WIFE ~,Tally ALTHEA FARWELL
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ANCEST01lS OF ALDEN sMttH SWAN AND Hts WIFE ~,tAllY ALTHEA FARWELL CO~!PlLElJ Foll 1'11E111 DAtJGlt'ttlt FtollENC~ ALTHBA GlBB :ay JOSEPittNE C. FltOST (~:tRS. SA~iUEL KNAPP FROST OF BROO&:Ll:.S, N. Y. Compller of Frost, l-Iaviland, Strang, and Shaw-Williams Genealogies~ tditor of Town Records oi Jamaica, N. Y., 1656-1751; Life ~I~mber of New York Genealogical and Biographical Society; ~!ember of Long Island, Xew Jersey, Connecticut, Quaker Hill and Kings County Historical Societies; Genealogist of the Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Century. Tl-IE 1-IILLS PRESS .NE\V YORK 11 C~1X-XIII ttttJSTllAT10NS :t'ACtNG PAGE nuNCltAlU>, DEUA (ColuJss). 74 ~tnn~noE, ALTHEA (G1n11) ANO Cuttt>REN. 16 ttDnEnoE, EnwARo lnvtNu Jn .................... -. 18 F' Alt\VELL lto-usE ...... ~ . iO F'ARWEtL, J_ut:~s. 22 F'ARWELL, JAMES t. IN EARLY ltFE. 24 F'AllWELL, JAltES ~. 26 F'ARWELL, l\L-\RY ALTHEA lN ~ARLY LIFE. 4 FAn,tttt, Po LLY (.BMERSON) .......................... _. 98 GtBB, FLORENCE A.tTIIEA (SWAN). s G1BB, ~,LORENCE .A.tTHE.A (SWAN) iN tJ NlFORlt. 12 GtBB, '\\"'ALTER.. • . to GIBB, BnooKLYN, N. Y. \Vt:NTER flol\IE. 202 GIBB, GLEN Co VE, N. Y. Sul\nIER Ho ME. • . 228 l\fEDAL PRESE~~ED TO FLORENCE ALTHEA (SWAN) GIBB ...... ·... 14 ScnooL HousE, STEPHE~~OWN, N. '1.... 190 ST. l\iicHAEL's CHURCH, ENGL.A.ND. 96 SWAN, ALDE:N" SlUTH IX EARLy LIFE . 4 SwAN, ALDEN SlIITH AND WIFE. 6 SWAN, JOSEPH s., GRAVESTONE .............................•.• 244 SWAN, l\iARY F. (\VIXCHESTER). ·. 8 SWAN, Sl\UTH Y., GR.AVESTONE •.................. ~ ...........• 244 SwAN, SusANNAH, Ga..\ VESTONE.. 244 S,v AN, IIoME 1x STEPHE~"'TOWN, N. 1.... 190 ,v1NcHEsTEn, SA:MFEL, GRA vEsToN:c. 2-to SWAN ltichard Swan m. I llobert" S·wan m. Eliza.beth Acie I John Swan m. Susanna Eastman I John Swan m. Lucy Denison I Joseph Swan n1. Elizabet.h Smith I . Joseph Swan m. Deborah Alderman I Joseph Smith Swan m. Susannah Y oun~s..... I John 11. Swan 1n. l\fary F.. \Vinchester I Alden Smith Swan m. l\iary Althea Farwell Florence Althea Swan m. ,valter Gibb SWAN 1 RICHARD s,v.A.N appeared first in New E11gla11d at Bos ton, l\Jass., where he had a son John baptized Nov. 13, 1638. On the 24th of 9 month, 1639, he with others was disrni~sed fro1n the First Church at Boston to that of Rowley, ~!ass., in ,fhich place he became one of its pro1ninent citizens, representing the town in the l\fassachusetts General Court fron1 1666 to 1677. He served in King Philip's ,var of 1615 and 1676 and in an expedition to Canada, and was buried in Rowley, l\fay 14, 1678. His first wiie, whose name is unknown, died in England. He n1arried second l\frs. Ann, ·widow of John Trumbull. 2 ROBER'l., s,v ..AX, son of Richard Swan and his first wife, was born in England in 16~8 and n1arried in Ro,-rley, I\-Iass., in 1650, Elizabeth .Acie, ,vho died in 1689. 'rhe fo!lowing· year he married Hannah Russ, and died in Haverhill, ~lass., Feb. 11, l(i97-8. IIe removed fron1 Rowk·v.. to .AndoYer, but scttk:d in I-Iavcrhill in th~it part of the to,vn sub~c(juent1y set ofl' and ir.corpo!.·ated ~s l\!(!-th~~n. l (... I"', H... e was a! so Id1cr. 1n. Lie xreat ~,ra.1np I'". '1gnt .. · 1n. 1:·.\..lr,g Pl: nnp., . ' ~ """'V, . aT under Lt. B(!l1j amin Swett. 8 JOttN S\VAN, son of tl.ohert and Elizabeth ( .~cie) Swan, was born in Haverhill, l\1ass., Aug. 1, 1608, and married .A.ug. 1, 1699, l\trs.· Susanna Wood, widow of 'l'homas Wood, who was killed __by the lndians in 169i. She was the da~ghter of l>hilip :Bastman. 'they resided in Haverhill until 1707, when they removed to Ston ington, Ct., on what is now known as Swan ,.rown ltill in North Stonington, and where he died l\iay 1, 1743, and she died nee. i0, 1772, in her 100th year. Their gravestones were in good condition a few years ago. She is noted in the llistot·y of Haverhill, l\Iass., for her heroism as follows: "During the Indian War, when so many of the inhabitants were killed, the Indians attacked their ,1ome, which stood in a field now called \\1hite's lot, nearly opposite to the house .of Capt. Emerson. l\{r. Swan and his wife saw them ap proaching and detern1ined if possible to save their own lives and the lives of their children. They imn1ediately placed themselves against the door, which ·was so narrow that two could scarcely