no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

William Swift (bef. 1599 - 1643)

William Swift aka Swyft
Born before in Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married about 1618 [location unknown]
Husband of — married 3 Jan 1626 in St. Magdalen, Bermondsey, Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died after age 44 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusettsmap
Profile last modified | Created 13 Dec 2010
This page has been accessed 10,936 times.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's parents. See the text for details.
The Puritan Great Migration.
William Swift migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 6, p. 626)
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: pgm

Contents

Biography

Anderson uses a date of born "by 1593" based on assumed estimated date of first marriage and an assumption of him being about 25 years old at marriage,[1] however, this is almost certainly a bit too early. He was "admitted to freedom" as a leatherseller in London in 1620. This marks a completion of his apprenticeship at which time he would have been 21 or very close to 21 years old. A better date would be between 1597 and 1599. Before emigrating, he was a leather seller in England. [2]

He married first by about 1618 Sarah _____; she was buried at St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, on 24 August 1625. [3]

He married second at St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, 3 Jan 1625/6 Joan (_____) Dimbleby, widow of Roger Dimbleby.[4]

Some say her maiden name was Sisson.[5] but this was disproven in 2002.[6]

He emigrated in 1634,[7] settling initially in Watertown, removing to Sandwich in 1639.

He died by 29 Jan 1642/3 (date of inventory).[8]

A will is not found, but the inventory of William Swift's estate was exhibited at court on 29 Jan 1642/3.[9][10] On 7 March 1642/3, letters of administration were granted to his wife Joane.[11]

In 1660, "Jone Swift" [his wife?] was one of 25 men and women fined for having attended a Quaker meeting.[12]

Identification of his children is found in the will of his widow, dated 12 Oct 1662, proved 3 Mar 1663/4 and 7 Apr 1664,[citation needed] which includes bequests to:

  • Daniel Winge's two sons Samuell and John
  • my grandchild Hannah Swift
  • my grandchild Experience Allen
  • my two grandchildren Hannah Swift and Experience Allin
  • to Mary Darbey my wearing clothes
  • Hannah Winge the elder... to her daughters
  • Jedediah Allen and Experience Allen the third part of my estate
  • to my son William's children...
  • residue to m son William whom I make my executor

Children

(first four by first wife, Sarah):

  1. Edward Swift, b abt 1618; apprenticed 8 May 1633 to George Andrews for 7 years; made free on 2 Jul 1640;[13] mentioned by Thomas Lechford in September 1640;[14] no further record unless a 1646 burial record in London pertains to him.[15]
  2. Hannah Swift, b abt 1620; m. in Sandwich 5 Nov 1642 Daniel Wing,[16]son of John Wing.
  3. John Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 26 Jun 1622; bur there 29 Jun 1622[17]
  4. Mary Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 21 Aug 1625; bur. there 4 Sep 1625 [18]
  5. William Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey 25 Apr 1627; [19] m by 1651 Ruth____ ;[20] assumed to be mother of his children (named in his 1705 will)
  6. Esther Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 28 May 1629;[21] m1 by 1646 Ralph Allen, mason; probably m2 Sandwich 14 Feb 1664/5? Henry Bull of Rhode Island.[22]
  7. Sarah Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 7 Aug 1631; bur there 8 Sep 1631[23]

Research Notes

Disputed Parents / Origins: There is no solid evidence that the immigrant William Swift (aka Swyft) was the William, son of Robert Swyft and Bridget Hastings. In fact, in 2002 Jane Fletcher Fiske published additional evidence for the English origin of William Swift and prepared a summary of his wife and family, including why Bocking, Essex has been incorrectly claimed as a place of birth.[24]. (See Research Notes, below.) Therefore, he has been detached from that family.

Another theory, not proven, is that William was bpt. 15 April 1589 at Darrington, Yorkshire, England, the son William Swift (b. 3 Dec. 1561 son of William Swift (1530) and Elizabeth Mason) and Janet Wilson, (daughter of Robert Wilson b. c1530).[25] This is almost certainly NOT the immigrant to Massachusetts. A birth date of 1589 would imply he completed his apprenticeship at age 31, didn't marry until age 29. The 1589 date is too early to belong to this William Swift.

Until proven, THIS William is being detached from any parents (per Wikitree policy).

