage lists Catherine’s parents as Thomas J. Swanton and Ellen E. Gleason, and this doesn’t appear to be correct.[75] I don’t know why Catherine would have provided incorrect information about her parents. Perhaps she was trying to keep the marriage a secret from her parents. There were a couple of other anomalies -- young girls of this era usually lived at home until they were married, and Catherine lived away from home at age 21. She was also married in a church that was outside of her regular parish. Usually girls were married in their home parish.

 

Catherine and Patrick Finan had three children[76]: Mary E., Dorothy K., and Arthur P. Finan. Mary’s married name was Brennan and in 1927, she lived at 93 Fernwood Road, Boston, at the home of her parents. Dorothy’s married name was Lewellen, and in 1927, she lived at 100 Park Avenue in Newton. Arthur Finan lived with his parents at 93 Fernwood Road in 1927.

 

Catherine and Patrick were married for 29 years, until Patrick’s death in 1927. When Patrick died, he was a roundsman[77], and lived at 93 Fernwood Road. In 1927, in the probate records to settle Patrick’s death, Catherine E. Swanton Finan wrote her name as Katherine E. Finan.

 

Mary Ellen (sometimes referred to as Mary Helen or Helen Mary), was the next Swanton girl to marry. On September 23, 1900, she was married to Charles L. Bradley in the Blessed Sacrament Church in Jamaica Plain by Father Arthur T. Connolly, Catholic priest. Mary Ellen was 21 when she married Charles. Charles Bradley was born in 1876 in Albery Plains, Prince Edward Island. His parents were Michael J. Bradley and Mary McDonald.  On July 9, 1929, Mary Ellen Bradley lived at 640 West Roxbury.

 

By 1900, the only children still living at home with John and Mary Swanton were Johanna and Daniel. John Joseph was living at 167 Chestnut Avenue in Jamaica Plain and was working as a cutter at 77 Bedford Street.

 

From 1905 to 1910, Daniel Swanton lived at home and worked as a baker. He died in 1913 at the age of 30.

 

John Joseph Swanton Sr. died on August 13, 1913 at the age of 70 of chronic myocarditis[78], and from general arteriosclerosis. He died at his home at 38 Beldon Street and was buried at Mt. Benedict Cemetery in West Roxbury by William F. Slyne.

 

In 1914, Johanna Swanton, who was 29 and still living at home with her mother, married Frederick G. Henderson. They were married by Father William Comer, a Catholic priest, in Boston. Frederick was 40 when he married Johanna. He was born in 1875 in Brookline, Massachusetts, and held a position as a secretary. His parents were Charles A. Henderson and Helen E. Power.

 

John’s widow, Mary McCarthy Swanton, died on October 25, 1916 of grippe and arteriosclerosis at the age of 66. She was still living at 38 Belden Street when she died. She was buried with John in Mt. Benedict Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

Anne Mary Swanton

 

Anne Swanton was baptized on December 8, 1847 in the Roman Catholic Church of Enniskeane. Her parents were Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield. Her baptismal sponsors (god parents) were Denis Donovan and Mary Conor.

 

Anne Mary Swanton was confirmed on July 24, 1862 in the Roman Catholic Church of Enniskeane. When she was confirmed, she lived in the townland of Boulteen and was 14 years old.

 

I haven’t been able to find any further information about Anne Swanton, the daughter of Michael and Bessie. On February 28, 1870, an Anne Swanton, aged 22, of Coppeen, married Thomas Gallivan, a tradesman, age 26 of Coppeen. Her year of birth would have been 1847.

 

However, on the civil marriage record, Anne’s father’s name was given as James Swanton. The marriage witnesses were George Swanton and James Swanton. Thomas Gallivan’s father was Edward Gallivan. The parish record for this marriage did not give the name of Anne’s father.

 

I did not find a baptismal record for an Anne Swanton, born to a James Swanton in the Enniskeane Roman Catholic records, so perhaps the father’s name on the civil marriage record is incorrect. There were no confirmation records for any other Anne Swantons.

 


Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

Michael Swanton and Jane McCarthy

 

 

Michael Swanton, and son of Michael Swanton and Bessie Bradfield Swanton, was baptized in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane[79] on March 13, 1849. His baptismal sponsors were John Keeffe and Ellen Hickey.

 

 

Michael was confirmed on June 15,1864 in the Roman Catholic church of Desertserges by the Rev. Denis O’Donohue, parish priest. When he was confirmed, Michael Swanton lived in the townland of Boulteen, and his age was recorded as 12.

 

 

On January 8, 1873, Michael Swanton married Jane McCarthy in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Bandon. Their marriage witnesses were Michael Hickey and John Spillane. Jane McCarthy was the daughter of Jeremiah McCarthy, steward of Clancool. Michael Swanton was a carpenter living in East Gully, son of Michael Swanton, a carpenter. They were married by Father J. O’Brien, parish priest.

 

 

In 1873, Michael and Jane Swanton lived in Clancool, just outside of Bandon, where their first child was born on November 24, 1873. The baby was a girl, and they named her Eliza Swanton after Michael’s mother. Mary McCarthy of Clancool was present at Eliza’s birth and reported it to the Bandon Registrar of Births. Mary McCarthy may have been Jane’s mother.

 

On April 13,1875, Michael and Jane McCarthy Swanton welcomed their second daughter, Mary Anne Swanton. The family was living in Lower Clancool, Bandon when Mary Anne was born, and Michael was working as a carpenter. Mary McCarthy was also present at Mary Anne’s birth and reported it to the registrar.

 

Usually the firstborn boy was named after the father’s father, or occasionally after the mother’s father. I had thought that Michael and Jane had broken from this tradition until I received mail from their great grandson, Edward Terence Swanton in 2001. He was descended from Michael and Jane’s oldest son, Michael. I hadn’t found a birth record for Michael, and my correspondence with Edward opened up a whole new family line I hadn’t been aware of previously. Michael Swanton was born on October 27,1876, and was baptized at St. Patrick’s Church in Bandon. His baptismal sponsors were Dan O’Leary and Ann Donovan.

 

On June 23,1878, Michael and Jane Swanton’s second son, John Swanton, was born. The family was still living in Clancool, Bandon when John was born. John’s birth was reported by his mother, Jane Swanton, who used an “X” to mark her signature.

 

Michael and Jane McCarthy Swanton moved to Boulteen, most likely into the house that Michael’s parents had been renting there, and on October 8,1880, their third son, George, was born in Boulteen. George was born just two months after Michael’s parents and brothers, Robert and James, immigrated to Boston. Bessie Bradfield Swanton missed the birth of her grandson, John, by two months, and never got to meet him. 

 

On August 27,1882, Jane Swanton gave birth to her third daughter, who she named Jane after herself. When Jane was born, the Swantons were still living in Boulteen, where Michael worked as a carpenter.

 

On May 8,1884, their third son, James Swanton, was born in Boulteen. There is no record of the baptisms of any of Michael and Jane Swanton’s children in the Roman Catholic records for Enniskeane, so they may have all been baptized in Bandon, most likely at St. Patrick’s Church[80].

 

Michael Swanton may have left Ireland in 1884[81] and in 1886, the Swanton house in Boulteen was vacant.[82].  Michael Swanton immigrated to the United States, possibly to Brooklyn, New York, where his son Michael and daughter Mary Anne immigrated to.

 

Michael Swanton, the son of Michael and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton, died in the Long Island Hospital in Boston on April 28,1922 at the age of 74.[83] The cause of his death was myocarditis-cachexia[84] and carcinoma[85] of the inguinal glands (prostate cancer)[86].  At the time of his death, Michael Swanton’s residence was 5 Wall Street, and he was a carpenter. He was still married, but I haven’t been able to find a trace of his wife, Jane McCarthy Swanton, in Boston.  The death record gives the names of his parents, but doesn’t give the name of his wife.

 


 

Michael and Jane’s daughter, Mary Ann Swanton, immigrated to New York, where she married Vincent Benjamin Smithwick, on February 09, 1895 at St. Patrick's, Fort Hamilton, New York. [87]Vincent was the son of Thomas Smithwick and Anna Williams, and they lived at 19th St., 3rd Ave., Brooklyn, NY.

 

Mary Ann Swanton Smithwick died on September 29, 1939. She is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Flatbush, New York. Vincent Benjamin Smithwick, died on September 09, 1929 in King's County Hospital, Brooklyn.

 

ASFerro@aol.com

 

 

Ginni...My father was Marinus Smithwick,  son of Benjamin and Mary.  His Aunt

Gen took care of his Uncle Jim's son William, or as we called him, Willie.  I

am just beginning my ancestry search and I have some records from the two

ships that Benjamin's father served on in the Civil War.   I named my son,

Benjamin after his greatgrandfather.  Ann Smithwick Ferro

 

I have information from the ships manifest that Thomas was born in Tipperary

and was 6 ' 1' tall with brown eyes.  He joined the US Navy in NYC  He was 22

in 1863.

 

This is the information that I have from my Aunt Lucy...Benjamin's and Mary's

daughter:

 

Ann Collins married Jeremiah McCarthy.  Their first child was taken by

Jeremiah's parents to Australia.  Her name was Sally. Their second child was

Jane who married Jeremiah Swanton. 

 

They had seven children:  

Lizzie

(Galvin)*, 

Mary,

Mike,

George,

John,

Gen(Moger) and

James.

One of the

descendants of the Galvins lives in Cazenovia NY.  Lizzie's daughter Marian

married Jim McDowell and their son and his family live in Caz.  

 

Marian died

over 15 years ago but I had the privilege of getting to know her well.  She

spent a part of her childhood living with Lucille (Aunt Lucy) Smithwick

Caffrey.  Aunt Gen was a truly remarkable woman who lived across the driveway

from our Aunt Mina (Philomena Smithwick Lowery) 

 

She had a dog named Flashy, 

a snowglobe which I lusted after and always a pot of tea and Dugans

coffeecake for visitors. I have a tiny dresser that she gave me when I was in

college.  Uncle Jim lived up the street on 55th street in Brooklyn.  He

always wore tweed suits and smoked a cigar.  We didn't see him very much.  I

never met Uncle George, Uncle John or Uncle Mike.  My Aunt Mina took me to

the graduation of Lizzie Galvins grandsons in New Jersey when I was about 10

years old.

 

I remember Willie Swanton as one of the most handsome men my young mind had

experienced.  He was a big tease when I was a child.  He thought of his Aunt

Gen as his mother.   I can only vaguely remember his beautiful wife and his

daughter Carolyn or Carol ann.  I am sorry about this name because there are

several variations of this name in the Smithwick line.  I know that Willie

was cursed with diabetes and suffered loss of vision quite young.  He escaped

another Swanton genetic inheritance...allergies and asthma..which claimed two

lives in Aunt Lucy's son James and Uncle Chris's daughter Carol Ann. 

I hope that you are receiving my mail.  There are two others in the family

who are very interested in geneaology and would welcome a collaboration.  One

is Carol Ann's daughter,  Lynn Urban and the other is the granddaughter of

Marinus Smithwick (my Dad), my sister Joan's daughter,  Kathe-Ann

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Swanton was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland on October 27,1876. He was baptized in the Roman Catholic church of St. Patrick. He left Ireland sometime after 1884, settling in Brooklyn NY, where he married Mary (Mamie) V. Murphy.

 

They had six children:

 

Robert, Jane Veronica, Edward John (born 1908), Catherine, Mary, and Anna

 

Edward T. Swanton, the grandson of Michael and Mary (Mamie) Swanton, sent me the following information about his family. It provides a wonderful glimpse into the lives of these people.

 

“I believe all of my Grandparent's children were born and raised on NYC's Lower East Side in the period of, say, between 1900 and the beginning of WWII. They all attended and were either baptized or married, or both, at Saint Mary's RC Church on Grand Street in Manhattan. As you are well aware, Irish-Catholic families are closely knit, and even when they married, say between 1923 and 1943, tended to live in close proximity to each other in the boroughs of either Brooklyn or Queens. 

 

I myself was born in Brooklyn in 1937, the 3rd of 4, and have very vivid memories, as do my siblings and cousins, of spending weekends at Gram's, as we lovingly called our Grandmother.  Of course on almost every Sunday the whole family gathered at her home on at No. 3 Pilling Street, between Broadway and Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn to enjoy the Sunday dinner she prepared.  Afterwards, the menfolk, and some of the ladies, always played poker until it was time to go home.

