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Note: From the book "Genealogy of the Swink Family of Missouri" by Robert A. Swink; The Star-News Publishing Co., Pasadena, California, 1940: "WILLIAM SWINK, second son of George and Mary Swink, was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1811, moved with his father to Franklin County, Tennessee, in 1820. Here he grew to manhood. In 1829, he married a neighbor's daughter, Eliza Sturdivant, by name. Here they lived until three of their children were born, when they went with his father-in-law to Arkansas, where they tarried for a while. About this time William Swink's brother, Edwin Swink, who had moved to Camden County, Missouri, sent his wife to Arkansas to persuade him to come and live near him. He consented and left with his family by ox wagons. When they reached St. Francois County, Missouri, the youngest daughter, Mary Malinda was born. This stopped the journey, and he located on the Saline Creek, Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, where he resided until 1877 when he sold his farm. Then he and his wife went to live with his daughter, Mary Malinda Swink Kenner, near Festus, Missouri. They lived there until their death. Eliza passed away in January 1882 and he followed. No one of the children knew as much of the history of William Swink and Eliza Sturdivant Swink, his wife, as Mary Malinda Swink Kenner, their younger daughter. The author was fortunate to have had her write down what she knew of these two pioneers. It is all too meager, for her parents seldom talked of their early experiences. Yet she gave the author what she knew, and he submits it here in full: "Our father, William Swink, was born in the year 1811, in Virginia. His father was of German descent and his mother was of Irish descent. Our mother, Eliza Sturdivant, was born in the state of Tennessee in 1808. Her father was of French descent and her mother of Scotch descent. Grandfather moved to the state of Tennessee some time about 1820, or 1821, into the neighborhood of where grandfather Sturdivant lived. The negroes used to tell me that grandfather Sturdivant had a dog that treed father on a fence every time he came to see mother, and he would stay there until someone came to rescue him. My grandfather had four boys, as follows: Edwin, William, George and Phillip. Uncle George died in an Indian war in Florida. Uncle Phillip Augustus went away and they never heard from him. Uncle Edwin died in Camden County, Missouri, and some of his descendants are living in Dallas, Texas. Father and mother were married in Franklin County, Tennessee, in the year 1829, and lived there until grandfather Sturdivant moved to the State of Arkansas and father and mother went along. I do not remember hearing them say how long they remained there before coming to Missouri. Uncle Edwin Swink's wife went there to visit them. Her home was in Camden County, Missouri. I think she must have persuaded them to move to Missouri. They must have started in January, or February of the year 1836. It must have been a slow procession for they had to bring their possessions in wagons drawn by oxen. There were our aunt (Uncle Edwin's wife), mother, father, Sallie Ann, their daughter six years old, George Talbot and John Edwin, their sons; besides the negroes, -- I don't know how many. As they journeyed one cold rainy day in March, they came to an old dilapidated cabin situated in St. Frances County, Missouri, somewhere near- William Edwin Sebastian's place. They camped in the old cabin. It had holes for doors and windows, but no sash or door. They hung up quilts and things over the holes and were out of the rain, so right then and there, the 16 day of March, 1836, the little girl Mary Malinda, came to live and be with the rest of them, and is quite proud of the mansion in which she was born. Of course, that event stopped the journey to Camden County, their intended destination. Father left mother and the rest of us in the cabin and took our aunt, (Edwin's wife) to her home in Camden County, Missouri. Mother always spoke of how kind and good all the people in that neighborhood were to her. When father came back he worked for Mr. Sebastian. They finally went into partnership in a saw mill on Cold Water Creek in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. After sawing up most of the timber in this locality they sold the mill, and father bought a farm on the Saline Creek, a beautiful stream of water not far from the saw mill site. That was 1841, or 1842. I can remember so many things that happened while we lived at the saw mill. I was about 4 or 5 years old. One was seeing father and mother mount their horses and ride to Arkansas, 200 miles away to visit (evidently to see mother's parents). Another thing was going to school and getting so mad at the teacher for whipping brother Ed for not getting his spelling lesson. Another was father sending me on horseback to a neighbor half a mile away for something when I was only three years old. Brother Phillip Augustus Swink was born the second day of July in 1846, the year of the big comet, and the war with Mexico. In the year l849 father had a great yearning to go to Oregon. He had bought his wagons and had bargained to sell the farm and negroes, but mother and sister (Sallie Ann) opposed the going so strenuously that he gave up going. Then came the great excitement about gold in California. In 1853, Mr. Joseph Bogy of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, made up a company of men to go to California. My two