DOCUMENTING A FAMILY GENEALOGICALLY
~ or Finding Cinderilla ~
by Don R. Hender
Putting a family unit together and then further tieing that
single family unit into and from other family units in order to develop a solid genealogical pedigree
is no easy matter. Presumption, assumption or huntches of instinct have no solid place in
confirming a genealogical family. True, such may lead a person where to look, but what is needed
is actual factual evidence including source documents. Too often I see a family put together and
reported as a family unit merely upon subjective opinion and nearness of fit with no solid detailed
source evidences. Too often have the various genalogical 'services' providers set forth family units
and pedigrees which are shodily not solidly constructed. And they are lacking in evidence and effort
of confirmation including even that which does disprove their merely 'imagined' grouping without
adequate research and testing and solidly developing their 'product'. And don't be fooled,
there is $money$ in the developing of genealogical pedigrees which people want and are willing
to pay for with or without the presumption that what they are paying for is actually the truth
of the matter.
In my own family pedigrees I have seen terrible errors online being set foreth which grossly falsify
a family's genealogy just to be able to put a 'product' out there and to draw people into their site
and to get 'paid' for it by someone who does not know any better than to assume what they are getting
over the internet is the truth of the matter when it is not. And often the proofs are so easily presented
which exposes these frauds, but the 'quick and dirty' family researcher and developer is so happy to have
some-thing that they can show around, that they are no longer concerned with having the real proof in
their 'pudding'. And they will even defend their house of 'cards' to the end in the face of
over whelming logic, reason and even absolute proof that what they have bought into or have
constructed just is not so, and truely of worthless value. But rather than beat dead horses,
I will begin with just what does constitute solid evidence and where it can be found.
And I'll do this with my family of Thomas L. Swanner and Scindarella Jones and their children.
Heresay and first hand testimony works a little different than in an actual court of law, though
an understanding of it in a legal sense is of value in evaluating just what is nothing more
than 'subjective contrivance' and 'testimony based in, on and of the facts'. In genealogy a first
hand witness is most valuable but only as valuable as they are honest and reliable themselves.
My mother told me that her father, Joseph Thomas Swanner told her that his father was Henry
Lafayette Swanner and that his mother was Nicey Ann Quinn. That type of first hand testimony
and witness is most valuable in building one's genealogy, though even that requires supporting
evidence and is built upon the degree of the quality of the information. I must say that my
grandfather certainly should know who his mom, dad and even brothers and sisters are. He may
have even taken accurate notes of other such relations as well. But unlike a courtroom, never
having met my grandfather, for he died in 1953 when I was but 5 years old living in Utah and
he in Virginia on the east coast, I can only rely on what my mother has passed on from him
through her. Thus a past person's word is only as good as the person conveying that
information to me and just how they have taken care in that conveyence. In a court of law it
would readily be thrown out as second hand 'heresay' regardless of how well it was collected and
relayed along.
But in genealogy we'd be at an overwhelming handicap if we so quickely just dismissed such a
good sources of finding out such facts. In the case of my mother, she carefully wrote it down
and kept written records of just what her parents told her at the time. Thus rather than merely
relying upon her own memmory, her information had become more solid and reliable because of how
she accumulated it and kept records of it. And thus when she passed it on to me, is was almost as
reliable as though my grandfather had told it to me himself. But not all information is so
conveyed in such a careful manner. So one must be constantly be on guard that the such passing on
of information is done in a solid proper manner and has not merely having become the 'rumor' of
subjectively held distant memmories of mind alone. For that can, oh so easily, become nothing but
a fanciful deisred rumor mill in and of itself.
One example of which I am still awaiting some actual solid documented information of is just
who is the parents of my 6th great grandfather. It is said he is John Michael Schwanner and
his wife Mary, but none have given a solid source and he is said to have come from anywhere from
Germany, Swizterland, to Warwick England to Duplin Ireland, and I've seen not a record with his
name upon it either in Virginia or North Carolina. And no solid piece of paper record has held
his name up to my eyes to asscertain any such location or even connection to my Matthias Tobias
Schwanner/Swannner where their two name appear together or any relationship is actually set
forth. All I've heard this one, that one or another one speaking of him but in such differing
circumstance that I truely don't even know that he does or does not actually exist. And that is
not acceptable.