Other notes: The following are probably from Fiske:[6]

  • His son Edward was apprenticed to George Andrews, Butcher, in Eastclepe, London.
  • He sold a house and land at Sud. 28-4-1641{Suff. De. and Col. Rec. vol.1}
  • On 25-Jul-1636 In the third Great Dividends of Town Lands, owned by the proprietors, William Swift drew number 14, being a 40 acre lot, and Feb 28 1636/37 he also drew a five acre lot in "Beaver Brook Plowlands."
  • On 1637 He sold his property in Watertown, MA to Thomas Whit of Sudbury who sold it March 31 1640, to John Knight. He then probably moved to Sandwich. He resided at at Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, circa Apr-1637;
  • The farm which Willaim bought in Sandwich was the largest in the town. It was owned (Jan 1 1887) by Shadrach Freeman Swift, Esq.
  • On Jun-1637 In another division of lands, his grantee Thomas White, received a lot, proving that William sold out in Watertown and removed to Sandwich in the spring of that year. (Hope we can use this to verify everything.)

The following is extracted from Fiske:[6]

  • "Wherever he was born, he was a citizen and leatherseller of London, admitted to freedom in 1610. He was at the parish of St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, at least by 1622 and he was a widower in 1625 when he married Joan, the widow of Roger Dimblebury... In 1631, the family disappears from the records of Bermondsey, appearing a few years later in Watertown, Massachusetts."
  • "The theory that Bocking was William's town of origin apparently stems from a legal suit William was involved with that mentions John Smithman and William Stacy Jr of Bocking, clothiers, the latter of whom owed Swift a debt. "
  • "William may have been born in Southwark, which was a center of the leather industry, drawing men into the city from many areas."
  • "He appears to have had contemporaries who were perhaps his brothers, Robert and Richard Swift, both of whom married in Bermondsey and died there prematurely, and all who may have belonged to the family of Richard Swift who died intestate in 1598." [citing Prerogative Court of Cantebury [PCC] Admons 1599, at Public Record Office [PRO]."
  • A Dimbley who received a bequested in Roger Dimbeby's will was from Wilbarston, Northamptonshire, suggesting a location for Joan and Roger Dimbleby's origins.
    • "Wilbarston parish records before the mid-1700s do not survive except for a few loose sheets for 1576-78 and 1591-92."
    • A search of Dimbleby wills in Northamptonshire turned up at least four that relate to this family... Andrew [Dimbleby], in 1606, calling himself Andrew Dimbleby, alias Selbie, divided most of his property between eldest son Robert and second son George, who was to be executor, and bequeathed L4 to son Roger Dimbleby. [29]… it seems likely that the son Roger named by Andrew was the man in London.[30]"

Sources

  1. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume VI, R-S. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009; pp 626-632. AmericanAncestors.org Link
  2. Anderson, citing TAG 77:165
  3. Anderson, citing TAG 77:166, 168.
  4. Anderson, citing TAG 77:161-72
  5. Mary E. Neal, "Family records of the branches of the Hanaford, Thompson, Huckins, Prescott, Smith, Neal, Haley, Lock, Swift, Plumer, Leavitt, Wilson, Green, and allied families,". Rockford, Ill., Hanaford, 1915.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Jane Fletcher Fiske, "William Swift of London and Sandwich, Mass." in The American Genealogist, vol 77 (2002):161
  7. Anderson, citing MBCR 1:144
  8. Anderson, citing MD 4:168
  9. Anderson, citing MD 4:168-71, transcribing PCPR 1:44-45; see also Lechford 438
  10. "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-VS1M  : 5 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 54 of 616; State Archives, Boston. Page 44-45.
  11. Anderson, citing PCR 2:53; see also PCR 2:54-55
  12. Anderson, citing PCR 8:103
  13. Anderson, citing TAG 77:165
  14. Anderson, citing Lechford 310
  15. Anderson, citing TAG 77:171
  16. Anderson, citing Sandwich VR 2:1249
  17. Anderson, citing TAG 77:166
  18. Anderson, citing TAG 77:166
  19. Anderson, citing TAG 77:166
  20. Anderson, citing MD 14:166; Sand VR 1:15]
  21. Anderson, citing TAG 77:166
  22. Anderson, citing Sand VR 2:1248; TAG 77:170-172
  23. Anderson, citing TAG 77:166
  24. Jane Fletcher Fiske, "William Swift of London and Sandwich, Mass.," The American Genealogist, vol 77 (2002): 161: the most recent research done. Robert Charles Anderson, in his subsequent The Great Migration, references Fiske's research. AmericanAncesors.org Link
  25. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NBM9-BJP : 11 February 2018, Willm. Swifte, 15 Apr 1589); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 844,555.