enter abreast. The lndians rushed against it, but finding that it could not easily be opened, one of them placed his back against it and others pushed against him. Their strength was greater than th$1.t of the besieged, and l\fr. Swan, being rather a tin1id ma!1, almost despair~d of sa,·ing himself and family and told his wife he thought it ,vould be better to let them in, but this resolute and courageous woman had no such idea. The Indians now had suc ceeded partly in opening the door, and one of them '\Yas crowding himself in, with others pushing after. The heroic ,vife saw there was no time for parleying; she seized ·her -bake spit, "·hich was nearly three feet in length and a deadly weapon in the hands of the ·wornan, as it proved, and collecting all the strength she pos sessed, drove it through the body of the foremost Indian. Thi~ reception being too warm for the_ intruders, they retreated." Another story has come down to this generation about the ingenuity of Susanna Swan when her husband was off to the Indian Wars. It is clain1ed that she w·ould hang balls of carpet rags in the upper windows of her home and have the children keep them moving w·hile she would beat a drum do·wnstairs and the Indians would think John Swan and nun1~rous others were in the house, aud so pass them by unmolested . • 4 JOIIN s,v.AN", son of John and Susannv. (Eastman) Swan~ was born in Havcrhill, ~lass., Dec. 28, 1700, and 1narried lia rch 5, 17'~6, Lucy Denison, horn 1710, <laughter of '\Vil1ian1 nud :\Iary (Avery) Denison. Iler name appea.rs on the church records :.1.t Preston, Ct., in 173~, but their dates of death haYe not been found. .. •· .. ALDEN s. AXD )L.\llY' .A. (FARWET.t.) (About the time of marriage) (Pages 9 and 27) 5 o jQSEl>tt S\VAN, son of John and tucy (Denison) Swan, was born ~!arch 12, 1734, in Stonington, Ct., and married flrst Elizabeth Sn1ith of Groton, Ct., on Oct. 17, 1756. She died 1\!ay 10, 1761, and he married at North Stonington, Ct., Jan. i8, 1762, l\1ary }iiner, by whom he had several daughters but only one son, Adin, horn ~1ay 13, 1764, who located in Stephentown, N. Y., belore i 790. lJates of death on Joseph and his second wife have not been found. Joseph Swan resided in Preston, Ct., and according to the ltevo lutio:nary lndex in the State Library at ltartford he had his tax rebated for services in that \Var during 1775. The Connecticut · ltistorical Society, vol. 1~, p. 9, states he served in the Continental ltegiment in 1775 from Preston. 6 JOSEPH S'\\r AN, son of Joseph and ~lizabeth (Smith) Swan, was born in Stonington, Ct., lJec. 3, 1758, and married in East Granby, Ct., liay 18, 1780, 1>ehorah Alderm9.11. ln 1790 he was residing in Granby, but before 1800 he had taken up his l'esidence in Stephentown, N. Y., where his half brother Adin had already located. In the census of 1800 he had eleYen in his fan1ily, eight sons and one daughter, but two other sons were born after that date. ,,Tith the exception of the first three children and the last one nan1ed in the f ollo,,ing list, the order of their births is not now known. The dates of de~th of Joseph and Deborah hB:,~e not been found and the little forsaken burial plot, where many of his descendants lie, in Stephentown, does not give up the secret, but· without doubt th<;y were buried in it. Joseph served in the Revolutionary ,y ar. He enlisted fron1 Stonington, Ct., April 8, 1777, and in December of that year beca1ne a Corporal in Col. Sheldon's Light Dragoons. Description of him states that he ·was 5 ft. 9 in. in height, light complexion, dark eyes and brown hair. He was discharged Nov. 8, 1780 (Conn. in the Revolution, pp. 271, 275, !83). Issue of Joseph and Deborah (Alderman) Swan: a Joseph Smith Swan, born East Granby, Ct., Feb. 15, 1781. (Continued.) b Smith Scyn1our Swan; born East Granby, Ct.; Jan. 5, 178~. c· Adin Sey1nour Swan, born East Granby, Ct., Jan. ~0, 1783. He married :\lartha-and both were living in Stephen town, N. Y., as late as 1850. d Lot Swan, v,·ho married in Stephentown, N. Y.,. and before 1820 was the father of five children. One of his lnte-r 8 SWAN-FAttWEtt G~NEaLOGY children was J eretniah; horn 1816, who died in Pittsfield, }!ass., Jan. 25, 1910. e lytnan Swatt,- who was a tnetnber of the Albany Co. ltilitia in 1808. l Perez {Paris-Percy) Swan married and had five children in Stephentown, N.