William Swift

William Swift of London and Sandwich, Mass.

William Swyft, b. 1593 in Bermondsey, England.

He married June 4, 1618 at Bocking, Essex (4) to Sarah Unknown, b. about 1599 at Bocking (3). About ten years later, ca. 1630, he emigrated to Massachusetts and died 7 March 1643/44 at Sandwich (5). 2nd wife, Joane (married Jan. 3, 1626 @ St. Magdalen, Bermondsey, England) died 26 November 1663 at Sandwich (4). She may have been Joanne (4). It is also possible, according to Frank Allaben, that she was a second wife of William Swift and not the mother of his children.

Citing (4) as his source, the following is from (1):

Family

Children of William Swift, first 4 by his 1st wife Sarah:

1. Edward Swift, b abt 1618; apprenticed 8 May 1633 to George Andrews for 7 years; made free on 2 Jul 1640 [TAG 77:165]; mentioned by Thomas Lechford in September 1640 [Lechford 310]; no further record unless a 1646 burial record in London pertains to him. [TAG 77:171].
2. Hannah Swift, b abt 1620; m. in Sandwich 5 Nov 1642 Daniel Wing [Sandwich VR 2:1249], son of John Wing.
3. John Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 26 Jun 1622 [TAG 77:166]; bur there 29 Jun 1622 [TAG 77:166]
4. Mary Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 21 Aug 1625 [TAG 77:166]; bur. there 4 Sep 1625 [TAG 77:166].

Children of William Swift by his 2nd wife Joan:

1. William Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey 25 Apr 1627 [TAG 77:166]; m by 1651 Ruth____ [MD 14:166; Sand VR 1:15]; assumed to be mother of his children (named in his 1705 will)
2. Esther Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 28 May 1629 [TAG 77:166]; m1 by 1646 Ralph Allen, mason; probably m2 Sandwich 14 Feb 1664/5? Henry Bull of Rhode Island.[Sand VR 2:1248; TAG 77:170-172]
3. Sarah Swift, bp St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, 7 Aug 16331 [TAG 77:166]; bur there 8 Sep 1631 [TAG 77:166]

Biography

William Swift came from England about 1630; a proprietor of Watertown, Mass., 1636; Removed to Sandwich about 1639. Lawsuit at Salem in 1638; served in Lt. John Blackner's company, 1643. 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} He died at Sandwich, Inventory taken 29 Jan 1642. Wife Joanne, Administer, and Daniel Wing gave bonds with her; a house at Sudbury was mortaged to Mr. Burton. The widow's will was Probated 8-12-1662. Bequest to Daniel Wing's two sons, Samuel and John; Grandchildren Hannah Swift and Experience Allen; to Mary Darby; To Hannah Wing the Elder, and her Daughters; to Zebadiah Allin; son William Exec.

Footnotes (1) 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.

(2) "Richard Hart 51 Christian Hill Rd. Amherst NH (ultranet.com/~harts/harts)", source cited in (1).

(3) "Records of William Spooner of Plymouth, MA & his descendants Thomas Spooner, 1883", source cited in (1)

(4) "Lynn's GEDCOM http://www2.netquest.com/lgipson/tiny.htm#1771", source cited in (1).

http://home.earthlink.net/~douglasjgraham/Swift.htm#WilliamSwift2

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dallen24_...

Another source has William's grandfather William Swift b c1530 England, m. Elizabeth Mason. They had a son, William Swift b. 3 Dec. 1561 m. 13 Oct. 1582 Janet Elizabeth Wilson b. c1561, daughter of Robert Wilson b. c1530.

He immigrated in 1630 to Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Col Rec. Sep 1, 1640.

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 alos 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 Knioght. 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.)

----------------------------------

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 the evidence for the correct 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. [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.]

Another theory, not proven is that William was the son William Swift (b. 3 Dec. 1561 son of William Swift (1530) and Elizabeth Mason) and Janet Wilson, b. 15 April 1589 at Darrington, Yorkshire, England (daughter of Robert Wilson b. c1530).