 

 My Grandmother, whose name was Mamie (Mary V. Murphy Swanton), was believed by all to have been a "sainted" woman, who from the day her Mike passed away in 1923 until the day of her death, attired herself only in black, except for her housecoat, and prayed the Rosary every waking hour of her day, even when cooking or talking to you.  We all remember watching her lips move as she incessantly fingered her beads, no matter what she was doing.  And when we said, "Gram, whom are you talking to", she'd say, "I'm saying a decade for you".  And you knew she was.

 

The saddest time in the family's history that I remember was when in April 1945, the youngest brother, George, only 28 years old and recently married, was killed in action on an island named Okinawa in the far-flung Pacific during World War II.  Georgie, as they called him, was greatly loved by all, maybe because he was the youngest, or maybe because he was just a wonderful young man who made it impossible for you not to love him.  It just broke everybody's heart when they brought his body home and buried him with all attendant honors at the National Cemetery in Cypress Hills, NY.  I go there now and again, just because I feel I have to be there.

 

 Of the eight sons and daughters of Mike and Mamie Swanton, as well as their spouses, only one survives as of this day, Aunt Anna, now 86 and living in California.  Many of their grandchildren, including me, now have grandchildren of their own and are scattered widely about the United States.  But I think it's wonderful to occasionally look back, as I'm doing now, on those magical days of yore and to contemplate with joy that this bough of the Swanton family tree took root many years ago in a little town called Skibbereen.” (It was actually Enniskeane, Bandon and Boulteen).

 

Aunt Anna passed away in 2001.

 

On June 7,1900, according to the Massachusetts census, a Michael Swanton who was a carpenter lived at 6 Prescott Place in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. His year of birth was given as 1867.

 

He was not a naturalized citizen of the United States. He lived in a boarding house run by James and Catherine Jenkins, who were both originally from Ireland. James Jenkins was a day laborer and had been in the United States for 37 years. Besides Michael Swanton, there were two other boarders: William J. Bryan, a 62 year old driver from Massachusetts and John O’Brien, a 52 year old driver from Ireland.

 

Children of Michael and Mary Murphy Swanton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children of Edward John Swanton and Helen Catherine Russell Swanton

 

 

 

 

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

Johanna Swanton

 

Johanna Swanton, the daughter of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton, was baptized on July 12, 1851 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. Her baptismal sponsors were Michael and Mary Driscoll.  I haven’t been able to find any other records pertaining to Johanna Swanton.

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

Ellen T. Swanton and Michael Cleary

 

 

Ellen T.[88] Swanton was the third daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton. She was baptized on June 12, 1853 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane.[89] Her family lived either in Derrigra in the town of Ballineen or in the townland of Boulteen when Ellen was born.[90]

 

 

When Ellen was 14 years old, she lived in Boulteen at the Boulteen Cross Roads, where her father did carpentry work and ran a pound. She was confirmed in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane in 1868. Ellen Swanton lived in Ireland until 1882, and she was 29 years old when she left to go to America. Her parents had left for Boston in 1880.  Ellen probably stayed in the family home in Boulteen with her brother, Michael and his wife, Jane McCarthy Swanton until 1882. Her sister, Martha, and brother, William, may also have lived with them.

 

Sometime in 1882, Ellen immigrated to Boston, probably with her sister Martha. Her brother, William, may have gone on ahead to arrange for a place for them to live. I haven’t found a record of their arrival in Boston.

 

Their brother, William, sailed to New York, and they may have done the same. They would then have taken the train from New York to Boston

 

There must have been a grand reunion among the Swantons when Ellen and Martha arrived in Boston. They were joining their parents, their younger brothers, Robert and James, their oldest brother, John, his wife, Mary, and John and Mary’s children. Ellen and Martha would be meeting some of their nephews and nieces for the first time.

 

Once Ellen arrived in Boston, she may have moved in with her brother, John Swanton, who lived at 306 West Second Street in South Boston. However, it was getting pretty crowded in the small apartment at 306 West Second. Twelve people already lived in the Swanton household, probably sharing only one outdoor privy. It’s more likely that Ellen stayed with her brother, William, at his home on South Street in Boston.

 

Wherever she stayed, it was a fairly short-term arrangement. On September 30, 1884, Ellen Swanton married Michael Cleary, a laborer from Limerick, Ireland. Ellen and Michael were married in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross by Father L. M. Corcoran, a Catholic priest. Their marriage witnesses were Michael Hays and Ellen’s sister, Martha Swanton Crowley.

 

Michael Cleary was the son of William Cleary and Margaret (Peg) Barrett. Michael was baptized into the Catholic faith on August 29, 1849 in Cullane, Ballylanders, in the county of Limerick in Ireland. 

 

Ellen Swanton and Michael Cleary in Quebec, Canada

 

Michael Cleary arrived in New York on June 1, 1874, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 15, 1878. The witnesses to his naturalization were John Spellman and Amos Henebery.[91] He lived in Cambridge, MA between 1875 and 1878.[92]

 

Michael and Ellen Cleary’s first child was a daughter who was born in July of 1885. They named her Margaret, after Michael’s mother. Margaret’s grandmother, Bessie Bradfield Swanton, had died just a month before Margaret Cleary was born. Margaret died at the age of 4 months, and was buried with her grandmother at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. It must have been very painful for Ellen Swanton Cleary to lose her mother and her first child within such a short period of time.

 

A year later, on July 19, 1886, Ellen Swanton Cleary gave birth to her second daughter, Elizabeth Anne Cleary. The Cleary family grew rapidly over the next seven years. William Cleary joined the family in August of 1888. He was named after Michael Cleary’s father. William was followed by John Cleary, who was born in September of 1889 and Mark, who was born in June of 1893. In 1895, Ellen and Michael had another son, George, who did not survive. He died on October 15, 1896.

 

In 1900, the Cleary family lived in Cambridge at 71 Putnam Avenue. Michael worked as a brass moulder.

 

According to Claire Crowley, Ellen Swanton Cleary was the matriarch of the Swantons, and she “called the shots”, not only in her family, but also in Martha Swanton Crowley’s family. Ellen Swanton Cleary was very typical of the strong, tough, and sometimes unyielding Irish women of the times.

 

71 Putnam Avenue
Cambridge, MA

 

On May 28, 1908, Elizabeth Anne Cleary married Francis Maynard Lenihan. Frank was a pharmacist from Providence, Rhode Island. His parents were Michael Lenihan, who was born in Connecticut, and Catherine Linden, who was born in Ireland.  At the time of their marriage, Elizabeth Cleary was also living in Providence, Rhode Island, and was working as a clerk.

 

Elizabeth Cleary and Frank Lenihan were married in Natick, Massachusetts by James McManus, a Justice of the Peace. Elizabeth was 21 and Frank was 28 when they married. Elizabeth had been raised in a strict Catholic household, so it’s unusual that she would have been married by a Justice of the Peace, rather than in a church by a Catholic priest. Elizabeth was “with child” when she married Frank, and on October 1, 1908, their first daughter, Dorothea Frances Lenihan, was born.

 

Frank Lenihan died on November 8,1914 of chronic interstitial nephritis at the age of 34. He was buried in St. Paul’s Cemetary in Arlington, Massachusetts.

 

Mark Cleary married a woman named Hattie (Harriet), and they had two daughters—Ella, who was born in 1914, and Francis, who was born in 1915. Mark, Hattie, Ella and Francis lived just around the corner from Ellen and Michael Cleary, at 7 Flagg Street in Cambridge.  Michael and Ellen owned both of the house at 71 Putnam Street and the one at 7 Flagg Street. Their values of these properties in 1925 were $4,450 and $4,550 respectively.[93]

 

By 1920, all the children had moved out, leaving only Michael and Ellen in the big house at 71 Putnam Avenue. In 1920, Mark Cleary was a policeman on the Cambridge Police Force.[94] John fought in WWI, possibly first in the English Army and then in the American Army. Will was a policeman on the Boston Police Force.[95] In about 1924, Elizabeth Cleary Lenihan, who had been a widow for 10 years, married Edward Burns.

 

Michael Cleary died on November 6, 1925 in the Cambridge City Hospital at the age of 74. He died of cardio renal disease and a coronary embolism and was buried at St. Paul’s Cemetary in Arlington, MA.

 

When Michael died, his daughter, Elizabeth A. Burns was living at 116 Hillside Avenue in Cambridge, about 6 miles from her parents’ house. Mark was still living at 7 Flagg Street. John Cleary was living in Chicago, IL, and William was living in Los Angeles, CA.

 

In Michael Cleary’s will, he left all his real estate to his wife, Ellen Swanton Cleary, for the duration of her life. He specified that after Ellen’s death, the real estate was to go to his daughter, Elizabeth A. Cleary Burns and her heirs.[96] He left $1,000 each to his sons, John and William Cleary, $500 to Dorothy F. Linehan, Elizabeth Cleary Burns’ daughter and $50 to the wife[97] of his brother, William Cleary, in Cullane, Bally Landers, Limerick.

 

There appear, however, to have been some bad feelings between Michael Cleary and his son Mark. Michael left $10 to Mark, essentially cutting him out of his will. Any money remaining after the legacies and costs of probating the will were to go to Elizabeth A. Cleary Burns. 

 

Michael Cleary’s Will

March 18 1925

 

 

Ellen and Mark, contested Michael Cleary’s will, filing an objection to it on November 25, 1925. Apparently they both felt that Mark had been treated unfairly in it. Unfortunately, the probate documents for Michael Cleary’s will don’t indicate the outcome of Ellen and Mark’s objection to this will.

 

Ellen Swanton Cleary died on September 25, 1932 of a cerebral hemorrhage, contributed to by organic heart disorder auricular fibrillation. When she died, she was in the Glenside Hospital in Boston, a private institution for the treatment of mental disorders. When Mark initially took his mother there, his sister, Elizabeth, wanted to accompany them, but he refused to take her.

 

Ellen had made a will in 1920 in which she divided her possessions equally amongst her children. However, on September 17, 1932, just eight days before she died, her son, Mark, visited her at Glenside Hospital. He had a new will with him, and he wanted Ellen to sign it. He had also brought with him three people to witness the signing of this new will. One of the witnesses, Jessie B. Wilson, later testified that upon seeing them, Ellen asked, “What are you all here for? What is all the hurry for?” Nevertheless, Ellen signed the will with her mark, an “X”, in the presence of these witnesses, and after she signed this will, her previous will disappeared, never to be seen again.

 

The terms of this new will were heavily biased in Mark’s favor—in it, Elizabeth got nothing, John received ¼ of her real and personal property, and Mark got everything else. There was no mention of William, so he may have been dead by then.

 

Ellen Swanton Cleary’s Will
Signed Eight Days Before Her Death

 

EC Will A2.jpg 159.2K

When Ellen Swanton Cleary died, Elizabeth Cleary Burns lived at 18 Haviland Street in Boston, Mark Cleary still lived at 7 Flagg Street, and John Cleary’s residence was given as “parts unknown”.

 

Mark Cleary had been named as the executor of Ellen’s will, but he declined, and Walter Costello was appointed in his place. The will was filed without probate, as it turned out there was no property real, personal or mixed, to pass under the will.  When Walter filed Ellen’s will in the Probate Court, his petition contained some fairly unpleasant allegations.

 

He claimed that when Ellen Swanton Cleary died, she had been of advanced age (81), and for some period prior to her death she had been insane, suffering from violent mental disorders and general physical collapse. He claimed that she was unable to take proper care of herself and her possessions.

 

Walter Costello also claimed that while Ellen Swanton Cleary was confined in Glenside Hospital, Mark, went to Ellen’s home at 71 Putnam Avenue, broke open Ellen’s strong box, and appropriated its contents, which consisted of $16,000. Walter claimed that Mark then deposited this money into joint accounts in various banks with both his name and his mother’s name on them.

 

Mr. Costello went on to allege that when these joint accounts were created, Ellen was mentally incapacitated, and did not have the mental capacity to assent to the creation of these accounts. He also claimed that Ellen had retained sole control of the contents of the strong box during her lifetime.

 

He requested that Mark Cleary be ordered by law to turn over this money to the court, pending further investigation.

 

When these funds were frozen, Mark tried to access another joint bank account that he had opened in 1930. He claimed that it had been created for his benefit, and was not part of Ellen’s estate. He had deposited $1,000 into this account when he opened it, and it had accumulated interest since then.

 

After further investigation, Walter Costello filed his Findings of Facts, a carefully worded document outlining 25 points. These findings speak for themselves:

 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Middlesex, ss

Probate Court

#191215

 

Walter F. Costello Adm. Vs Mark J. Cleary et als.