See also:

  • George Thomas Little, A. M. Litt. D, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Volume I, Illustrated (New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1909), Internet Archive, 385, 386. Page 385.
  • Swift, Helen. My Father and My Mother. Priv. Print. The Lakeside Press R.R. Donnelley & Sons 1937. Biographical story on a descendant of William and Joan Swift, Internet Archive or CapeCodHistory website (Wayback Machine archived page, 21 Dec 2015)
  • D(uane) Hamilton Hurd, History of Bristol County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of the Pioneers and Prominent Men, Illustrated Part 1 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, J. W. Lewis & Company, 1883), NEW BEDFORD, page 150. THIS LINK does not work.
  • Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed, The University of Chicago Biographical Sketches, Volume 1 (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1922), Internet Archive, 170 Gustavus Franklin Swift
  • Care should be taken when reading William Swyft of Sandwich and some of his descendants, 1637-1899, by George H. Swift (Millbrook, NY: Round Table Press, 1900)
  • 'William Swift, Senior and Junior, of Sandwich, MA,' F. Allaben (Journal of American Genealogy 2[1]:19-29).
  • Raymond L. Olson, Ancestry of Elihu B. Gifford, Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press (YEAR?)
  • Zelinda Makepeace Douhan, The Ancestry of Russell Makepeace of Marion, Massachusetts, 1904-1986... (Boston 2005), 218-35], includes an account of this immigrant and a line of descent through his son William.
  • Florence Barclay, "Hannah (Swift) Tobey," in The American Genealogist, 35 (1959):40-43], granddaughter of this immigrant through his son William
  • Ancestry Family Trees for William Swift
  • Web site of Harry Hadaway of Bow, NH: "My Family Tree: Plymouth and Cape Cod MA Genealogy". This is an extensive Gendex site with 16,000 (August 1999) individuals, mostly from Massachusetts.
  • "Records of William Spooner of Plymouth, MA & his descendants Thomas Spooner, 1883
  • WorldConnect for William Swift
  • Find A Grave Memorial# 103553014 - Burial reference: Old Town Cemetery, Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Probable but unproved burial.
  • Web site of Harry Hadaway of Bow, NH: "My Family Tree: Plymouth and Cape Cod MA Genealogy". This is an extensive Gendex site with 16,000 (August 1999) individuals, mostly from Massachusetts.






Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA
No known carriers of William's DNA have taken a DNA test.

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 21

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Joan, please read the disputed origins and research notes section. The immigrant could not have been the William Swift baptized in Yorkshire in 1589.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Of course what I am saying is both the date and location is unproven and almost certainly incorrect. I have changed it.
posted by Joe Cochoit
This profile clearly states that William way born on 15 April 1589 at Darrington, Yorkshire. The christening I found took place on 15 April 1589 at Darrington, Yorkshire. As most dates recorded as birth in early English profiles are actually christening dates I think it is probable, based on the dates on the profile, that this is William's christening.

If William was not born in Yorkshire in 1589 the information on the profile needs changing. Could the evidence of the apprenticeship be wrong? There is obviously some conflicting information on the profile.

Joan, why do you think this is the baptism for this William Swift? He has no known association with Yorkshire with his only connections being to London. The number of Swifts in London at this time make it most likely he was born there. Most problematic is he completed his apprenticeship in 1620 making a 1589 birth date too early - 31 year olds were not apprentices.
posted by Joe Cochoit
Here is the source for Williams Christening ready to be added to the profile.

William Swift, son of William Swift was christened on 15 April 1859 at Darrington, Yorkshire, England. <ref>"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NBM9-BJP : 11 February 2018, Willm. Swifte, 15 Apr 1589); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 844,555.</ref>

Swift-2831 and Swift-95 appear to represent the same person because: They appear to be the same person. Same name, same birth and death date. Same death location. Sources need to be found to prove birth location. Without a source to prove birth date and location they cannot be proved to be different people.
Swift-2678 and Swift-95 appear to represent the same person because: same spouse, date, and place of marriage. Birth info needs to be resolved.
posted by [Living Prickett]
Swift-2614 and Swift-95 appear to represent the same person because: Swift-2614 was set as husband of Joan Unknown. He needs to be merged instead of hanging loose.
posted by Anne B
they are my 11x great grandparents, William & ? not sure which wife
Judith, thanks; it's vol 1 (published originally in 1923), starting on p. 208. A searchable digital version is on Ancestry.com. It makes reference to an 1874 Swift genealogy which probably was the "original" source for the claim of Bocking as the ancestral town of origin. (Savage also made this claim.) There were Swifts there, but not first appearing until long after William had emigrated. While there is much else in this publication about various English origins of various Swift surnames, there is no specific claim about William's origins. AND the research of Jane Fletcher Fiske published in 2002 reflects the most current findings.
posted by Jillaine Smith

Rejected matches › Willliam Swyft (-abt.1643)

S  >  Swift  >  William Swift

Categories: Puritan Great Migration