Margaret J. (Swanson) Wells (1705 - bef. 1758)

Born 1705 in Prince George's County, Province of Maryland

Ancestors

Wife of Joseph Wells I — married 11 Apr 1721 in All Hallow's Parish, Anne Arundel Co, Maryland Colony

Descendants

Died before 29 Jun 1758 before age 53 in Orange County, Province of North Carolina

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Margaret (Swanson) Wells was a Friend (Quaker). Join: Quakers Project Discuss: quakers

Biography

Margaret (Swanson) Wells was a Maryland colonist.

Margaret was born about 1705. According to an article in the Quaker periodical, The Southern Friend, Margaret Swanson was the daughter of Francis Swanson and his wife Susannah Plummer Swanson.^[1] Evidently, there was only one family by the name of Swanson in the entire state of Maryland at the time of her birth.

Margaret Swanson Wells Link to Parents

Margaret Swanson was married to Joseph Wells at All Hallows Parish, Anne Arundel County Maryland on April 11, 1721.^[2] This marriage record appears in numerous indexes and is cited in Maryland Marriages. Here is a closeup of the original page from the All Hallows Parish church record book, available online courtesy of the Maryland State Archives:

Marriage Record

In 1726, Margaret and her husband Joseph Wells Senior were living in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. By 1733, the couple had moved to the Mattapony Hundred in neighboring Prince George's County.^[3]

Joseph Wells I and Margaret Swanson's Early Years

In Endnote Number 36 of "The Maryland Ancestors of Rachel Wells" by Richard M Kelly, as published in the Spring 1994 edition of the Southern Friend Magazine, the author cites his sources for the residence of Joseph and Margaret Wells in these early years:

Endnote 36 by Richard M Kelly

On June 12, 1743, Joseph and Margaret Wells moved to the Monocacy Valley near the Potomac River. They called their new farm "Boyling Spring."^[4]

Boyling Spring Farm location

The family was surrounded by Quakers in the Monoquesy area. There were two congregations, one called Hopewell on the Maryland side of the river, and the other was called Fairfax on the Virginia side of the river. The two congregations merged in 1745. Her daughter, Rachel Wells Wright, a Quaker minister, was probably instrumental in urging Margaret Swanson Wells to join in 1745.^[5]

Margaret Wells Joins the Fairfax Quaker Church

On February 25, 1748, just 3 years after becoming a Quaker, Margaret Wells was named an "overseer" in the Quaker Women's Meeting Record:

Margaret Swanson Wells Named Quaker Women's Overseer

Joseph Wells and Margaret Swanson Wells moved permanently to North Carolina by 1751. Two of their adult children, Rachel Wells Wright and Joseph Wells Junior, were known to have immigrated to North Carolina with them.

Sometime before June 29, 1758, Margaret Swanson Wells died. Her widower, Joseph, requested a remarriage from the Quaker Church on that date:

2nd Marriage for Widower and Widow

Sources

1. ↑ The Southern Friend, Journal of the North Carolina Friends Historical Society, Volume XIV, Number 1, Spring 1992. Endnote Number 24
2. ↑ "Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4V7-T42 : 12 December 2014), Joseph Wells and Margaret Swanson, 11 Apr 1721; citing Westminster Parish,Anne Arundel,Maryland, reference ; FHL microfilm 13,279.
3. ↑ The Southern Friend, Journal of the North Carolina Friends Historical Society, Volume XVI, Number 1, Spring 1994. "The Maryland Ancestors of Rachel Wells," by Richard M Kelley pp 35 -55.
4. ↑ Pioneers of Old Monocacy: The Early Settlement of Frederick Co., Maryland 1721-1743 by Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987. p 85.
5. ↑ Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1746-1776; Collection: Baltimore Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: RG2/B/F351 1.1 Ancestry.com Repository

• The Southern Friend, Journal of the North Carolina Friends Historical Society, Volume XIV, Number 1, Spring 1992. Endnote Number 24.

• "Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4V7-T42 : 12 December 2014), Joseph Wells and Margaret Swanson, 11 Apr 1721; citing Westminster Parish,Anne Arundel, Maryland, reference ; FHL microfilm 13,279.

• The Southern Friend, Journal of the North Carolina Friends Historical Society, Volume XVI, Number 1, Spring 1994. "The Maryland Ancestors of Rachel Wells," by Richard M Kelley pp 35 -55.

• Pioneers of Old Monocacy: The Early Settlement of Frederick Co., Maryland 1721-1743; by Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987. p 85.

• Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1746-1776; Collection: Baltimore Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: RG2/B/F351 1.1 Ancestry.com Repository