Mark J. Cleary vs Arthur Guy et als.

 

Requests for Findings of Facts by the Complainant Walter F. Costello Adm.

 

1.     That Ellen T. Cleary was unable to read, understand, or appreciate the contents of any documents during the period of her confinement at the Glenside Sanitarium.

 

2.     That Ellen T. Cleary was in a confused state of mind on the day that she is alleged to have authorized the creation of the said joint accounts.

 

3.     That the depositing of $14,000 in joint accounts was not a natural disposition by Ellen T. Cleary of such a sum.

 

4.     That Ellen T. Cleary was aged, infirm and enfeebled and susceptible to undue influence.

 

5.     That the disposition of the $14,000 in joint accounts rendered the estate of the Ellen T. Cleary insolvent.

 

6.     That the opportunity to exercise undue influence over Ellen T. Cleary was peculiarly and exclusively afforded the respondent Mark J. Cleary.

 

7.     That Mark J. Cleary did exercise undue influence over said Ellen T. Cleary.

 

8.     That Mark J. Cleary was guilty of fraud in the manner in which he obtained the contents of the strong box.

 

9.     That the admission of the respondent Mark J. Cleary to the effect that he wanted to divide the money equally with his sister is strong evidence that his title was illegally obtained.

 

10. That the previous will of Ellen T. Cleary in effect from A.D.1920 to A.D. 1929 leaving her property equally to all her children was the true intent of Ellen T. Cleary at the time of her death.

 

11. That said previous will was destroyed by or under the influence of the respondent Mark J. Cleary.

 

12. That the said Ellen T. Cleary had the same degree of affection and regard for all of her children.

 

13. That the creation of joint accounts and the drawing of a will within the same 24 hours are inconsistent and incompatible transactions.

 

14. That the alleged power of attorney, together with the alleged ratification of the respondent’s acts in writing and the drawing of the will, all at the instance of the respondent Mark J. Cleary is overwhelming evidence against the legality of the alleged transactions.

 

15. That Ellen T. Cleary retained full dominion and control of the money in the strong box up to the time of her death.

 

16. That the alleged creation of joint accounts by Ellen T. Cleary while in the hospital, even if legally created, was an attempted testamentary disposition and invalid because not made by will.

 

17. That after being told by Ellen T. Cleary that the strong box was not in its regular hiding place, the respondent Mark J. Cleary made a special trip to said hiding place and did search there for said strong box.

 

18. That Dr. Geo. A. Gaunt, an expert on neurology and psychiatry and mental diseases, did attend Ellen T. Cleary at or about the time of the alleged negotiations concerning the money in the strong box, and did testify that Ellen T. Cleary was unable to read or understand the contents of any papers even if read to her, and was unable to transact any business, and most of the time was incapable of knowing or recognizing things.

 

19. That the fact that the respondent Mark J. Cleary refused to take his sister to the hospital when he took his mother there is a suspicious circumstance.

 

20. That the fact that the respondent Mark J. Cleary was surprised at the amount discovered in the strong box indicates that the deceased, if she intended he should have it, did not disclose the amount to him even approximately.

 

21. That Mrs. Wilson, a witness to the will, testified that the deceased at the time of the execution of the will said “What are you all here for? What is all the hurry for?” and that in itself is evidence of undue influence.

 

22. That the various acts an incoherent talk of the deceased before her entry to the sanitarium were not those of a normal person.

 

23. That the desire of the deceased to have the Dorgan girls fix the money for her indicates that she did not desire the respondent Mark J. Cleary to do so.

 

24. That the fact that the respondent Mark J. Cleary admitted that when the deceased entered the hospital she did not tell him to get the money out of the strong box, but that he told her that he would get the money and put it in joint accounts does in itself indicate that she had no freedom of will in so disposing of the money.

 

25. That Mark J. Cleary wrongfully took the money in the strong box and then in an attempt to justify his actions, prepared the power of attorney, and also arranged for the execution of the will.

 

Following is Mark’s response to these findings:

 

Answer of Respondent

Mark J. Cleary

 

1.     The respondent Mark J. Cleary admits that he filed the will of his mother, the late Ellen T. Cleary, in this Court, and in which he was named executor, and admits that he later filed a declination to act as executor of the will:

 

2.     This respondent denies that his mother was 81 years of age at the time of her death; and denies that his mother was insane at the time of her death or at any time prior thereto, and calls upon petitioner to prove the same; and denies that his mother at any time suffered from violent mental disorders; and denies that his mother was unable to take proper care of herself or her possessions:

 

3.     And this respondent denies that his mother had suffered a general physical collapse for any time more than the few days immediately preceding her death; and denies that the death of his mother was caused by mental disorders and calls upon petitioner to prove the same:

 

4.     This respondent admits that shortly before her death his mother was confined to a private institution, but says that he has no knowledge that such confinement was for mental treatment and calls upon petitioner to prove the same; and, more specifically, this respondent denies that that his mother was ever at any time confined or committed to any institution of any kind for treatment with respect to her mental conditions.

 

5.     This respondent admits that his mother had in her home a strong box and that said strong box contained a sum of money, but says that the amount was $14,000 and not $16,000 as averred by the petitioner; and admits that he went to his mother’s home while she was confined and searched for and found said strong box and broke open the same and took the contents and made deposit thereof in certain banks in joint accounts in his own name and the name of his mother, but denies that any of his acts were done without the full knowledge and permission of his mother or in any manner against her will.

 

6.     And this respondent denies that his mother was mentally incapacitated at the time these joint accounts were created; and denies that his mother did not have the mental capacity to assent to the same; and denies that such deposits were made without the knowledge of his mother;

 

7.     And this respondent denies that his mother had retained full control and dominion of the money in the strong box at all times in her life prior to her confinement to the hospital.

 

By his Attorneys

Kerwin & Boyle

W. M. Kerwin

 

A motion was made for the case to go to a jury trial, but it doesn’t appear that a trial ever took place. The final account of Ellen Swanton Cleary’s estate was filed on January 2, 1934, and it stated that the value of her estate was “Nothing.”

 

This is the last document that appears in the probate file for Ellen’s will. No mention was made of the disposition of the houses at 71 Putnam Avenue and 7 Flagg Avenue. I wonder if Mark ended up dividing the proceeds of those joint bank accounts with his sister, as he had claimed he wanted to do, and if his brother, John, received anything. We may never know.

 

I don’t know if Mark was innocent or guilty, but I have to admit the evidence against him was pretty convincing. There’s a touch of irony, though, in that throughout this litigation, Mark was still working as a policeman on the Cambridge Police Force.

 

Mark Cleary died in 1952, and his wife, Hattie, died in 1974. They are buried with Mark’s parents, Ellen and Michael, and Mark’s brother, George, in St. Paul’s Cemetary, Arlington.

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Ann Burns died in April of 1971. She died of heart failure in the Hinsdale Hospital in Hinsdale, Illinois, and was buried in the Oak Brook Cemetary, Oak Brook, Illinois.

 

Descendants of Elizabeth Anne Cleary and Frances Michael Lenihan

 

On September 3, 1927, Dorothea Frances Lenihan, the daughter of Elizabeth Anne Cleary and Frances Lenihan, married John Downing Cooke Jr., the son of John Downing Cooke Sr., and Amy Thankful Crabs.

 

Dorothea and John Lenihan had three children:

 

John Downing Cooke II

Elizabeth Anne Cooke

Zelda Frances Cooke

 

John Downing Cooke III, provided the following personal sketch about his mother, Dorothea Frances Lenihan:

 

“My mother was an Irish Catholic girl born and reared in the Boston area, and fiercely independent. She married my father, who was a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian farm boy from a backwater town called Aledo, Illinois.  They met when he attended Harvard Law School from 1924-1927.  They were married in September of 1927, and I was born the following July. 

 

She left the church because my father refused to have anything to do with the Catholic Church. In the spring of 1928, they moved to Chicago, where they made their home until their deaths--my mother in 1984, my father in 1987.  

 

Theirs was a tumultuous relationship. So much so that my mother rarely spoke of her family and at the time of her death, I knew nothing except that her father was Frank or Francis.  I also knew my grandmothers maiden name was Cleary and a little of her family.”

 

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

William Swanton and Anne O’Neil

 

 

William Swanton, the third son of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield, was born in March of 1855 in the townland of Boulteen, County Cork, Ireland. He was baptized on April 5th, 1855 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. His baptismal sponsors were Timothy Murphy and Catherine Caniff.

 

As more of the Swanton family left Ireland, they most likely wrote to their relatives who were still living in Ireland, telling them of the more promising conditions that existed in their new home. William’s brother, John, had left Ireland in 1872, and in 1880, his parents, Michael and Bessie, along with their sons, Robert and James had also emigrated, settling in South Boston, MA.

 

William immigrated to the United States when he was 27, arriving at the port of New York on May 1, 1882[98]. He may have traveled with his sisters, Ellen and Martha. William joined his family in Boston, and he lived on South Street.

 

On October 5, 1884, William Swanton married Anne O’Neil in St. Vincent de Paul Church in Boston. Father G. J. Corcoran, a Catholic priest, performed the ceremony. William was 28 and Annie was 24 when they married. Their marriage witnesses were James Swanton (William’s brother) and Anne O’Neil. Annie’s parents were Peter O’Neill and Ellen Coakley, and she had a sister, Bridget O’Neill. Anne was born in December of 1860 in Cork, Ireland.

 

As they became more affluent, the Boston Irish gradually moved from South Boston to the outlying suburbs of Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury. From 1886 to 1888, William and Anne Swanton lived at 70 Bromley Street in Dorchester[99]. William was working as a carpenter.

 

In 1889 and 1890, William and Anne Swanton lived on Weldon Street in Dorchester. In 1990, William purchased a house at 88 Wenham Street in Jamaica Plain, close to Forest Hills Cemetery.

 

On April 7, 1890 William filed his Declaration of Intent to become a US citizen with the Massachusetts District Court.  On September 25, 1901, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. The witnesses to his naturalization were David J. Gilbert of 54 Weld Hill Street and William M. McDonald of 34 Weld Hill Street. They had known William for six years.

 

William was successful in business; however, he seems to have had more than a few shortcomings as a husband.

 

By 1900, William and Annie had been married for 16 years, but had no children. William’s siblings were very prolific, as were most of the Irish Catholic families of the time, implying that there may have been some underlying medical reason for their lack of children.  Perhaps Annie’s life would have turned out differently if she had had children.

 

On June 3, 1900, William Swanton visited a doctor in Newport, Rhode Island for a condition he was obviously trying to conceal, as he didn’t go to a local doctor in Boston. Although Dr. Wheatland diagnosed William’s condition as eczema, he prescribed Fowler’s Solution for it, which was commonly used back then to treat syphilis. William managed to keep his condition a secret from Annie for at least three months, but on September 6, she found out about it and left him. I’m not sure where she moved when she left him—possibly to her sister Bridget’s home. Annie filed for separation support on December 11, 1900.

 

I would imagine this kind of thing wasn’t publicized or talked about much then, so filing for separation support would have made this a very public incident, undoubtedly causing a lot of embarassment for William.

 

 

AS Separation A1.jpg 149.8K

 

On December 28, 1900, William Swanton was served with a notice to appear in court to determine whether he should pay Annie separation support. At this time, Annie O’Neil Swanton amended her initial petition and claimed that before she left William, he had ill treated and abused her, was guilty of cruel and abusive treatment toward her, and that he used force and violence against her.

 

On February 23, 1901, Doctor Marcus Wheatland of Rhode Island was ordered to file a deposition in this separation support case. Dr. Wheatland stated that he had seen William Swanton as a patient twice--first on June 3,1900, and again about one or two weeks later.  He testified that he had diagnosed this condition as eczema.

 

Annie O’Neil Swanton eventually withdrew her petition for separation support, although it isn’t clear whether she moved back in with her husband.

 

On June 22,1909, William Swanton and Annie’s sister, Bridget O’Neil, filed papers with the Suffolk County Probate Court, asking that William be made the legal guardian of Annie, claiming that she was insane.

 

It’s possible that William had transmitted a venereal disease to Annie. One of the long-term side effects of untreated syphilis is neurosyphilis, which is a slowly progressive and destructive infection of the brain or spinal cord. This can result in mental confusion, depression, uncoordinated movement, and dementia.

 

Also, in those day, women were often committed for reasons that would seem trivial to us today—melancholia, depression, unwanted pregnancies, or just because they were inconvenient to their husbands. I can’t help but wonder what role Annie’s sister, Bridget, played in all of this.