Now contrast that with what I am able to build up about my second great grand father and his
family though I myself started out knowing nothing. First from my mother I was given in good
and proper manner of conveyance the names of my great grandparents, Henry Lafayette Swanner and
Nicey Ann Quinn. And Henry Lafayette Swanner is the son of my second great grandfather, so there
I at least have a starting place. She also gave me one hint to tract down, she was told by her
father that he was named after his grandfather, at least as far as his middle name, which
was Thomas. So I begin to see if I can find a Thomas swanner with a son named Henry Swanner.
Now my mother was born in Gumneck, Tyrrell, County but she always understood that her 'people'
came from Washington County, which by the way, along with Martin County, was all once Tyrrel county
to begin with. So there I had a couple of names of people and a few names of counties to look into.
And the dates just happened to be far enough away to allow me to begin to look in the first 'fully
names' census records of the 1850s. So there I was looking for Swanners and Quinns; and Thomas, Henry
and Nicey in Washington, Martin and Tyrrell counties North Carolina.
Now the 1850 Census did not disappoint, at least not in the county of Martin county in 1850 for
this I found there. My first source documentation, if true and my persons whom I was looking
for, though there were some some surprises like fairy tale type of surprises. I'll list what
I found first and you'll see.
1850 U.S. Census of Martin County, North Carolina
1850 Census Martin NC
CENSUS YR: 1850 STATE: North Carolina COUNTY: Martin SHEET NO: 405B
REFERENCE: 5 Aug 1850 by S. M. Smithwick Handwritten Page # 809
============================================================================================
LN HN FN LAST NAME FIRST NAME AGE SEX RACE OCCUP. VAL. BIRTHPLACE MRD. SCH. R/W DDB
============================================================================================
1 312 261 Gardner Edward 65 M Labor NC
2 312 261 Gardner Nancy 46 F
3 313 261 Gardner Louisa 50 F
4 313 261 Gardner David 12 M
5 314 261 Gardner Tellitha 45 F NC
6 314 261 Gardner Nancy 33 F
7 315 261 Moore Jesse 65 M Labor NC X
8 315 261 Moore Letha 60 F
9 315 261 Moore Francis 14 F
10 315 261 Moore Milley 11 F
11 316 261 Moore Jesse 25 M Labor X
12 316 261 Moore Elizabeth 20 F NC
13 316 261 Moore Elizabeth 80 F
14 316 261 Lilley James 14 M
15 317 261 Swanner Thomas T. 38 M Labor
16 317 261 Swanner Cindarilla 39 F
17 317 261 Swanner John W. 15 M
18 317 261 Swanner Elizabeth 12 F
19 317 261 Swanner James 10 M
20 317 261 Swanner Joseph 7 M
21 317 261 Swanner Henry 5 M
22 317 261 Swanner Charity 1 F
CENSUS YR: 1850 STATE: North Carolina COUNTY: Martin SHEET NO: 421B
REFERENCE: 14 Aug 1850 by S. M. Smithwick Handwritten Page # 841
============================================================================================
There the names were, a Thomas Swanner and an appearent son Henry Swanner, the only such
on the 1850 Washington and Tyrrell County census that would fit. It is exciting when two
pieces of a puzzle seem to fit. Mom reported what her father had told her and here was an
actual record that matched. A straightline between two points. But alone it was just that
and between any such two points one can always draw a straight line. So more needed to be
added to further varify and confirm the matter and that the actual two bits of information
did belong to gether and were not just a coincidence of happenstance. Where to go next, well
suddenly, looking at the somewhat detailed census record, there was a small 'flood' of
additional bits of information to process and consider from the unlikely name of 'Cindarilla'
to the ages to be calculated into possible birth years. There was a whole family of siblings
to fit into the piture and look into. And yet, of course with the census taker being human
and having done the recording by hand, there was the ever present possibility of human error
to keep track of.
