Van Swearingen (abt. 1719 - abt. 1788)

Born about 22 May 1719 in Queen Anne Parish, Prince George's, Maryland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 20 Apr 1788 at about age 68 in Berkeley County, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Van Swearingen was born 22 May 1719 at Queen Anne Parish, Prince George's, Maryland.^[1] He married his first cousin, Sarah Swearingen, daughter of a paternal uncle, Van Swearingen Sr, on 19 June 1743.^[2] Sarah Swearingen died in 1766 and Van married secondly, Priscilla Metcalf.

DAR Patriot Registry

Colonel Van Swearingen served with Berkeley County Militia, Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.

Van Swearingen is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A111742.

Colonel Van Swearingen was a Revolutionary War Veteran and there are an array of sources pertaining to his military service, including that collated and made available through the organization, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).^[3] Their records indicate he served in the key administrative position of County Lieutenant for Virginia, with the rank of Colonel. They also state he was born on 22 May 1719 at Somerset, Maryland.

• Service: Virginia
• Rank: County Lieutenant
• Service Description: 1) [County Lieutenant] County Lieutenant with rank of Colonel.

The collection, West Virginians in the Revolution, described Van's role as 'Colonel of Militia' and noted that he succeeded Colonel Samuel Washington as County Lieutenant of Berkeley county, Virginia. He was in turn succeeded by Colonel Philip Pendleton on 3 April 1777. The record also confirms Van's second marriage to 2. Priscilla Metcalf.^[4]

Correspondence from George Washington

The USA National Archives website, Founders Online, hosts the collection, the George Washington Papers that includes two surviving samples of correspondence from George Washington to members of the Swearingen family, namely Van Swearingen of this profile and his nephew, Captain Van Swearingen, son of his brother, Thomas and a member of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment - Captain Morgan's Rifle Corps.

The earlier of the two letters was dated 1761,^[5] and addressed to the Van Swearingen of this profile, who at the time, was County Sheriff of Frederick County. Its contents identify and conform with what biographical information is already available about Van Swearingen's home at Shepherdstown in northeastern Frederick County, Maryland, (now in Jefferson Co West Virginia). The research annotations attached to the letter state;

"he was a brother of the Thomas Swearingen (d. 1760) who was one of the two sitting members of the House of Burgesses from Frederick County at the time of the burgess election in December 1755 when GW ran a distant third in the county’s poll and, again, at the election in July 1758 when Thomas Swearingen ran a distant third and GW led the poll by a wide margin."^[5]

Death

An early family biography suggests Van died at Strode's Station, Winchester, Kentucky, on 20 April 1788, ^[6] but this is most likely incorrect as Van made no mention in his Will, written on 5 April 1788, of being a great distance from home, that is, from Berkeley, Virginia. DAR records also support his place of death as the County of Berkeley, Virginia.

Van's Will named his wife Priscilla and her daughter Peggy Swearingen, sons Josiah and Hezekiah Swearingen, and daughters Drusilla Rutherford (plus husband Thomas), and Susanna Bennett (plus husband, William). It can be confirmed from the text too, that Peggy Swearingen was Priscilla's daughter from a previous marriage.^[7]

Research Notes

• Unconfirmed whether Van and Sarah had a daughter Margaret, born in 1756. Further research required but possibility that Margaret could be Peggy, daughter of his second wife Priscilla Metcalf.
• Unconfirmed whether Van and Sarah had a daughter Rebecca. Further research required as Van's last Will only refers to his two daughters, Susanna and Drusilla as being alive in 1788. There is the possibility that a researcher has mistaken the relationship of their daughter-in-law, Rebecca Swearingen, Hezekiah's wife.

Sources

1. ↑ “Index to register of Queen Anne Parish 1686 - 1777”, [1](scroll to Image 101/121), digitized microfilm, Family Search. Originally published: [Annapolis] Maryland Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1960. 109 leaves. (“Sweringen, Van b. May 22, 1719 son of Thomas and Lydia"), Retrieved: 13 November 2020.
2. ↑ Additional data and sources from: Van Swearingen and Children, A Family History
3. ↑ Services.dar.org. 2022. DAR Genealogical Research Databases: Van Swearingen/Ancestor #: A111742. [online] Available at: <https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm?action=full&p_id=A111742> [Accessed 9 February 2022].
4. ↑ “West Virginians in the American Revolution”, Section: Surnames, S-T, Ancestry.com, [database on-line], (https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/48445/images/WVAmericanRev-004431-281?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=ae1579fb41955466491920330e99b3ec&usePUB=true).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} “From George Washington to Van Swearingen, 15 May 1761,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-07-02-0021. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 7, 1 January 1761 – 15 June 1767, ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990, pp. 42–45.]
6. ↑ Van Swearingen and Children, A Family History
7. ↑ "West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QM-R47M : 12 March 2018), Van Swearingen Or Swearengen, 1788; citing Berkeley, West Virginia, United States, Will book, v. 001 1772-1788, page 489, Jackson County Clerk, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 831,169.

• Swearingen, Van, Sr. Old Colonel Van Swearingen was county lieutenant of Berkeley during a part of the Revolution. He was born May 22, 1719, in Maryland. Married his first cousin, Sarah Swearingen. After her death he married Priscilla Metcalf. He died April 20, 1788. He was the father of Josiah, Hezekiah, etc.

https://genealogytrails.com/wva/jefferson/revwar_bios.html