 

A letter written on June 18,1909 by Dr. S. W. Crittenden, a physician on the staff of Boston State Hospital, diagnosed Anne Swanton as insane, and stated that she was admitted to the Boston State Hospital in Mattapan on May 21, 1909. Anne was 49 years old at the time.

 

AS Guardianship A4.jpg 98.4K

 

Annie remained at Boston State Hospital through at least 1921, as William’s records show that he paid $1,988.92 for Ann’s stay there from 1911 to 1921, and $400 for her clothing and washing from 1911-1921.

 

Annie died on October 15,1921. The primary cause of her death was given as diarrhoea and enteritis; the second cause is paranoid condition.  Her residence at the time of her death was 1453 Washington Street, Boston, MA, which doesn’t appear to be Boston State Hospital, but also wasn’t the residence of William Swanton.

 

When Anne died, William filed an Administrator’s Bond to settle her estate. This bond indicated that Anne’s last dwelling place had been 88 Wenham Street, and that her only next of kin were her husband, William Swanton, and her sister, Bridget T. O’Neill, who lived in Canton, MA. This petition asked that William be appointed as administrator of Anne’s estate. Anne’s assets consisted of the following:

 

AS Will B1.jpg 23.8K

 

I contacted the Lindemann Health Center, which took over the responsibility for the records of Boston State Hospital, asking them for Anne’s case number and for permission to access and copy her files. Their response was that I would need a court order to access these records. I’m going to try to obtain one, and perhaps we’ll finally be able to learn what really happened.

 

Annie O’Neill Swanton is buried in Old Calvary Cemetery in the same plot as William’s mother, Bessie Bradfield. William erected a gravestone with both of their names inscribed on it.

 

However, William’s father, Michael Swanton, died in the Bandon Workhouse in 1890, and until recently, I believed that he died a pauper and was buried in an unmarked grave. I discovered in 2001 that William had sent a sum of money to Father Murphy, the Enniskeane parish priest for the care of his father during his stay in the Bandon Workhouse. Unfortunately, the money arrived too late.

 

My great aunt, Mary Margaret Swanton, remembers visits from her Uncle Will when she was young. He’d give her a quarter, which at that time was a lot of money to a child. Claire and Robert Crowley, the grandchildren of Martha Swanton Crowley (William’s sister) remember Uncle Will doing the same for them. Auntie Mary also remembers that he traveled back and forth from Ireland quite a bit.

 

Claire Crowley remembers her Uncle Will telling his sister, Martha Swanton Crowley, not to worry—that he would see that she was taken care of in his will. Unfortunately, Martha died before William did, so it would have been a lot better if he had helped her out while they were both still alive.

 

In 1920, William Swanton lived alone in a triple-decker home, which he owned with no mortgage, at 88 Wenham Street in Jamaica Plain. On the 1920 census record, his marital status was recorded as married.

 

After Annie’s death, William returned to Ireland. He bought a small cottage known as Seaview in Lislevane, County Cork, where he kept chickens, a few animals, and a garden. His cousin, Kate Bradfield, was his housekeeper.

 

 

Seaview, Lislevane, County Cork

 

In 1998, I visited Seaview and met Donal and Kathleen McCarthy, who had been neighbors of William Swanton. Donal remembered seeing William once when he was a young boy. Donal had cut through his yard, and William chased him off while brandishing a stick! 

 

Donal McCarthy described Kate Bradfield as a very large woman. She would carry two buckets of milk to the local co-op creamery, one on either side of her, and would take up most of the road. She was also quite a flirt, and was convinced that all the men in the village were after her.

 

William’s niece, Mary Swanton Pinkham, remembers that her uncle used to travel between Boston and Ireland quite a bit. William sailed from Cobh on the S. S. Baltic on May 11, 1924, arriving at the port of New York on May 19, 1924. On the passenger list, his address in the United States is given as 59 Forest Hill Street, Boston, Mass.

 

William Swanton died on June 15, 1929 at his home in Lislevane. On the day that he died, William signed a will in which he left everything he owned to Kate Bradfield. This Irish will, however, failed to revoke any previous wills made by William, and the legal tangle this engendered wasn’t settled until 1933.

 

 

His next-of-kin in American were aghast, as they had always counted on being William’s heirs, based on a will William Swanton had written on July 13, 1928, in which he named Robert Swanton and Leo Crowley as his executors.

 

The will William wrote in Ireland on the day he died (June 15, 1929) was contested by his heirs in America, led by his nephews Leo D. Crowley (Martha and Michael’s son) and Robert Swanton (Robert and Rosanna’s son).

 

Robert Swanton died during the litigation from complications of appendicitis in 1931. After Robert’s death, the Swantons felt that they weren’t being fairly represented in this case by the Crowley’s, so there were additional complications among the prospective heirs.[100]

 

This case eventually went to the High Court of Ireland. Leo Crowley and Kate Bradfield eventually agreed that it was William’s intent that both the American will and the Irish will were both to be in force at the time of his death and were to be regarded as one instrument.

 

“It is agreed that all assets and property of the deceased situated in the Irish Free State shall be the property of Kate Bradfield and shall be administered by the Irish Executrix (Kate), and that all the assets and property of the deceased situated outside of the Irish Free State shall be the property of the persons named in the American will and shall be administered by the American Executor (Leo) named in said will subject as to the assets in American, in payment of the monies hereinafter provided.”

 

The outcome of the case was that Kate was allowed to keep the assets and property that William had in Ireland. Each of his 15 heirs in America received $1,174.00, for a total of $17,610.00

 

 

WS C4.jpg 118.4K

 

 

When William died, he held the mortgages for the homes of Mary C. Flynn and Margaret E. Flynn on Temple Street, West Roxbury. The Swantons who lived in Garranekinnefeake,  Ireland, were closely affiliated with the Flynn family, so perhaps this indicates a connection with this Swanton branch.

 

William was buried in the old Murragh Cemetery outside of Enniskeane, probably in the Bradfield plot. I wasn’t able to find a gravestone for him there. 

 

Kate remained at Seaview in Lislevane until her death. She left the house to Richard Bradfield, the father of Tommy Bradfield, currently of Enniskeane (died October 17, 2001). However, there was a dispute about it, as Richard wasn’t a first cousin, and the house eventually went to Kate’s first cousins, the Hosfords.

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

Martha Swanton and Michael Crowley

 

 

 

Martha Swanton was the fourth daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton. She was baptized on June 28, 1857 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, County Cork, Ireland.[101]  When she was baptized, her family lived in the townland of Boulteen.

 

In the 1900 Massachusetts Federal Census, it indicates that Martha immigrated to the United States in 1875, at the age of 18, and had been there for 25 years. However, the 1920 census indicated that Martha had immigrated in 1882.

 

 

On February 6, 1883, Martha Swanton married Michael Crowley, a paver from Ireland. Martha Swanton and Michael Crowley were married in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross by Father L. M. Corcoran, a Catholic priest. Their marriage witnesses were Michael Crowley and Martha’s sister, Ellen Swanton Cleary.

 

Michael Crowley was the son of Michael and Mary Crowley. Claire Crowley, Michael and Martha’s granddaughter, thought that Martha’s brother, William Swanton, had helped Michael Crowley come to the United States.

 

Martha and Michael’s wedding record from the

Crowley Family Bible

 

Martha and Michael’s first child, Mary V. Crowley, was born on February 12, 1884. The family was living at 79 Bolton Street in South Boston, MA when she was born.  Michael was working as a painter at the time.

 

Their second child, Elizabeth, was born in 1886 and was named after Martha’s mother, Bessie Bradfield, who had died in 1885.  Elizabeth Crowley died on August 11, 1887 at the age of 1 and was buried with her grandmother in Calvary Cemetery in Massachusetts.

 

Their first son, Michael Crowley, was born in October of 1887. Their third daughter, Martha Crowley, was born on June 10, 1889. The family was now living at 306 W. Second St., South Boston, MA, the former home of Martha’s brother, John Swanton. John, Mary and their family were now living at 203 W. Third St., just one street over from Martha and Michael.

 

Michael and Martha’s fourth daughter, Katherine, known as Kitty, was born in July of 1890. A second son arrived on February 15, 1893, and they named him John. John died when he was four years old of pneumonia. He was buried with his grandmother, Bessie Bradfield Swanton, in Calvary Cemetery. The family was still living at 306 W. Second St. in South Boston when he died.

 

On June 9, 1896, their third son, Robert Crowley, was born, and the family was still living at 306 W. Second Street. On March 10, 1898, their fourth son, William (Willie) Crowley was born at the same address. On June 4, 1900, Martha and Michael Crowley and their family lived at 93 Baxter Street in South Boston.

 

Michael was working as a house painter when he could find work. Martha stayed at home and took care of the house and the children. Their daughter, Mary, was now 16 and working as a stock-girl. Michael, Martha, Katherine were all at school, which they attended for nine months of the year, and little Willie, age 4, was home with his mother[102]. Willie died when he was young. Claire Crowley remembers being told when she was young that Willie had been “left out in the snow” and died. Child psychology wasn’t very advanced in those days!

 

Michael and Martha’s fifth son, Leo D. Crowley, was born on November 17, 1900. The family was now living at 90 E Street in South Boston. Michael Crowley became a naturalized citizen in 1902.  He was still working as a house painter.

 

In 1920, the Crowley family lived at 6 Marine Road in South Boston. Living with Michael and Martha were their children Katherine, 27, Robert, 23, Leo, 19, and their granddaughter, Margie, 8, daughter of Martha Crowley. Katherine was working as a laundry sorter, Robert was a truck chauffeur, and Leo was an automobile mechanic.[103]

 

Michael Crowley died between 1920 and 1927. In December of 1927, Martha and Michael Crowley lived at 180 Dorchester Street in South Boston. Their son, Leo, and their granddaughter Margaret (Margie) lived with them. Mary Lane lived at 25 Merrill Road in Worcester, MA, and Michael J. Crowley lived at 2334 Story Street in New York City. Kitty and Arthur Brousseau lived at 42 Essex Street, Cambridge. Robert Crowley lived at 2 Story Street in South Boston.

 

On December 8, 1927, Martha Swanton Crowley suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage which rendered her incapable of taking care of herself. On December 22, 1927, her daughter, Kitty and her son, Robert, filed a petition with the Middlesex County Court requesting that Martha’s son, Leo D. Crowley, be appointed Martha’s guardian. This petition was supported by a signed statement from Dr. John MacDowell, which stated that Martha was insane due to this cerebral hemorrhage.

 

Martha Swanton Crowley died just three days later, at the age of 69, on Christmas day of 1927. The cause of death was cerebral thrombosis, 2 weeks, and broncho pneumonia, 2 days. Leo Crowley was appointed the administrator of Martha’s estate. Her estate was worth $1,808.84. After her burial expenses of $432, the remainder was divided equally among Mary Lane, Michael J. Crowley, Leo D. Crowley, Katherine E. Brousseau, Robert L. Crowley and Margaret L. Crowley. They each received $229.49.

 

Third Generation
Children of Martha Swanton and Michael
Crowley

Mary V. Crowley

 

Mary V. Crowley married John H. Lane. Their marriage witnesses were Katherine Crowley and Arthur Brousseau.[104] Mary Lane was one of William Swanton’s heirs.

 

Third Generation
Children of Martha Swanton and Michael
Crowley

Martha Crowley and Mr. Casey

 

In 1912, when she was 23, Martha Crowley became pregnant by a young man named Casey, who she later married. Her mother was scandalized by this out-of-wedlock pregnancy, and ejected Martha from the house. Claire Crowley remembers Martha as being a very sweet person. Martha, however, had a brain tumor, which impaired her behavior. She would be talking to someone and all of a sudden would start spinning around like a top.

 

In 1920, Martha Crowley’s daughter, Margie lived with her grandparents, Michael and Martha Crowley at 6 Marine Road. I’m not sure what became of Margie’s mother, Martha Crowley—I believe she died at a fairly young age.

 

Third Generation
Children of Martha Swanton and Michael
Crowley

Michael Crowley and Margaret Reilly

 

Michael Crowley Jr. joined the Navy. While he was stationed in New York, he met Margaret Reilly. They were married on April 22, 1919 at St. Aloysius Church, 209 W. 32nd Street, in New York City. Their marriage witnesses were Carl W. Rose and Helen McDermott.

 

Margaret Reilly was a widow when she married Michael Crowley, and she had two daughters from her first marriage:  Mary Crowley (Hornung) and Josephine Crowley (Monahan). Mary is still living, but Josephine passed away in 1998.