Now, certainly that was not the normal way to spell cinderella and who would think to name
there child after a fairy tale character. Was that her real name or had it evolved as a 'nick-
name'? And as long as I was in the 1850 census record of Washington, what else might it tell
me? There was Henry at age 5, would there also be found a 'Nicey', his reported wife and
grandmother of my grandfather Joseph Thomas Swanner? So next was to look for more and other
coroberating bits of evidence to gather and put together. This was the next steps and there
was no great final declaration to be made at this point.
Well as luck would have it, in my search for a Nicey Ann Quinn, there was no Nicey, but I did
find a Quinn family. Perhaps Nicey was not yet born and Henry was more than five years older
than Nicey. Whatever, this was the only Quinn family that I could find so I took note of it
and copied it for possible future refence. You need to learn to do than when you come across
possible lead which 'may' be possible to see if they do or do not pan out latter or not. This
is the Quinn family I found.
CENSUS YR: 1850 STATE: North Carolina COUNTY: Martin SHEET NO: 421B
REFERENCE: 14 Aug 1850 by S. M. Smithwick Handwritten Page # 841
============================================================================================
LN HN FN LAST NAME FIRST NAME AGE SEX RACE OCCUP. VAL. BIRTHPLACE MRD. SCH. R/W DDB
============================================================================================
1 560 432 Nicholson William 20 M Farmer 300 NC
2 560 432 Nicholson H. 58 F
3 560 432 Nicholson Sofa 40 F
4 560 432 Nicholson Caroline 23 F X
5 560 432 Nicholson James 9 M
6 560 432 Bennett William 27 M
7 560 432 Bennett harriett 25 F
8 560 432 Bennett Caroline 1 F
9 561 433 Quin Basha 35 F Housekeeper NC
10 561 433 Quin Mary 16 F
11 561 433 Quin Adaline 10 F
12 561 433 Quin Harriett 9 F
13 561 433 Quin Emma 6 F
Well no cigar, but certainly some ashes of evidence to follow. The husband was not home but perhaps he and even
Nicey were out somewhere else together? If this were the family either they or the census taker had written the
name with just one 'n' on the end. But at least I did have to worry about it being O'Quinn, or did I? More
questions and further investigation trails to follow. Kind of a different first name 'Basha'. I'd never heard
that one before and had to look it up, found out it was a Biblical name.
Let me just step aside from the main flow here and mention that since I didn't have a real clear picture of
just where my own family was going at this point, I was also gather other such leads that may or may not
eventually fit in. In that Martin County census I also found a 'Tabitha Swanner' age 80, f, Farmer with 200
acres, born NC and with her a John Swanner age 18, a grandson I could only suppose, a Labor living with her.
Also there was an Elizabeth Askew age 25, f, perhaps related and a Jamy (James) Cowen age 9, m. I didn't know
what to make of them, but for possible future reference you need to note any such 'side-leads' as you go.
And I did find such in the Washington and Tyrrell census records as well, but I'll not go into those nor list
them here as I am concentrating on the putting to gether of Thomas, Henry and Nicey here.
Well having found a well fitting Swanner family and a possible fitting Quin family in the 1850 Census of Martin
county, the next question was what would I find on the 1860 Census of Martin in respect to these two families?
And here I must caution the researcher. Many long hand capital script letters are quite simular and can be
easily transcribed, copied and taken to be any number of such letters such as the captial script leter 'Q'.
Some will read it as 'Q', 'T', 'L', 'S', 'I', 'J' and so on. Thus it can be important to research from origial
documents though they often take longer to go through. Fortunately photo microfilm originals is what I initially
research and when I saw the name 'Nicey' I readily read the last name as being 'Quinn' for sure. Today at Family
Search it is not been transcribed as 'Quinn' but rather 'Luinn' and a researcher could quite easily miss it all
together. But in short order this is what I found on the 1860 Martin County Census for the Basha Quinn family,
District 4 page 52:
Basha Quinn, age 45, Widow
Adeline Quinn, age 18
Emelizar Quinn, age 15
Haritt Quinn, age 12
Nicey Quinn, age 10
Susan Quinn, age 6
Basha's husband must have been living in 1850, just not home at the time of the 1850 census.