brothers, George and Edwin, joined the company and went with him, but on account of sickness George stayed there only a short time. He came home in 1854. He did not stay very long but got employment as superintendent of a plantation in the state of Mississippi. He was there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted as First Lieutenant in a company of soldiers and was sent to Virginia and lost his life in one of the battles of that state. There were only two of the company who ever got back home. Mother and father remained on the farm on the Saline until 1877, when father disposed of his farm and moved to Jefferson County, Missouri, and lived with me, their daughter, Mary Malinda, and my husband W. B. Kenner, the remainder of their lives. Mother died of small pox on January 9, 1882, and father followed her on the 31st day of January, 1883, having died of no particular ailment. The graves and tombstones are in the McNutt private graveyard on the old McNutt farm about a mile north of Festus, Missouri, on the old St. Louis road." The above statement was secured from Mary Malinda Kenner and was reduced to writing on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the wedding of the author's father and mother, John Edwin and Maria Louise Swink, held on the Dr. Smith farm near Farmington, Missouri, on August 10th, 1909. The author pauses here to give the races he has found in his ancestors. Eliza Sturdivant Swink's father was of French descent, and his wife was of Scotch descent. George Swink was of German descent and his wife of Irish descent. Others were of the English race. French, German, English, Scotch and Irish blood flow in the veins of the Swink family. This is a perfect demonstration of the fact that America is the inciting pot in which all races are fused into a new race of Americans. While living on the Saline Creek, William Swink had a neighbor by the name of John L. Haney. In later years the families separated, one living in one part of Missouri and the other in another part of the same state. However, Louise Swink, the great granddaughter of William Swink, met and married Earl Haney, the great grandson of John L. Haney, thus reuniting two families that were friends in the early pioneer days of Missouri." ============= From the 1830 Federal Census in Franklin County, Tennessee, page 110; from ancestry.com, images #105 and 106 of 146: ****** William Swink; 1 male 15-20 years old (William); 1 female under 5 years old (oldest daughter Sarah), 1 female 20-29 years old (wife Eliza). (William and Eliza are listed living next to the household of William's parents, George and Polly Swink. The household of Eliza's parents, John and Melinda Sturdivant is apparently not too far away, listed on page 71. The household of Eliza's sister and brother-in-law, Martha (Sturdivant) and John Page Winford, is also listed close on page 111.-RW) ============ In a record sent to my by Judy Phillips from Franklin County , Tennessee Court Records: In May of 1833 the Franklin County Court appointed Judges and Clerks for the election for a member to Congress, the Governor, and members of the State Legislature. William Swink was appointed as one of the clerks and John Sturdivant, William's apparent father-in-law, is listed as one of the Judges. ============ In the Bureau of Land Management records, there are records of 6 separate purchases of land by William Swink, in Missouri. Four of these seem to be in the Ste. Genevieve County area, on two separate dates, and would seem to clearly pertain to William. On November 7, 1837, he purchased two parcels of 40 acres. One of these is listed as being in St. Francois County and the other in Ste. Genevieve County. These were probably near to each other. The other two purchases of land in Ste. Genevieve County were on July 1, 1869. One was for 32.77 acres and the other was for 6.1 acres. The other two land purchases were in LaFayette County. Since this county is on the other side of the state, it is hard to tell if they involved this William, or if he had some connection there. His brother Edwin was apparently living in Camden County, Missouri at the time, so it seems quite possible that William was perhaps speculating or planning some kind of move. They were made on November 1, 1848 and August 1, 1849, and both were for 40 acres. ============ From the 1840 Federal Census of Saline Township, Ste. Genevieve County, page 83; from ancestry.com, image #3 of 6: William Swink; 2 males 5-9 years old (George and John), 1 male 20-29 years old (William); 1 female under 5 (Mary), 1 female 10-14 years old (Sarah), 1 female 30-39 years old (Eliza); Also 4 slaves: 1 male slave 36-54 years old, 1 female slave under 10 years old, 1 female slave 10-23 years old, 1 female slave 24-35 years old. =========== From the records of the 1850 Federal Census in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, Saline Township, taken October 5, 1850, page 245, household #583; from ancestry.com, image #82 of 116: William Swink; age- 39, male, occupation- farmer, real estate- $700, born- Virginia Eliza " ; age- 42, born-Tennessee Sarah A. " ; age- 20, born- Tennessee, in school George T. " ; age- 18, born- Tennessee, in school John E. " ; age- 16, born- Tennessee, in school Mary Ann " ; age- 14, born- Missouri, in school Philip A. " ; age- 4, born- Missouri ------------------------- From the 1850 Federal Slave Census; Ste. Genevieve County; Saline Township, taken October 4, 1850, page 491; from ancestry.com, image 6 of 9: William is listed with 7 slaves: 1- 33 year old