On July 8, 1921, Michael and Margaret Reilly Crowley had a son, Michael J. Crowley. He was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Veronica in New York City by the Reverend William Renely. His baptismal sponsors were Robert Reilly and May Johnson.

At some point, Michael Crowley sent his wife and children back to Boston to stay with his mother. Martha Crowley was less than enthusiastic about her new daughter-in-law. When Margaret came to the door with her children and introduced herself as Michael’s wife, Martha’s caustic comment was “Well, he must have been drunk at the time to marry the likes of you!” Luckily, Margaret had an easy-going personality and was not put off by this lack of welcome, The two women lived together amicably until Margaret rejoined her husband in New York.

 

Michael Crowley and Margaret Reilly Crowley

 

Margaret's husband, Michael Crowley died in August 1934 of a strep infection. Margaret Reilly Crowley was buried on October 2, 1947 at the age of 57. Their son, Michael J. Crowley, had died in 1939 at the age of 18 of cancer in New York.

 

Michael and Margaret Crowley were both buried in Calvary Cemetary, 49-02 Laurel Hill Blvd., Woodside, NY 11377-7396 in Section 41, Range 14, Plot G, Grave 20. The plot was owned by Margaret Phelan. Also buried in this same grave was Mary Dunn, age 27. I don’t know what the relationship of Margaret Phelan and Mary Dunn to Michael and Margaret Crowley was.

 

Third Generation
Children of Martha Swanton and Michael
Crowley

Katherine Crowley and Arthur Brousseau

 

Kitty Crowley married a French Canadian named Arthur Brousseau, and they lived in Cambridge, MA. Arthur was an accountant. Claire Crowley remembers the Crowley brothers poking fun at Arthur because he was so short and spoke with an accent. I think that Kitty was in the Navy before she married Arthur. Kitty Crowley died in a nursing home in Cambridge in 1980. I don’t know if Kitty and Arthur had any children.

 

Arthur Brousseau (with the spotted tie) and the Crowley brothers

 

Third Generation
Children of Martha Swanton and Michael
Crowley

Robert Crowley and Helen Wittel

 

Robert Crowley married Helen Wittel and they lived at 2 Story Street in South Boston, just down the street from South Boston High School.

 

Robert Crowley and Helen Wittel Crowley, 1972

 

Helen ran a small neighborhood grocery store from her house. On October 27, 1918, their first son, Robert Crowley, was born. On October 30, 1923, their first daughter, Claire, was born. On September 20, 1920, their second son, Leo Paul Crowley, was born. Leo died in about 1985.

 

Robert Crowley worked for the Jordan Marsh department store all his life. His nickname was Skull Crowley. Robert Crowley died in 1980 and his wife, Helen Wittel Crowley died in 1992.

 

Robert Crowley retiring from Jordan Marsh

 

 

Claire Crowley and her brother, Robert Crowley, August 2000

 

Claire Crowley married a Green and had a son named John, who became a doctor. Robert Crowley is still living at the family home at 2 Story Street in South Boston, and his sister, Claire, lives just a few houses down from him.

 

Third Generation
Children of Martha Swanton and Michael
Crowley

Leo Crowley

 

Leo D. Crowley was born on November 17, 1900. The family was living at 90 E Street, South Boston, MA. In December of 1927, Leo was single and lived with his parents, Martha and Michael Crowley, and his niece, Margaret (Margie, Martha’s daughter) at 180 Dorchester Street in South Boston.

 

Leo, along with Robert Swanton, headed up the litigation to contest William Swanton’s Irish will. Leo may have married late in life.

 

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

George Swanton

 

George Swanton, the son of Michael and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton, was baptized on October 2, 1859, either in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, or in the church at Aghyohill. His baptismal sponsors were Michael and Mary Bradfield. This is the only record I have been able to find for this George Swanton.

 

 

Third Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

James Swanton and Ellen Ahearn

 

 

James Swanton, the son of Michael and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton, was baptized on June 15, 1862 in either the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane, or in the church at Aghyohill. His baptismal sponsors were Thomas Bradfield and Catherine Neil.

 

James was confirmed at the age of 14 in the parish of Desertserges in 1876 by Father Daniel Coveney. The family was living at Boulteen Cross Roads at the time, where his father was a carpenter and ran the local pound.

 

James Swanton’s Confirmation Record

 

Four years later, in 1880, James and his parents, along with his younger brother, Robert, left Ireland. They arrived in Boston on August 15, 1880 on the S. S. Samaria. This must have been quite an adventure for a young boy who grew up in the quiet, rural farmlands of West Cork!

 

When they arrived in Boston, James and his family moved in with his Uncle John and Aunt Mary, and their five children. They lived at 306 West Second Street in South Boston, Massachusetts, a predominantly Irish community.  In June of 1885, James was 23 years old, and lived at 274 W. Second St., South Boston. He worked as a porter at 123 Broad Street.

 

On August 18, 1885, just a month and a half after the death of his mother, James married Ellen Ahearn. They were married at St. Vincent de Paul Church in South Boston by the Reverend G. J. Corcoran. Their marriage witnesses were Cecilia Cusker and Patrick Carroll.

 

Ellen’s parents were William and Alice Corbett Ahearn, and they were from the parish of Kilbeheny in Limerick. Kilbeheny is about 4 miles southwest of Mitchelstown, County Cork. William and Alice Corbett Ahearn were both tailors.

 

              

                                                  William Ahearn                                                                        Alice Corbett Ahearn

 

James’ father, Michael Swanton, returned to Ireland after his wife, Bessie Bradfield Swanton, died. I don’t know if he stayed in America to attend the wedding of James and Ellen.

 

James and Ellen Ahearn Swanton continued to live at 274 W. Second Street until 1887, when they moved to 164 Silver Street in South Boston.

 

On February 4, 1888, their first son was born, and they named him Michael after James’ father. In January of 1890, their second son, William, was born. The family was now living at 185 Bowen Street. In 1891, they moved to 133 Silver Street.

 

In February of 1892, they welcomed twin sons, who they named James and Robert. The twins were baptized at St. Augustine’s Church in South Boston on March 4, 1892. The baptismal sponsor for James was E. Wooley, and the baptismal sponsor for Robert was Anna Ahearn of Tudor Street. Anna was most likely Ellen’s sister, Johanna Ahearn, who later married James McNamara.

 

Johanna Ahearn McNamara

 

James Swanton was working as a day laborer, and it couldn’t have been an easy task for him to support his rapidly-growing family. Ellen had her hands full, too, taking care of four young children under the age of five. South Boston was very crowded then, and the family would probably have lived in just a couple of small rooms. Most likely, sanitary facilities were out-of-doors.

 

The summer heat in their small rooms must have been unbearable, and in the evenings, many people would sit outside to try and catch a passing breeze and gossip with their neighbors. With so many people living in such close quarters, I can’t imagine that many secrets were successfully kept! 

 

Epidemics spread like wildfire through this congested community, and child mortality was very high. There were no vaccinations available for most diseases. On August 1, 1892, during the hottest part of the summer, cholera struck.

 

Cholera is caused by a water-borne bacteria, and generally occurs during the summer months in areas where the sanitation is poor. The diarrhea and vomiting brought on by the infection quickly leave the body without enough fluid. The resulting dehydration and shock could kill a person within hours.

 

Little Robert Swanton was just five months old when he came down with cholera, and within four days, he was dead. Ellen and James must have been heartbroken to lose their baby son, but thankful that their three other children had been spared.

 

In November of 1895, Ellen and James’  first daughter was born, and they named her Elizabeth, after James’ mother. After four boys, I can imagine she was eagerly welcomed by the family.

 

Just 10 months later, their fifth son, George, was born in October of 1896. On April 18, 1898, the second twin, James, died of mitral insufficiency[105], from which he had suffered for eight months.  The family was living at 95 Silver Street when he died. Three months after the death of young James, John Robert Swanton was born in July of 1898.

 

At the beginning of December 1900, Ellen Ahearn Swanton was more than eight months pregnant with her eighth child. Winters in Boston were cold, and James Swanton would have gone out each day to try to find work as a day laborer. Christmas was just around the corner, but the family would have had no extra money for presents. Paying the rent, and clothing and feeding everyone would have taken up more money than James was bringing home. It was a tenuous, day-to-day existence, but James and Ellen had each other and the children.

 

On December 7,1900, little George and Elizabeth both woke up complaining of sore throats. Ellen may not have been able to afford the money for a doctor, even if there was one available, and she would have tried the home remedies of hot broth, and wrapping warm, aromatic flannels around their necks. In spite of her ministrations, both children became worse, developing fevers and swelling in their necks. Ellen recognized the symptoms, and her heart would have sunk as she realized that George and Elizabeth had diptheria.

 

Diptheria is an infection of the throat caused by a bacterium that produces a protein called diphtheria toxin. This protein causes the cells in the throat to die by stopping the production of protein. Diphtheria is highly contagious, and is passed from person to person by droplet transmission, and can be caught by breathing in the diphtheria bacteria after an infected person has coughed, sneezed or even laughed. The toxin can get into the bloodstream and cause heart damage, which is the most common cause of death in diphtheria patients.

 

It would have been difficult to isolate George and Elizabeth to try to prevent the disease from spreading, and Ellen may have sent the other children off to stay with a neighbor. George and Elizabeth were having trouble breathing, and Ellen would have sent for the priest to administer the last rites. George Swanton died on January 11,1900 at the age of four, and his sister, Elizabeth, died two days later, on January 13. She was five years old. George and Elizabeth were buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden.

 

It’s hard to imagine how a family could deal with such terrible loss. But the Irish Catholics’ faith was strong, and they believed that these things happened because they were God’s will, and it was His way of testing their faith. However, this must have been a very difficult time for the family to go through. It would have been no consolation for them to realize that the same thing was happening all around them to their neighbors and their children.

 

Twelve days later, Ellen and James’ eighth and last child was born. It was a boy, and they named him Patrick Francis Swanton.

 

By June 6, 1900, Ellen Ahearn Swanton was only 39 years old. She had left her home in Ireland, immigrated to Boston, married, and in 12 years, she had given birth to eight children, and lost four of them. There is no indication of where her children were buried.

 

Ellen Ahearn Swanton

 

In June of 1900, the family was again living at 185 Bowen Street in South Boston, and James was still working as a day laborer. The family had not seen its end of troubles, though. On June 13, 1901, James Swanton contracted pleuro-pneumonia. He died eight days later at the age of 37 on June 21, 1901. On June 22, Ellen purchased a lot in Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, and this is where James Swanton was buried. There is no marker for his grave.

 

Ellen was now a widow with four children to take care of. Her son Michael was 13, William was 11, John was 3, and Patrick was 1.

 

In 1905, Ellen and her children moved to 67 Baxter Street, South Boston. I don’t know how Ellen supported herself and her children after her husband died. Perhaps she took in washing, or cleaned houses. She may have gotten some help from her family or in-laws, but they were all most likely trying to make ends meet themselves. But somehow she managed.

 

From 1910 to 1925, Ellen lived at 212 W. Ninth Street in South Boston. In 1930, she moved to 101 Old Harbor Street, where her son, John Swanton, lived.

 

On November 01,1908, Ellen’s oldest son, Michael, married Mary A. McCauley. On October 11, 1917, her second son, William, married Elizabeth V. Gaffney. In 1923, her son, John, married Mildred K. Wildes, and on September 28, 1926, her youngest son, Patrick Francis, married Margaret Mary Mogan.

 

John Swanton and Mildred Killeen Wildes Swanton

 

Ellen lived to be 69, and welcomed the arrival of fourteen grandchildren. Her young granddaughters must have reminded her of her own young daughter, Elizabeth, whom she had loved so much and lost so soon.

 

Ellen Ahearn Swanton with her granddaughters
Katherine (baby), Peggy and Ellen Swanton
Daughters of Patrick Swanton and Margaret Mary Mogan

 

Ellen Ahearn Swanton died on December 14, 1930 of carcinoma of the stomach and broncho pneumonia. When Ellen died, she was living at the home of her son Patrick Swanton at 1326 Columbia Road in South Boston. She is buried with her husband, James Swanton, in Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts.

 

Fourth Generation

Children of James Swanton and Ellen Ahearn

Michael J. Swanton and Mary A. McCauley

 

 

Michael J. Swanton, the first son of James and Ellen Ahearn Swanton, was born on February 4, 1888 in South Boston, Massachusetts. He was named after his grandfather, Michael Swanton.