Basha must have been just about ready to give birth at that 1850 census as Nicey is age 10
on the 1860 census and thus was not listed on the 1850 census.
Basha's husband must have lived for at least a few years into the 1850s as another child,
again a daughter, Susan Quinn, age 6 in 1860 is born to the family and is given the family
name of Quinn. So now with the building circumstance, with a rare name like Nicey, the location
and the right time frame, I at this point would have to fully consider that there is enough
evidence to conclude with a high level of likelihood that this was my 'Quinn Family'. I had
found Nicey dispite the rapid manner in which census records were hand recorded. But how could
I find out the husband's name? More on that later.
For now I turn to 'Swanner' on the 1860 Martin county census and what else there was to be
found there. Again to keep it short this is what I found:
Cinda Swanner age 48 Widow
Elizabeth Swanner age 21
Uriah Swanner age 18
Henry Swanner age 12
Charlotte Swanner age 11
Thomas 'T.' Swanner had died in the same decade that 'Mr. Quinn' had died. 'Cindarilla' is
merely listed on the 1860 census as 'Cinda' and one year difference of 48 (39 in 1850).
Daughter Elizabeth is there, age one year different of 21 (12 in 1850).
James does not seem to be there but a son named Uriah two years age different is. So
either James was James Uriah Swanner of else Uriah was gone last time and James gone
somewhere this time. Through various other source I would find out that this was in
fact James Uriah Swanner, as that was he full name. Henry Swanner is there three years
off (5 in 1850). And there is a Charlotte Swanner in the stead of the Charity Swanner
before, but ages check. I'll learn later from other sources that her 'nickname' was
Chority for Charlotte and Chority had perhaps been mis-written or transcribed into
Charity. John W. Swanner (age 15 in 1850) was not at home and perhaps living else
where now at about age 25. It was also at this point that my mother recalled some
letter and/or notes she had in which her father recalled there had been an uncle
Joseph and an uncle Thomas who he was named after, both of whom had died as
children. So that is likely why Joseph is no long listed with the family and why
Thomas Swanner, son of Thomas and Cinderilla never did get listed on a census
Record. And the evidence for this being my 'Swanner Family' was beginning to
continue to build.
Though all this seems quite simple today, especially when compacted down into
a webpage presentation, I assure it is and was not. You see I'm from the 'older'
school, not the 'old', 'old', 'old' school of having to search the entire
county for such information but just the 'old' school of having to look things
up by hand at the Salt Lake Genealogical library beginning in the late 1960s.
Then the 'new library' was in the 'new tower church offices building' and
not in a building of its own. And I'd have to crank by hand the spuils of
microfilm through the reading machines to find the information, going
back and forth to the draws of film after looking up the film numbers of
what I thought might be of some use. Even in the late 70s and 80s it was
much the same though in the new dedicated building solely to genealogy work.
And it would take days, weeks, months and years (not to count the 100s and
even 1000s of hours) to aquire the information
and data to base things upon. No ready serve world wide information super
highway internet as a tool with hundreds and hundreds of people working
to find the same information together. But I am constantly being gradified
to see that what I found and was able to put together is what realy is and
was as all the added sources of information I continue to come upon on the
internet but confirms the truth of it. But back to the story at hand.
Now not all things happened in the exact order in which I am today relating
it in, as time and pieces of the puzzle would come together at various
junctures and not always in a a-b-c, 1-2-3 ordered sequence. But here I'll
now review what the other two county census records of Washington and
Tyrrel county were revealing. As for Tyrrell county there were no Swanners
or Quinns to be found there as of 1850, but since the Swanner and Quinn
families were not the only families of North Carolina my mother's family
had in the fire there, I was finding information about my Smiths and Barnes
families, but that's another story. In Washington county in 1850 I did find
one Quinn, Calvin D. Quinn age 35, who turned out to be Basha Quinn's
brother-in-law, brother of her husband Quinn. And I sound some interesting
Swanners:
U. W. Swaner age 48, FMR with 2500 acres, born NC.
Henry Swanner age 84, FMR
Samuel Whitaker age 21, FMR
William Simmons age 30, LAB
William Coffield age 18 LAB
Maria Coffield age 17
On the one side according to the census record there were families upon families of Learys,
Josh Leary's family, Fred Leary's family, Harmon Leary's family, Downing Leary's family and
so forth and so on. As I consider it today, it is almost like the Learys had all been dividing
up the old lands of Richard Leary and Thomas Leary, while next to them was sitting an 84 year
old Henry Swanner and his likely son U.W. Swanner age 48 about where the old Worley land might
have once sat. I suppose that bears looking into. But at the time I did consider the name
Henry Swanner at age 84 and I'd been talking to mom again and she further recalled that her
father had told her concerning great-great uncle Uriah W. Swanner who had been a state or
local government legistator in his day and time. I kept track of Henry age 84 and U.W.(Uriah)
age 48. And I would come to find out that my second great grandfather Thomas Swanner was
brother to Uriah W. Swanner and that the older age 84 Henry Swanner was their father. And
not only that, that Henry Swanner had married Eliazbeth Worley Leary according to a recorded
marriage bond. So it pays to keep track of passing possible additional evidences along your
way. Next in 1860, Tyrrell for Swanner we find:
Uriah W. Swanner age 51 (likely 57 transcribed or written to look like 51) Farmer with
VRE 4000 and VPE 20000, N. Carolina.
Susan Swanner age 44
It seem great... Uncle Uriah W. Swanner had married a second wife named Susan. His age seems to
be in error by about 10 years, either he is giving his age wrong for his younger wife, his political
career or a record error is perhaps responsible. He is into extensive farming and seems to have turned
his holdings into a plantation sized operation, which my own visition to the old plantation house of
Uriah W. Swanner held by Jenny Lamb can attest to, and my own great grandfather Henry Lafayette
Swanner and his wife Nicey Ann Quinn came to live in a house upon it from a picture that my
mother's aunt Goldie gave to us upon a visit to North Carolina. Great Anut Goldie was a daughter
of Henry Lafayette Swanner's their wife, Viola Snell. For now let me return to Martin county and
the family of Cinderilla Swanner. There on the 1870 Census we find the following:
C. Swanner age 60 Keeping House
E. Swanner age 32 No Occupation
Charlotte Swanner age 21 No Occupation
J. W. Swanner age 9 No Occupation
As Thomas Swanner died in the 1850s, I would suspect that J. W. Swanner is a grandson,
likely the son of John W. Swanner, who additional research has revealed that he died
in the Civil War of typhoid. And at this point may I vere from the Census records to
provide a property deed record which helps to identify just who Cindarella Swanner
really is. The following is transcribed from a property deed of Martin County, North
Carolina:
North Carolina Martin County} Know all men by these present that I John W. Swanner for
and in Consideration of the sum of Four Hundred and fifty Dollars to me paid by Zepheniah
Bateman have this day bargained sold and delivered to said Bateman an individed such of
the following Negro slaves to wit Mourning and Children Alvin, Sarah, Levi, Abel, Indy
and Friley? now in the possesion Cindrilla Swanner which woman Mourning was bequeathed
by the last Will and testament of John Jones to said Cindrilla for life & them to her
children and all other Negros named are children of said Mourning born Scindrella
execution of said Jones Will.
In testimony of which I have hereunto Set My hand & seal this 22 of April 1859.