female black, 1- 26 year old male black, 1- 11 year old female black, 1- 9 year old male black, 1- 6 year old male black, 1- 3 year old male black, 1- 2 year old male black ============= From the 1860 Federal Census, Saline Township, Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, Avon Post Office, taken August 22, 1860, page 319, household #1047; from ancestry.com, image 19 of 24: William Swink; age- 49, male, occupation- farmer, real estate- $1,500, personal property- $6,760, born- Virginia Eliza " ; age- 53, female, born- Tennessee Philip " ; age- 13, male, born- Missouri, in school -------------------------- From the 1860 federal Slave Schedule of Saline Township, Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, taken August 17, 1860, page 313; from ancestry.com, image 1 of 1: William is listed with 11 slaves: 1- 40 year old female black, 1- 36 years old male black, 1- 21 year old female mulatto, 1- 19 year old male black, 1- 16 year old male black, 1- 13 year old male black, 1- 9 year old male black, 1- 7 year old female black, 1- 5 year old male black, 1- 2 year old male mulatto, 1- 1 year old male black ============= From Jefferson County, Missouri Deed Book 3, pages 34-35. I found an indenture dated March 4th 1870, "between Geo. M. McNutt and Sarah his wife and Wm. Swink and Eliza his wife of the County of Jefferson and State of Missouri, parties of the first part, and Ferdinand B. Kennett of the County of Jefferson and the State of Missouri, party of the second part.." The McNutts and Swinks sell a 40 acre parcel of land to Mr. Kennett, "being a part of United States Survey No. 1986 in Township 40 and 41 North, Range 6 East..." I know that George and Sarah McNutt had been living in Jefferson County since the 1850's, but do not think William and Eliza Swink were living there. This does seem to support that William and Eliza had owned property in Jefferson County before they later moved there in 1877. I do believe that is about 1877 this was one of a number of parcels of land purchased by William and Eliza's son-in-law and daughter, William Bryant and Mary Malinda Kenner.- RW ============= From the 1880 Federal Census of Joachim Township, Jefferson County, Missouri, district 192, page 27/ 73C, taken June 18, 1880, household #244; from ancestry.com, image 27 of 60. William and his wife Eliza are listed in the household of their daughter Mary Malinda and her husband William Bryant Swink: Swink, William; male, age- 69, father-in-law, married, occupation- farmer, born- Virginia, parents born- Virginia William and Eliza's son, John E. Swink, is living two doors down in household #242. Eliza died two years later in 1882 and William the following year. ============= From "History of Jefferson County, Missouri and Festus, Missouri" by Howard C. Litton; Festus, Missouri; Second Edition, May 1987: In a story on pg. 36 titled," CHRISTIAN CHURCH WAS PRESENT BEFORE NAMING OF CITY OF FESTUS: ****** "...The Rev. G. A. Hoffman, now living in Bloomsdale, organized the church in 1883 with the following charter members: Mrs. Mary M. Kenner, Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Swink, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Swink, Mr. and Mrs. William Swink, Mrs. Sarah McNutt, Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Madison, Peter Guthorel, and Mrs. Ida Sherlock. ..." (This apparently came from a series of stories in 1937, put together for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the City of Fetus, Missouri. It mentions many Swinks, including William and Mary. Mary Kenner is their daughter, married to William Kenner, and William and Eliza were living in their home. Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Swink is their son Phillip and his wife Eliza. Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Swink is their son John Edmond and his wife Mariah. Carrie Swink is their daughter and therefore William and Mary's granddaughter. Mrs. Sarah McNutt is her sister, married to George McNutt. Willam and Mary Swink were living in the home of their daughter Mary Kenner and her family in Festus at the time. I have more of the story in notes for their daughter Mary Malinda Swink. Presumably the 1883 date is a little fuzzy since Eliza died in 1882 and William in 1883. -RW) ============ From "Biographies of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties, Missouri , Heritage Books,1995" (Courtesy of Chris Merseal): In a biography about William A. Gamel on pages 893-894, reference is made to "William and Eliza Sevink, formerly of Tennessee." ============ From "The Jefferson Democrat" newspaper of Hillsboro, Jefferson, Missouri; sent to me courtesy of Charlotte Maness: ****** FRIDAY, 1 JULY 1881 - PROBATE COURT - Saturday, June 25, 1881 - Demands were allowed against the estate of E.R. ENGLAND as follows: J.V. HAEFNER & Co., $19.82; W. SWINK, $249.22; W.R. DONNELL, $240.52. (This record might not be for William, although I'm not sure of the relationship of this person if it is someone other than William. RW) =============== As noted in the bio above, William and Eliza are buried in the McNutt Cemetery, a mile or so north of Festus. This is a small and pretty much abandoned cemetery located in a residential neighborhood. This was originally on the property of their daughter Sarah Ann McNutt and her husband George. The cemetery is behind the house located at 818 Sheraton Lane, Herculaneum, Missouri. You can best access the cemetery by walking the property line of this house.- RW
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