 

Michael J. Swanton

 

Michael Swanton was thirteen years old when his father died of pleuro-pneumonia on June 21, 1901. Although Michael was young, he would have been old enough to help his widowed mother out with the family, perhaps by working after school. Attending school through the sixth grade was mandatory in Boston, but many young boys left after completing the sixth grade to help support their families. Perhaps Michael did this. He probably grew up very quickly and became the “man of the family”.

 

On November 01, 1908, at the age of 20, Michael married Mary A. McCauley. Mary was the daughter of James J. McCauley and Jane Hussie McCauley of Ireland. They were married by James B. Troy, 267 W. Third Street of South Boston.

 

Their first child, a daughter, was born on January 30, 1909, and they named her Elizabeth after Michael’s grandmother, Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton.

 

A daughter of Michael and Mary’s named Josephine died on October 1, 1910 at the age of one.  I was not able to find a birth record for Josephine.  She may have been Elizabeth’s twin. If not, she couldn’t have been born any earlier than November 1909.

 

Josephine died in the Boston City Hospital of myocarditis, 2 days, Scarlet Fever, and tonsillitis, 6 days. She was hospitalized three days prior to her death. Josephine Swanton was buried on October 3, 1910 in the same plot as her grandfather, James Swanton, in Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden. The attending physician was M. J. English, M. D., and the undertaker was John W. Lavery & Son. When Josephine Swanton died, the Swanton family lived at 308 Broadway in South Boston.

 

Their third daughter, Mary Jane Swanton, was born on December 17, 1910, just two months after the death of her sister, Josephine. Their fourth daughter, Ellen, named after Michael’s mother, Ellen Ahearn Swanton, was born on August 14, 1913. When Ellen Swanton was born, the family was living at 324 E Street in South Boston.

 

Between 1910 and 1920, Michael Swanton worked as a piano finisher[106]

 

Their fifth daughter, Gertrude E. Swanton, was born in 1914. I was not able to find a birth record for Gertrude, and calculated her year of birth from her marriage record.

 

Their six daughter, Alice Josephine Swanton, was born on April 19, 1917. The family was now living at 210 W. Ninth Street in South Boston, next door to Michael’s mother, Ellen Ahearn Swanton.

 

On January 7, 1920, the family was living at 182 W. Ninth Street in South Boston.[107] Michael Swanton was working as a helper in a machine shop. Their daughter, Elizabeth, does not appear in the 1920 census as living with them, but I did not find a death record for her. One possibility is that Elizabeth and Josephine were the same child. Perhaps Josephine was her middle name. Elizabeth would have been 12 years old in 1920.

 

Mary McCauley Swanton’s mother, Jane Hussie McCauley, lived with the Swanton family in 1920. She was 60 years old and a widow.

 

Michael and Mary’s seventh daughter, Agnes Rita Swanton, was born on December 24, 1920. The family was living at 182 W. Ninth Street, South Boston, MA.

 

On May 26, 1923, fourteen years after the birth of her first child, Mary McCauley gave birth to her first and only son, James Leo Swanton. The family was still living at 182 W. Ninth Street.

 

Michael J. Swanton, Mary A. McCauley Swanton
and their only son, Jimmie Swanton

 

On October 14, 1934, Michael and Mary’s daughter, Mary Jane Swanton, married Albert J. Albertazzi. They were married by Father E.G. Barry of 800 Columbia Road. Albert’s parents were Virginio  and Angelina Pierre Albertazzi. When she married, Mary Jane was living at 22 Howell Street and working as a button inspector. Albert was living at 48 Virginia in Boston, and working as a machine operator.

 

On May 23, 1937, their daughter, Gertrude, married Thomas M. Flynn. They were married by Father G. F. Keegan of 800 Columbia Road. Thomas was the son of John F. Flynn and Christine Kavanaugh Flynn. Gertrude was 23, and Thomas was 25 when they married. Gertrude was living at 22 Howell Street and working as a saleswoman. Thomas was living at 168 Gold Street in South Boston and working as a salesman.

 

On April 30, 1939, Alice Josephine Swanton married Thomas W. Scarlata. Thomas was the son of Vincent and Antoinette Scaristi Scarlata. They were married in Dorchester by Father Arthur J. Hagan of 800 Columbia Road. When she married, Alice was living at home at 22 Howell Street. She wasn’t working. Thomas was living at 19 Knowlton Street in South Boston and working as a clerk.

 

Agnes Rita Swanton married in 1942.

 

On February 11, 1945, James Leo Swanton married Agnes Marie Pritchard. Agnes was the daughter of John J. and Frances Connors Pritchard. They were married at 98 N Street in South Boston by Father Patrick J. Waters. When she married, Agnes was living at 890 E. Broadway and working as a clerk. James was living at 22 Howell Street in Dorchester, and was working as a manager and a dairyman.

 

On February 05, 1946, James and Agnes had a son, who they named James Gerard Swanton. They were living at 995 Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester when he was born.

 

From 1934 to 1950, the Swanton family lived at 22 Howell Street in Dorchester. From 1940 to 1945, Michael worked as a helper at Standard Brands, Inc. From 1950 to 1960, he worked as a maintenance man at the Boston Sanatorium.

 

sanatorium.jpg (62496 bytes)

Boston Sanatorium
245 River Street, Mattapan, MA

 

The City of Boston established the Boston Sanatorium, first known as Consumptives Hospital, for the care of indigent persons suffering from advanced tuberculosis, one of six hospitals created in the first decade of the 20th century to provide additional services for the city’s poor. The 51-acre campus along the Neponset River enabled the city to isolate highly contagious tubercular patients from the general population at the same time that it could provide them with clean air and a spacious outdoor setting away from the crowded city.

 

Michael J. Swanton died on January 28, 1960 at the age of 72. He had suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage 10 days earlier and died in Boston City Hospital. A secondary cause of death was hypertension.

 

Michael and Mary McCauley Swanton were living at 617 Harrison Ave., Boston when Michael died.  I haven’t found a death record for Mary McCauley Swanton.

 

Fourth Generation

Descendants of James Swanton and Ellen Ahearn

William J. Swanton and Elizabeth V. Gaffney

 

 

William J. Swanton, the second oldest son of James and Ellen Ahearn Swanton, was born in January of 1890 in South Boston, Massachusetts. In 1905, when he was 15, William was working as a laborer and was a boarder at 247 Bunker Hill. In 1910, William was working as a piano finisher and was boarding at his mother’s home at 212 W. Ninth Street in South Boston. In 1915, William was still living at 212 W. Ninth Street, but he was working as a machinist.

 

On October 11, 1917, William married Elizabeth V. Gaffney, a 34 year old hosiery inspector. William was 27. They were married by Father Edward A. Costello of 9 F Street in South Boston. William and Elizabeth had been married almost one year when the influenza epidemic hit Boston.

 

John W. McCormack, the future Speaker of the House of Representatives, remembers this epidemic:

 

“We used to call it galloping pneumonia. You couldn’t walk down any street in South Boston, “he remarked, “without seeing the black mourning wreath on every door…it was horrible.”

 

Older residents can still remember scenes of the horse-drawn wagon moving slowly along the street, stopping before the houses to take out the bodies of those who had died during the night. One local doctor complained that he could not walk down any street in the district without people rushing out, clutching wildly at his clothing, trying to drag him into their homes to tend to the sick members of their family.[108]

 

On October 8,1918, William Swanton succumbed to this disease, leaving his young bride of less than a year a widow. William and Elizabeth were living at 80 Homes Avenue in Boston when he died. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery. Elizabeth moved back to her parents’ home at 5 Gates Street. She was still living there in 1925.

 

 

Fourth Generation

Descendants of James Swanton and Ellen Ahearn

John R. Swanton and Mildred K. Wildes

 

 

John Robert Swanton was born in July of 1898 in South Boston, Massachusetts. He was the seventh son of James and Ellen Ahearn Swanton. In 1920, John lived at the home of his mother, Ellen Ahearn Swanton, at 212 W. Ninth Street in South Boston. He was working as a machinist.

 

In 1923, when John was 25, he married Mildred Wildes, the 21-year-old daughter of Charles and Delia Killeen Wildes.

 

John Robert Swanton and Mildred Wildes Swanton

 

John and Mildred Swanton lived at 25 Ward Street in Boston when their first child, Elizabeth, was born on December 20, 1924. She was named after her grandmother, Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton, and her nickname was Betty.  In 1925, John Swanton was working as a photo engraver for the Herald Traveler.

 

John and Mildred’s first son, William Joseph Swanton, was born on October 15, 1928. He was called Billy. The family was living at 101 Old Harbor Street when he was born. On February 24, 1932, John and Mildred welcomed their second son, John Robert Jr.  The family now lived at 22 Church Street in Boston. John was still working as a photo engraver. Claire Crowley remembers taking driving trips with John and Mildred on Sundays.

 

On October 4, 1935, their fourth son, Donald Charles Swanton, was born. The family was living at 72 Harvest Street in Boston. When their son, Frederic James (Freddie) was born, they were living at 28 St. Mary’s Road in Milton. St. Mary’s Road was just a few minutes drive from my grandfather, William Swanton’s home at 47 Standish Road. John and Mildred’s children were William’s cousins.

 

John and Mildred Swanton’s last child, Kenneth Gerard, was born on May 06, 1941.  Kenny arrived at 6:20 pm, just 50 minutes after Mildred arrived at Carney Hospital.

 

Carney Hospital, South Boston, MA

 

John Robert Swanton died at the age of 62 in November of 1960. He was buried on November 30, 1960 at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts in grave #226.  Mildred Wildes Swanton died at the age of 87 in May of 1988 and she was cremated. Her ashes were buried in the same plot as her husband on May 6, 1988.

 

John and Mildred’s daughter, Betty, married Stephen D. Temple on September 28, 1948 in the First Church of Dedham. They were married by Lyman V. Rutledge, Minister of the Gospel. This was Stephen’s second marriage. Stephen Temple was born in Newfoundland, and his parents were Allen and Beatrice J. Gilbert Temple. Stephen was a photographic salesman and lived at 150 School Street in Milton. Betty was working as a secretary and lived at 237 Brook Road in Milton when she married Stephen.

 

Billy Swanton married Jerane Anne Sartori, and, their first child, Jerane Ann Swanton, was born in 1953. The family was living at 47 Wilson Avenue in Quincy when Jerane Ann was born, and Billy was working as a shipper/receiver. Their first son, Michael Joseph Swanton, was born on March 30, 1954. 

 

Fourth Generation

Descendants of James Swanton and Ellen Ahearn

Patrick Francis Swanton and Margaret Mary Mogan

 

 

Patrick Francis Swanton was born on December 25, 1900 in South Boston, Massachusetts. He was the eighth and last child of James and Ellen Ahearn Swanton. He was born shortly after his brother, George, and his sister, Elizabeth, died of diphtheria.

 

Patrick Francis Swanton

 

In 1920, Patrick lived as a boarder at his mother’s house on 212 W. Ninth Street in South Boston. He was a student at the time. In 1925, he was still living there, but was working as a printer.

 

On September 28, 1926, he married Margaret Mary Mogan, the daughter of John L. and Julia E. Norton Mogan. Margaret also had three brothers: Andrew, John and Joseph Mogan. When she married Patrick, Margaret was living at 83 Old Harbor Street in South Boston and was working as a clerk. They were married by Father W. J. Kenney, a Catholic priest from 9 F Street in South Boston. Patrick was still living at home on 212 W. Ninth Street, but he was now working as a photo engraver.

 

On May 12, 1927, Patrick and Margaret’s first child, Ellen Marie Swanton, was born. The family was living at 1326 Columbia Road. Patrick was working as an engraver when Ellen was born.

 

John Swanton's daughter.jpg (166224 bytes)

Ellen Marie Swanton

 

On August 30,1928, their second daughter, Margaret (Peggy) Josephine, was born.

 

Ellen and Peggy Swanton

 

Patrick and Margaret’s third daughter, Catherine Anne Swanton, was born on September 13, 1929. Their fourth daughter, Patricia Swanton, was born on June 14, 1931, and their first son, Paul Swanton, was born in 1934.

 

Patrick Francis Swanton, Margaret Mary Mogan Swanton,
and Catherine, Paul and Patricia Swanton

 

Patrick and Margaret’s last child, John Lawrence Swanton, was born on May 24, 1940 at Carney Hospital in Boston. By this time, the family had moved to Rhode Island, where they lived at 656 Fruit Hill Avenue in North Providence. Patrick was still working as a photo engraver.

 

Patrick Francis Swanton died in May of 1976 in North Providence, Rhode Island.