[witness] D Simmons to X his mark} John [his X Mark] W Swanner (seal)
State of North Carolina Martin County Court July term 1860. The due execution of the written
and foregoing instrument was proved in afore Court by the oath of D. Simmons one of the such
Witnesses thereto Set it and this Certifiate be Registered Also ?between the _?_
Wm ? Hassell Clk
Here as stated, Cindrilla Swanner is the daughter of John Jones. Of course John W. Swanner is the
eldest son of Thomas Swanner and Cindarilla Jones. The exact purpose of this transaction is
not provided but I might suppose a senario. Remember John W. Swanner is not living at home on the
1860 census. And in 1870 there is a young J. W. Swanner living with a 60 year old 'grandmother'
C. Swanner. As for John W. Swanner, he goes to war in the Civil war and dies of thyphoid 1 November
1862. between 22 April 1859 when the slave woman Mourning and her children were sold and 1 November
1862, John W. Swanner, I would suggest, departs home, gets married with a start in life with the
proceeds from the sale of his mother's slave woman and her children to Bateman. He and his wife
have a child J. W. Swanner before John W. Swanner joins the war, and thus John's son is living
with grandma at age 9 in 1870. Remember Thomas Swanner is deceased during 1850-1860 and Cindarilla
likely had not other means than what her father John Jones had willed her to give her son John W.
Swanner a start in life. At this point I don't recall having come across just who the wife of John
W. Swanner and mother J. W. Swanner would be. Next below, I present as conclusive evidence the John
Jones will in which he gives his daughter Atherilla Jones [Cinderilla Jones] the slave woman
Mourning.
sources: Will of John Jones dated January 18th 1837
April Term 1837
January 18th 1837
In the name of God Amen. State of North Carolina Martin County
I John Jones unto forth that I being in a low State of health but of perfect
mind and memory thanks be to God for the same and calling to mind the
mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to
die do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament, that is to say
princibably and first of all I give and recommend my body to the earth to
be buried in a decent Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executor
and my Soul into the hands of Almighty God that gave it -
And as touching on my worldly estate with which It has been pleased God
to bless me It is my last will & desire to dispose of the same in the
following manner to with -
1st I Lend to my beloved wife Fanny Jones my Houses and Land whereon I now
live and all of my stock of every discription and as much of my household
and kitchen furniture as will be sufficent for her use and benefit. Also
three Negroes namely ?Jude ?Jues and Lyndia during her life for her use
and benefit -
Also I lend unto my elder daughter Lurey Godward? one Negro Girl named Joni
and one feather Bed & furniture One Cow and Calf One Ewe & Lamb and one
wooden wheel these articles mentioned she has already had in possesion and
is hers during her life and at her death to her Heirs lawfully begotten for
ever -
2ndly I also lend unto my next oldest
daughter Atherilla [Scinderilla] Swanner One negro Girl named Mourning
and one feather Bed and furniture
One Cow and Calf the negro Girl and Bedn and furniture has been delivered
the Cow & Calf & Ewe & Lamb has not but it is my wish and desire that she
should have them or their value during her life and at her death I lend the
before named property to her children lawfully begotten if any forever;
but if she should die without any lawful Heir that the property should be
equally divided amongst the rest of my Children.
3rdly I Also lend unto my next oldest daughter Polly Lilby? One feather Bed
and furniture that she has had in possession already and must have one Cow
and Calf and one Ewe & Lamb or its value And one ?Beauful? at my wifes death
and at the death of my beloved wife one negro Girl named Linda, and issue
and if any during her life and after her death I lend the same to her Heirs
lawfully begotten if any forever. And if she the said Polly Lilly? should
die without any child lawfully begotten the afore named property then
equally divided amongst the rest of my Children or Heirs at Law.
4thly and Lastly I also lend to my Youngest daughter Sally Jones One feather
Bed and furniture One Cow and Calf one Ewe and Lamb or its value and one
Burrow and ?Jin? stool setting Chairs the House and Land whereon I now live
and one negro man named Jude? also and negro Boy named ?lenns? after the
death of my wife Fanny Jones, during her life and if the said Sally Jones
should die without any Child or Children lawfully begotten of her body the
aboved named property shall be equally divided between my two daughters
Atherilla Swanner and Polly Lilby? but if the said Sally Jones should have
any Child lawfully begotten I lend to that or them the above named property
forever ________ to our mans debts whatever--
And it is further my wish and desire that after my just debts being paid out
of my Estate the balance if any I wish to be equally divided amongst all of
Children their names afore mentioned--
Given under my hand and Seal the day and dat also mentioned.