 

Hi son, John Lawrence Swanton, married and had four sons: John Lawrence II, Patrick Louis, Michael Lennon, and Matthew Lee Swanton.

 

John Lawrence Swanton II and his wife Deborah have two sons: Zachary and Elijah. Patrick has no children, and Matthew is currently a senior in high school.

 

Michael Lennon Swanton married Imogene Bradfield of England, and their first daughter, Julia Meghan Swanton, was born on New York’s Eve in 1999. Imogene’s father is Brian Bradfield.

 

John Lawrence Swanton and his granddaughter, Julia Meghan Swanton

 

Second Generation
Children of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield

Robert A. Swanton and Rosanna Agnes Hanlon

 

 

Robert A. Swanton was born on April 24,1865. He was the tenth and last child of Michael and Elizabeth (Bessie) Bradfield Swanton. Michael would have been about 50 when Robert was born, and Bessie would have been about 44. When Robert was born, his family lived in the townland of Boulteen, in the parish of Desertserges, County Cork, Ireland.

 

Robert A. Swanton was my great-grandfather.

 

Robert A. Swanton

 

Robert A. Swanton was baptized on April 26,1865 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Enniskeane. His baptismal sponsors were Michael Cleary and Mag Brien.

 

Baptismal Record of Robert Swanton, son of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton

 

Robert was confirmed in the parish of Desertserges in 1876 when he was 11 years old. Four years later, when Robert was 15, he traveled to Boston aboard the S. S. Samaria with his parents and his brother, James, who was 18.  They left the port of Cobh (once called Queenstown after Queen Victoria) and stopped at Liverpool, and then on to Boston. They traveled in steerage (third class), and conditions there would have been fairly rough. However, to a young boy, it all probably seemed like a great adventure!

 

Steerage Passengers at Sea, around 1902

 

Michael, Bessie, Robert and James arrived in Boston on August 15,1880. Boston was in the throes of a heat wave, with many deaths reported due to the heat.

 

They moved in with Michael and Bessie’s oldest son, John, his wife, Mary, and their five children at 306 West Second Street in South Boston, Massachusetts.

 

From 1886 to 1888, Robert lived with his brother, William, at 70 Bromley Street, and was working as a carpenter. In 1889, he and William lived on Welden Street.

 

Robert Swanton became a naturalized citizen of the United States on October 15, 1890. His naturalization witnesses were Thomas Flynn and Jeremiah J. Keane. When Robert became naturalized, he lived at 20 Indiana Place in Boston and was working as a carpenter. From 1891 to 1895, Robert boarded at 12 Corning Street.

 

On November 24, 1896, Robert Swanton married Rosanna Agnes Hanlon in St. Gregory’s Church, Dorchester. They were married by Father W. H. Fitzpatrick, a Catholic priest. Their marriage witnesses were Edward Flynn and Rosanna’s sister, Christina Hanlon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 25,1897, their first child, George Swanton, was born. The family was living at 40 Hall Street in Boston. Their second child, William Anthony Swanton, was born on June 25,1899. William was my grandfather.

 

Robert and Rosanna’s third son, Robert Swanton, was born on July 25,1901. Robert married Rose Davis on September 2,1929. He died of acute appendicitis on September 5,1931. They didn’t have any children.

 

Robert Swanton, son of William Anthony Swanton

 

In 1903, Robert and Rosanna’s oldest son, George, died. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery. On February 03,1904, their first daughter, Rosanna Agnes was born. Unfortunately, she died on the same day she was born.

 

Robert and Rosanna’s second daughter, Mary Margaret Swanton, was born on August 18, 1905. Mary was married late in life to Palmer Pinkham. She is my Auntie Mary, and is doing well at the age of 96.

Mary Margaret Swanton

 

Mary Swanton posing.JPG (104323 bytes)

Mary Margaret Swanton

 

Mary Margaret Swanton Pinkham and William Swanton

 

Mary Margaret Swanton Pinkham at 92

 

Robert and Rosanna’s last child, Elizabeth Camille Swanton, was born on April 10, 1912. She was my Aunty Betsy. She married Kenneth Geerer and had two children: Rosalind and Kenny. Auntie Betsy died in Boston, although her death certificate indicates that she died in Connecticut.

 

Theresa McCluskey, Rosanna Hanlon Swanton, Margaret Mary Swanton, Elizabeth Camille Swanton, Rosalind Geerer, John McCluskey, Kenneth Geerer

 

 

WILLIAM ANTHONY SWANTON (my grandfather) married Marion L. Cross on February 17, 1921 in Boston, MA. William worked as a mechanic, machinist and telephone worker for the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company. They lived at 47 Standish Road in Milton, MA.

 

William Anthony Swanton as a young boy

 

Marion Cross Swanton.jpg 66.2K

Marion Cross Swanton

 

William Anthony Swanton and Marion Louise Cross Swanton

                

William and Marion had three children:

 

               William Bernard Swanton, born 1921  My father

Eleanore Swanton, born 1925

Robert Henry Swanton, 1928, died October 25,2001

 

Marion Daly, Marion Cross, Tommy Daly,

Bobby Swanton, Eleanore Swanton, Billy Swanton

 

William, Marion (Cross), Bobby, Eleanore and Billy Swanton.jpg 84.1K

William and Marion Cross Swanton

and their children, Billy, Bobby and Eleanore

 

William Bernard Swanton and his parents,
William Anthony Swanton and Marion Louise Cross Swanton

 

Bobby Swanton, Marion Cross Swanton, Billy Swanton, Eleanore Swanton.jpg 103.9K

Bobby Swanton, Marion Cross Swanton, Billy Swanton, and Eleanore Swanton

 

Eleanore Swanton, Marion Cross Swanton and Rosanna Hanlon Swanton.jpg 80.0K

Eleanore Swanton, Marion Cross Swanton and

Rosanna Hanlon Swanton (Grandma Swanton)

 

Marion Cross Swanton died on September 26,1937 of a cerebral embolism. She was only 38 year old. My father, Bill Swanton,was about 14 when she died, and he took her death very hard. At Marion’s burial, when they started putting her coffin in the grave, Bill threw himself on her coffin and had to be pulled away, crying “You’re not putting my mother in there.”

 

William Anthony Swanton remarried on July 29, 1944 to Marion Louise Connelly. Marion was born in Massachusetts on May 9, 1910, and was the daughter of Anna G. Shea and Patrick J. Connelly.  She was always known to the grandchildren as “Granny Marion”. Billy Swanton never got along with her. She was actually rather strange. I remember one time at our house, someone was passing pictures around. When they came to Granny Marion, she would take the ones she wanted and hide them in her purse, thinking that no one would notice.

 

William Swanton was a heavy smoker, and he died in June of 1986 in Milton, MA.

 

FIFTH GENERATION

William Bernard Swanton and Nadine Wanda Mary Haller

 

 

 

William Bernard Swanton, the oldest child of William Anthony Swanton and Marion Cross Swanton, was born on July 29, 1929. When he was born, the family was living at 196 Sixth Street in South Boston, MA.[109] They later lived at 75 St. Rose Street in a house that had been built by his grandfather, Robert Swanton.

 

Dad remembers going over to South Boston every Saturday night to visit Grandpa Thomas Cross, his mother’s father, who had 13 children. The whole neighborhood would turn out to fight with the Gustin Gang. Dad says that it was clean fighting, and there were no hard feelings afterwards. When the fighting was over, everyone would go to Grandpa Cross’ house for food and drink. Everyone in Southie had a nickname, and Dad reluctantly told me that had been known as “Giggles” Swanton.

 

William Swanton married Nadine Wanda Mary Haller on May 30,1949 in Boston, MA. He spent some time in the Air Force, and was in Guam on D-Day. He retired from the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company. William and Nadine had 4 children.

 

Billy Swanton at 9 months (Marion Cross Swanton's son).jpg 69.4K

Billy Swanton at 9 months

 

 

William Bernard Swanton in uniform.jpg 35.5K

William Bernard Swanton in the Air Force

 

 

Nadine Wanda Mary Haller at 14

 

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Nadine Wanda Mary Haller

Nadine Haller on her wedding day.jpg 49.3K

Nadine Wanda Haller on her wedding day

 

Mom and Dad on Beach steps closeup.jpg 36.6K

Bill and Nadiine Swanton at Marshfield, MA, 2000

 

Bill and Nadine’s children are:

 

Eileen Marie Swanton                     March 2, 1950

Carol Ann Swanton                         March 18, 1951

Virginia (Ginni) Louise Swanton       March 14, 1956

James Thomas Swanton                 May 30, 1959

 

Carol, Eileen, James, Ginni Swanton.jpg 54.1K

Eileen, Carol, Ginni and James Swanton

 

SIXTH GENERATION
Descendants of William and Nadine Swanton

 

Eileen Marie Swanton,  the oldest child of William and Nadine Swanton, marrried Leland Smith on June 12, 1971 at St. Theresa’s Church in West Roxbury. They were divorced on February 14, 1983 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Eileen married Robert Raymond on August 13, 1994 at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire. They have no children.

 

Eileen Swanton's high school picture.jpg 36.6K

Eileen Swanton’s High School Picture

 

Carol Ann Swanton remained single, and dotes on her 11 month old, 90 pound “puppy”, Kodiak. Carol works in the software industry and was on the Ski Patrol for many years.

 

Carol helehiking.jpg 29.4K

Carol Swanton helehiking at Denali, Alaska

 

 

Virginia (Ginni) Louise Swanton married David Arthur Ruckert on February 17, 1979 in Woodinville, WA. They divorced in 1981. They had one child. He has two other daughters, Molly and Veronica, by two separate women. Molly lives in Seattle and Veronica lives in Australia, and her mother’s name is Helen. 

 

Ginni worked at Microsoft for 9 years, and at a small software company where she wrote their software manuals, online help systems, and spearheaded their marketing and PR efforts. She is currently a professional race car driver in the Star Formula Mazda television series. She also enjoys the outdoors, especially hiking with her two dogs,Shelby and Kirby. Ginni has also spent countless hours tracing and documenting her family tree. This book is the result of her research.

 

Ginni on Camelback closeup.jpg 81.3K

Ginni Swanton on top of Camelback Mountain in Arizona

 

Group5.jpg 69.9K

Ginni enjoying an evening out with friends

 

Eileen, Carol and Ginni on piano bench.jpg 42.5K

Eileen, Carol and Ginni Swanton

 

There’s an interesting story behind this photo. Eileen and Carol wore matching pink dresses with mink collars, while I was wearing a babyish little yellow dress with ruffles. I wanted a pink dress with a mink collar, too. Consequently I was an absolute pill during the photo session, crying and throwing a tantrum. The photographer was ready to pack up his equipment, but my mother asked him to try just one more time. For some unknown reason, I cooperatively hopped up on the piano bench, giving the camera an angelic smile.

 

               Stacie Lyn Ruckert, born September 19, 1979 (7th generation)

 

Stacie is currently a senior at Washington State University, with one quarter left before she graduates.

 

Cute picture of Stacy.jpg 42.1K

Stacie Lyn Ruckert

 

Stacie Lyn Ruckert

 

James Thomas Swanton       

 

 

SIXTH GENERATION

Descendants of Eleanore Swanton and Eugene Francis Peyton

 

 

ELEANORE SWANTON (Auntie Eleanore/Aunt Ellie) married Eugene Francis Peyton before 1950. Eugene (Uncle Genie) was a schoolteacher. He died on January 31, 1973 in Walpole,MA They had 4 children.

 

Garrett John Peyton                       May 30, 1950

Ellen Louise Peyton                        March 9, 1952

Lauren Marie Peyton                      April 28, 1954

Gene William Peyton                      May 30, 1955

 

SIXTH GENERATION

Descendants of Eleanore and Robert Swanton

 

 

Garrett John Peyton married Julie Lange in 1977, and will be celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2002.  Julie was born in Ohio and is the daughter of Julian Lange. Gary and Julie adopted 2 children:

 

Brooke Peyton                      July 4, 1983 (Seventh Generation) Brooke is still playing tennis.

Wesley Peyton                      1986 (Seventh Generation) Wesley is in the eighth grade at a private school.

 

 

Ellen Louise Peyton married Francis McDavitt in Massachusetts. Ellen is a physical therapist. Ellen and Frannie have 3 children.

 

         Christine McDavitt                 born July 18, 1978 (7th generation)

         Kate McDavitt                       born May 19, 1982 (7th generation)

         Jennifer McDavitt                  born January 12, 1984 (7th generation)

 

Jennifer and Kate are both going to Harvard,and Christine is a field hockey coach for Boston University.