And for the executing of the same I do appoint my beloved wife Fanny Jones
and friend Rudem? Robason? disallowing all other but this to be my last will
and Testament.
Signed Sealed & acknowledged
in presents of us John Jones (seal)
Witnesses
George B Gardner?
Thomas (his mark) Lynch
Now with the will of John Jones and the
property selling what Atherilla/Cinderilla inherited we have solid
evidence of the linke between Atherilla (Jones) Swanner, John W.
Swanner and the family of Thomas Swannwer and Cindarilla Swanner.
They are of one family, which family seems to tie directly to the
Henry Lafayette Swanner, who is my great grandfather, the father of
my grandfather Joseph Thomas Swanner. But I suppose it would be nice
if there could be more direct evidence that they are so connected, that
the Henry Swanner, son of Thomas Swanner and Atherilla/Cindarilla Jones
is my Henry Swanner. For this I turn to the information which my mother
did obtain from her father.
What else my grandfather told my mother and my mother had written down
from him was that his father, Henry Lafayette Swanner had married three
times, first to Nicey Ann Quinn who was my grandfather's mother, then to
a Louisa Parker by whom there were no children, and finally to Viola Agnes
Snell, by whom Henry Lafayette had four daughters. One of those daughters,
Goldie, I have met and visited with personally when my mother and I took a
trip back east to visit her sisters and do some genealogy research.
So to that end I looked to such marriage record that might support and
shed further light and evidence of the family's relationships. In that search
I came across one marriage bond which I took note of for possible further
family ties. I had found in Washington county in the 1850 Census an 84 year
old Henry Swanner living with a 48 year old U.W. Swanner, which the 1860
Washington county census further identified as Uriah W. Swanner and that
seemed to tie them together with my family as there was mention in my mother's
shared notes that we had a great...great uncle Uriah W. Swanner who served in
a position of government for a number of years. And if this Uriah W. Swanner
were brother of Thomas Swanner then that 84 year old Henry Swanner may be the
father of both Thomas and Uriah W. Swanner. And in the marriage bonds I found
the marriage of Henry Swanner and Elizabeth Worley Leary of 30 April 1794
with Joshua Leary listed as the bondsman who is often a relative of the bride
or groom and is often the father or brother of, in this case, Elizabeth Worley
Leary. So with that filed away, I look back to also the marriage licenses. And
here is the results of one that I found there:
State of North Carolina Office of Register of Deeds
Washington COUNTY Oct. 28th 1889
To any Ordained Minister of any Religious Denomination or any Justice of the Peace of said County:
S. B. Snell having applied to me for a LICENSE for the marriage of Henry L. Swanner of Washington County N.C.,
aged 38 years, color White the son of Thomas Swanner and Sinderilla Swanner the father now Dead, the mother
Dead, resident of (blank) And Violar Adalade Snell of Washington County N.C. aged 15 years, color White, daughter
of Elias H. Snell and Agnes R. Snell the father Living, the mother Living, resident of Washington County N.C..
And the written consent of Elias H. Snell and wife the father and mother of the said Violar A. Snell to the proposed
marriage having been filed with me.
And there being no legal impediment to such marriage known to me, you are hereby authorized, at any time within
one year from the date hereof, to celebrate the proposed marriage at any place within the said county.
You are required, within two months after you shall have celebrated such marriage, to return this License to me, at
my office, with your signature subscribed to the certificate under this License, and with the blanks therein filled
according to the facts, under penalty of forfeiting two hundred dollars to the use of any person who shall sue for the
same.
J. P. Hilliard
Register of Deeds
(blank), being duly sworn, says: That the parties applying for the License are of lawful age, and that so far as
he is informed and believes, there is no lawful cause or impediment forbidding said marriage.
(blank)
Witness: (blank)
State of North Carolina,
Washington County.
I, James F. McCabe, a Justice of the Peace united in Matrimony Henry L. Swanner and Violar A. Snell the parties
licensed above, on the 30th day of October, 18 89, at his father's residence in Skinnersville Township, in said
County, according to law.