 

 

Lauren Marie Peyton married Darren Zysk in Massachusetts. They have 3 children.

 

         Hillary Zysk                           born November 26, 1987 (7th generation)

         Tacy Zysk                             born March 29, 1989 (7th generation)

         Kendra Hilary Zysk                born May 5, 1983 (7th generation)

 

Gene William Peyton remained single, but lives with a lovely woman named Susan, and works as a chef in Vermont

 

 

FIFTH GENERATION

Robert Henry Swanton and Elizabeth Logie

 

 

 

 

ROBERT HENRY SWANTON married Elizabeth Loggie, the daughter of Rose Connington and Ira Loggie, of New Brunswick, Canada. Rose Connington’s father was Thomas Connington. Robert and Elizabeth had 7 children.

 

Robert Edward Swanton, born September 30, 1956

Mary Elizabeth Swanton, born September 16, 1958

Anne Marie Swanton, born January 3, 1961

               William Anthony Swanton, born April 18, 1962

Kathleen Rose Swanton, born February 20, 1964

Elaine Marion Swanton, born September 2, 1965

Karen Marie Swanton, born August 24, 1968

 

Eleanore, Billy and Bobby Swanton.jpg 42.3K

Eleanore, Billy and Bobby Swanton

 

Elizabeth (Auntie Betty) Swanton, mother of the bride.jpg 44.6K

Auntie Betty at her daughter Elaine’s wedding

 

Uncle Bobby, Auntie Eleanor and Dad

 

SIXTH GENERATION

Descendants of Robert Henry and Elizabeth (Aunty Betty) Swanton

 

 

Mary Elizabeth Swanton married Keith Leslie Ackley. They had two children

 

         Elizabeth Ackley                    born 1989 (7th generation)

         James Colson Ackley            born 1991  (Colson is a name from the Ackley family) (7th generation)

 

Mary Beth Swanton (daughter of Robert Swanton and Elizabeth Loggie).jpg 45.0K

Mary Beth Swanton Ackley at her sister Elaine’s Wedding

 

Elaine Swanton and groom, Bill.jpg 42.0K

Elaine Swanton and Groom, Bill, at her wedding

 

 

 

Anne Marie Swanton married Timothy Gillis. Thave two children:

 

         Cameron John Gillis, born 1996 (7th generation)

         Sean Timothy Gillis, born 1998 (7th generation)

 

 

Robert EDWARD Swanton married Nancy Marie Flynn. They had 4 children.

        

         Janet Elizabeth Swanton, born 1984 (7th generation)

         Julie Ann Swanton, born 1987 (7th generation)

         Steven Robert Swanton, born 1989 (7th generation)

         William James Swanton, born 1992 (7th generation)

 

 

William Anthony Swanton married Debbie Flannery. They were later divorced, and Billy married Lori Barrett. Billy is carrying on the family tradition, and is a carpenter. Billy and Lori have one child:

 

               Shane William Swanton, born 2000 (7th generation)

 

Kathleen Louise Swanton

 

Elaine Marion Swanton

 

Karen Marie Swanton

 

Karen Swanton, maid of honor (Elaine's sister).jpg 42.7K

 

Karen Swanton at her sister Elaine’s wedding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



[1] Swanton Abbott, Swanton Novers, and Swanton Morley

[2] Source: The History of Ireland, 1868, by John Mitchell

[3] For Margaret Swanton and Michael Swanton

[4] Index to Cork and Ross Wills, 1548-1800, and Public Record Office of Ireland

[5] This would have been Aghyohill, which is in the area from which my Swantons came. Perhaps William was my gggg grandfather.

[6] Source: Biographical Dictionary of Irishmen in France by Richard Hayes, 1949, no known relationship to my family

[7] Source: The History of Ireland, 1868, by John Mitchell

[8] I have not definitely proven this relationship. However, based on the location and the naming patterns of Michael’s children, I’m pretty sure that John was Michael’s father.

[9] Source: Griffith’s Valuation

[10] Source: James Swantons civil marriage record to Catherine Regan Reily confirms that his father’s name was John Swanton.

[11] William’s naturalization papers show his birth year as 1820. His death certificate shows his birth year as 1812.

[12] I wasn’t able to find baptismal records for William, James and Michael Swanton. I derived their birth dates from the ages given on their death certificates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Descendants of John Swanton

[13] William’s naturalization papers show his birth year as 1820. His death certificate shows his birth year as 1812.

[14] Unconfirmed

[15] James Swanton’s first wife

[16] This is confirmed from information given on James’ parish marriage record.

[17] James Swanton’s second wife

[18] The exact wording of the note is “Passage paid by step-daughter Anna Crowley, Plymouth, Mass. Has three other daughters there.”

[19] I’m not sure if “there” refers to Plymouth, or to the Boston area in general. Since Johanna lived in Roxbury, it must have been the latter.

[20] George Swanton’s first wife

[21] Source: Civil marriage record

[22] Source: Civil marriage record

[23] Daughter of George Swanton and Margaret Hurley

[24] 7 days certified (death record)

[25] George Swanton’s second wife

[26] The writing on the marriage record is difficult to decipher—her married name could also have been Doive or Dorve.

[27] Information provided by Val Wood

[28] Source: 1904 Irish Census

[29] This is the only known photograph of George and Ellen Burke Swanton.

[30] Source: The inscription on their grave at Kinneigh, County Cork.

[31] This obituary was provided by Michael O’Connell of the Cork Genealogical Society.

[32] This was a common term for an unmarried woman and wasn’t considered derogatory.

[33] Although Catherine would have been 27 in 1870, the ages given by the Irish people varied wildly and cannot be considered accurate. Therefore, this Catherine may have been the daughter of James and Kate Swanton. Catherine was not a very common Swanton name.

[34] Her name appears as Joanna in her marriage record.

[35] This was a common term for an unmarried woman and it wasn’t considered derogatory.

[36] Again, the ages given by the Irish were terribly inaccurate. Obviously Johanna couldn’t have been 19 in both 1870 and in 1873.

[37] The Cork pronunciation of “McCarthy” is “McCarty”. Cornelius’ name appears as McCarty in his marriage record.

[38] Their great-great grandson, Thomas Fleming provided this information.

[39] Source: 1900 census—the birthplaces for William Hurley’s parents are both recorded as Ireland.

[40] Source: 1910 Federal Census

[41] John Swanton’s sister.

[42] Probably John’s sister.

[43] The secretary for the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston was not able to locate Ellen’s baptismal record.

[44] PBS Home Video recently released a 4-hour series entitled “The 1900 House”. In this series, a modern-day family lives in a house that has been set up to be the same as it would have been in 1900. They can only use the devices and wear the clothing that had been in existence in 1900. This series provides a very revealing view of how life must have been then. It was dirty and tedious, especially for the women, who spent most of their time trying to “get rid of fluff”. This series is available at www.pbs.org.

[45] Source: 1910 Federal Census

[46] Source: 1920 Federal Census

[47] They were his half-sisters, daughters of Kate Regan Crowley and her first husband, who had been a Crowley.

[48] As opposed to house building, etc.

[49] When I was in Plymouth two years ago, I met a woman who had known James Swanton. This was her description of him.

[50] This would have either been Michael’s brother or his father.

[51] Land area was measured as:

 

  • 30.25 sq.yards = 1 sq. perch
  • 40 sq perches = 1 rood
  • 4 roods = 1 acre
  • 640 acres = 1 sq mile

 

[52] From an article in the West Carbery Eagle

[53] From an article in the West Carbery Eagle

[54] jail

[55] From an article in the West Carbery Eagle

[56] From an article in the West Carbery Eagle

[57] Poor Law Guardian

[58] From an article in the West Carbery Eagle

[59] From an article in the West Carbery Eagle

[60] Source: Robert’s daughter, Mary Swanton Pinkham, my great aunt, who turned 95 in August of 2000.

[61] Renamed Queenstown after Queen Victoria’s visit to Ireland

[62] I would imagine that John and Mary would have written letters to Michael and Bessie before Michael and Bessie came to Boston, and they may have told them about the upcoming census.

[63] Michael Swanton was listed in the 1883 and 1884 Boston City Directories as a carpenter boarding at 274 West Second.

[64] This is the birth date recorded on John’s naturalization papers.

[65] I haven’t been able to find John’s baptismal record yet.

[66] Source: Griffith’s Valuation

[67] Source: John Swanton’s confirmation record

[68] Source: John Swanton’s marriage record

[69] Most likely her middle name was Elizabeth.

[70] Although John had a cousin named Joanna Swanton (daughter of James Swanton and Catherine McCarthy) who lived in Boston, by 1877, she was married and her last name was McCarty. Joanna had a brother-in-law named John Hurley.

 

[71] I don’t think this was John’s sister, as she didn’t immigrate to Boston until 1882. He had a cousin Ellen Swanton (daughter of James Swanton and Catherine McCarthy) who lived in Boston, but in 1879, she was married to John Hurley.

[72] Michael Swanton was listed in the 1883 and 1884 Boston City Directories as a carpenter boarding at 274 West Second.

[73] 1887 Boston City Directory

[74] pronounced this-is

[75] The only Catherine Swanton born in Boston between 1852 and 1900 was the daughter of John Swanton and Mary McCarthy Swanton. Additionally, in the will of William Swanton, the son of Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield Swanton, a legacy is left to his niece, Catherine Finnin, address unknown. William did not have a brother named Thomas.

[76] Fifth Generation

[77] In Les Miserables, there is a reference to “the hammer of the roundsman who visits the gang”. In 2001, a roundsman is associated with food service.

[78] Inflammatory changes in the heart muscle

[79] The Enniskeane/Aghiohill/Desertserges Roman Catholic records were consolidated, so he could have been baptized in any of these churches. The records are currently stored at the church in Enniskeane.

[80] I have commissioned a research firm in Ireland to get these records.

[81] Source: 1900 Massachusetts Federal Census

[82] Source: Land Cancellation Records

[83] This is definitely the correct Michael Swanton, as his death record indicates that his parents were Michael Swanton and Elizabeth Bradfield.

[84] Cachexia (ka-KECK'-see-a) is a protein wasting syndrome that most commonly occurs with lung, pancreatic, stomach, bowel, and prostate cancers. Its symptoms are severe weight loss and weakness.

[85] Cancer

[86] Inguinal glands are the lymph nodes in the groin.

[87] The information came from a genealogy done by someone associated with the Smithwick family. I have not verified this information yet.

[88] Ellen’s middle name was probably Theresa, a Catholic saint.

[89]Source: Parish baptismal records. The records for the united parishes of Enniskeane/Desertserges/Kinneigh are stored in Enniskeane. Ellen could have been baptized in any of these churches.

[90] In 1852, Michael Swanton lived in Derrigra, according to Griffith’s Valuation.

[91] The handwriting is very difficult to decipher, but it looks like it could be Henebery, which was the maiden name of Michael’s sister-in-law.

[92] Source: Michael’s naturalization papers. In the 1920 census, he indicates that he arrived in 1880 and was naturalized in 1890. As I mentioned earlier, the dates provided by the Irish varied wildly.

[93] Source: Michael Cleary’s will of 1925

[94] Source: 1920 Massachusetts Federal Census

[95] Source: John D. Cooke II, Dorothy Lenihan’s grandson

[96] It’s unclear whether this type of deferred legacy is legal, but it was very common in wills of this era.

[97] William Cleary’s wife was Elizabeth Henebry, the daughter of Thomas Henebry, a farmer of Aghanagurra.

[98] Source: William Swanton’s naturalization papers. However, the 1920 census indicates that he immigrated in 1884.

 

 

[99] Source: Boston City Directory

[100] Source: Claire Crowley, granddaughter of Martha Swanton Crowley, 1999

[101] Source: Martha’s baptismal record

[102] 1900 Massachusetts Federal Census

[103] 1920 Massachusetts Federal Census

[104] Source: Crowley family bible

[105] Inability of the mitral valve to prevent the flow of blood back from the left ventricle, or lower chamber of the heart, into the left atrium, or upper chamber. Normally, the valve permits blood to flow from the atrium to the ventricle but prevents its return. Most often, the inability of the mitral valve to close adequately is caused by scarring from rheumatic heart disease; it may also be due to a congenital defect of the valve or may arise from defects in the muscles and tendons that operate the valve.

[106] 1910 Boston City Directory

[107] 1920 Massachusetts Federal Census

[108] South Boston: My Home Town by Thomas H. O’Connor

[109] According to his civil birth certificate