(blank)
Witnesses present at Marriage:
L. B. Snell of Washington County
L. F. McCabe of Washington County
W. E. Overton of Washington Co.
NOTE: Includes letter dated 28 Oct 1889 from Elias H. Snell and Agnes R. Snell, parents of Violar Adalade Snell,
consenting to her marriage to Henry L. Swaner.
Now with an allowance for human errancy, this marriage entry confirms a number of things. The Henry Swanner,
the son of Thomas Swanner and Sinderilla Swanner does have a middle name which begins with the letter 'L.",
that is '[Lafayette]'. At an advanced age '38' [actually about 42] he married 'Violar A. Snell on 30 October
1889 at Skinnerville Township, Washington County, North Carolina. 'Viola' was the daughter of Elias H. and
Agnes R. Snell who both wrote and signed a letter of consent for their 15 year old daughter to marry Henry L.
Swanner. Certainly that in itself gives Henry reason to deminish his own real age by a handful of years. That
human memory being as it is, it is good to remember someone's first name 'Viola' and the mother of Viola's
name was 'Agnes' at that. All in all this license, if not sealing the deal, certainly brings more evidence to
the table. And to make this growing long story shorter, I'll jump to the 1900 Census to increase the evidence
even more. The 1900 Washington County, North Carolina Census show the following family unit for Henry Swanner
and wife Viola:
Henry Swanner Head born Oct 1846, age 54
Viola Swanner Wife born Aug 1875, age 24
Jams T Swanner Son born Jay 1880, age 20
Hattie L Swanner Daughter born Feb 1894 age 6
Toler Swanner Daughter born May 1897 age 3
Goldy Swanner Daughter born Jay 1900 age 5/12mos.
While adding a couple of its own human census errors, this record helps solidify matters quite well.
My grand father, via my mother, had said that his father Henry Lafayette and Viola Snell had four daughters,
namely Alice, Hattie, Tola and Goldie. Alice he said died as a very young child and the 1900 Census supports
that in that no Alice is listed with the family having so died before the census. The census records Toler
instead of Tola, which is some British accents is no more than what I heard on my LDS mission to New Zealand
where a 'Banana' was spoken with a very 'hard 'a'' and called a 'bananr' and my name 'Hender' was pronounced
with a soft 'r' as "Henda" by many of the English New Zealanders. And Goldie being with a 'y' on the census
is a no brainer. By the by, that is actually Joseph Thomas Swanner who the censes records as Jams T Swanner,
why I don't know but he was born as recorded there in January, the 15th, 1880.
Now there are a number of other such records which do support these conclusions, but after so much proof at
some point that are merely added confirmations and no longer a part of the original set of evidence upon
which the conclusions were first made. One such is another marriage licence dated May 14, 1881, first
registered and on 22 of May, 1881 when John D. Bateman and Elizabeth Swanner age 30 did marry. Elizabeth
Swanner being that Elizabeth who was still living at home on the 1880 Census, daughter of Thomas Swanner
dead at date of the marriage and Sinderilla Swanner living at the time of the marriage. I suppose that
when Cinderilla is but the adopted 'nickname' of preference for Atherilla, it can be found spelt any number
of ways: Cindarilla, Scinderilla, Sinderilla, Cindrilla, Cinda and so forth and so on.
Well perhaps this is enough concerning having adequate source documentation and evidence beyond such as
subjective speculations of desired preference. Oh, I almost forgot, how did I ever get to finding the name
of Basha Quinn's husband? The way I first found it was to retreat back one Census decade from 1850 where only
the head of house was named and the members of the household were merely listed as male or female per age
categories. And on the 1840 census for Martin County, North Carolina I found only one Quinn family:
Henry Quinn Males: (2 < 5); (1 - 20 & < 30) Females: (1 < 5); (1 - 5 & <10); (1 - 20 & < 30)
[which means: [2 sons] [Henry] [Mary] [Adeline] [Basha]]
So the family fit for Basha's husband to be Henry but with only one problem, their two young sons must have
died before 1850 and I've not been able to find out who they are by name as of yet. And this seems to be
how genealogy research is, you find one answer but then you only uncover even more questions the further you
go and the more you get into it.
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