WILLIAM MARCUS SWINNEY

The following bio was taken from page 401 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

 Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

 John and Sarah Baker Swinney were both born in 1824 in the State of Georgia.  Sometime between the year 1824 and 1848, John and Sarah moved to Alabama.  From Alabama they moved to Texas, possibly in the mid 80’s.  Being a farming class of people, they would naturally settle in a prosperous farming area.  The cotton and corn belt of Rusk County is the place where they chose their homestead.  The Swinney farm is located ten or eleven miles southwest of Henderson, county seat of Rusk County.

 John and Sarah were the parents of six children.  Martha Jane (Duck) was born in December 1848, while the parents were living in Coosa County, Alabama.  William Marcus was born December 23, 1850.  W.M. had two brothers, John and Tom, and two sisters, Lou Virginia and Mary.

 Martha Jane married William Maderson (Bill) Chapman December 27, 1866 in Hamburg, Arkansas.  The couple moved to Rusk County in 1868, settling in the Mt. Enterprise Community.  They were the parents of two girls and seven boys.  Martha died May 18, 1902, and William (Bill) died May 11, 1916.  They are buried in the Holleman Cemetery in the Oak Flat Community near Laneville.

 Tom (Bud) Swinney married Jona McClary. (I remember Uncle Bud and Aunt Jona.)  Their children were Hardy, Frank, Dick, Sog, Pierce and Axie.  Axie married a Mr. Lumbus. (I believe his name was Charley.)  Lou Virginia married John Bane, a Rusk County man.  John and Lou were the parents of Lela Bane Hays, who makes her home in Henderson.  Mary was first married to Frank Bane.  She was left a widow and later married John Bane.  William Marcus married Mary Francis Irby (born March 5, 1855 in Texas) most likely in Rusk County.

The Irby family originated in England.  When they came to this country, they settled in Halifax County, Virginia.  W.M. and Mary Francis had thirteen children - all were born in Rusk County.  Their first child, Allen Lester, arrived September 24, 1872.  Edwin, who was born October 24, 1873, died single, June 15, 1900 at the age of twenty-six.  A daughter, Annie Lee (Ann), arrived on September 16, 1875.  Thomas William (Tom), born November 5, 1877, died November 28, 1913.  Tom was married to Vernon Melissa Parker.  Their infant son died on August 18, 1878.  Clifford was born on July 18, 1880 and died October 6, 1880.  Another daughter, Ethel, arrived on September 13, 1881.  She died single on July 15, 1907.  James Guy, born August 27, 1883, died July 15, 1955, while living in Houston, Texas.  Hartie Tennessee arrived January 4, 1886.  She died August 7, 1963.  Wiley Tullis, who was born August 12, 1888, died December 23, 1969.  Roger Christopher, the youngest son, was born on Christmas Day, 1890.  He died September 28, 1960.  Roger was a World War I veteran.  Bertha Claire (Sue) was born February 17, 1883 and died of an apparent heart attack June 23, 1964, while she was living in Dallas, Texas.  She remained single.  Eva Mae, the youngest of the family was born February 1, 1895.

 Allen Lester (A.L.) was married to Celia Ann Parker (daughter of Jasper F. and Sarah Ann Wallace Parker, natives of Georgia) on September 24, 1893.  They were the parents of ten children, eight of whom were born in Rusk County.  The first born, Alonzo Dawson (Lonnie), arrived on December 10, 1894.  Lonnie was a World War I veteran. He remained overseas with the Army of Occupation when the Armistice was signed in November, 1918.  He came home in the spring of 1919.  Effie Florine, born January 4, 1896, is now a widow and lives on the Bethel Road south of Henderson.  Lela Melissa was born September 16, 1897.  She, also a widow, lives near Minden, Texas.  Cassie Deretha arrived on August 5, 1899.  She and her husband live in Henderson.  William Abe (He gave himself the first name for his Grandpa Swinney) was born on August 28, 1901.  November 3, 1903 was the arrival date of Mary Ann.  Jewel Leona came on February 15, 1906.  Morgan was born on March 7, 1908 in Parker County.  A son was born on November 4, 1910.  Myrtle B. (known as Manoa) arrived on July 14, 1912 in Cherokee County.  She and her husband are living on the old W.M. Swinney homestead southwest of Henderson.  Lonnie died December 7, 1979 and was buried in Shiloh Cemetery on the 10^th.  Jewel Leona died on April 14, 1971 in Raton, New Mexico.  The infant son died a few days following his birth in 1910.

 Thomas William married Melissa Vernon Parker, Celia’s sister.  Tom and Vernon had two daughters, Noema and Ellie.  Noema married Hogg Gage, son of Lum and Elizabeth Parker Gage (Uncle Lum and Aunt Lizzie in whose home I loved to visit.)  Ellie married Oscar Henson.  Her second marriage was to E.G. Oxley of California.  Ann’s first marriage was to a man by the name of Allen.  They had one child, a boy named Rex.  The name of Ann’s second husband was Deason.  They had several children. James Guy was first married to Grace, a Galveston girl.  They had one child, a daughter, Maurine, Jim’s second marriage was to Ada Belle Morris of Henderson.  She died in August 1981.  Jim and Ada Belle are buried in the Bethel Cemetery five miles southwest of Henderson.  Vernon’s second marriage was to Amos Barker in 1915.  Two children were born to this union: Goldie Fae, May 19, 1917; and Alton Rade, January 5, 1919.  Rade died June 3, 1921.  Goldie Fae is living with her husband, Horace Avey, in El Paso, Texas.  She has Barker relatives living in Rusk County.  Wiley was married to Bena Basham, whose family was living, at the time, in Cherokee County, near Jacksonville.  Six children were born to this union: Francis, Chesley, Irma, Marion Q., Lula Beryl, and Victor.  Bena and two daughters Q. and Beryl, are living on the old W.M. Swinney homestead.  Wiley lived here until his death in 1969.

 Hartie was married to a man named Darby. (I believe Corpus Christi, Texas was where they made their home.) Eva Mae was married to Leon Rice, a native of Florida.  Eva and Leon had two boys, L.D. and Thomas.  Eva is now a widow living in Baytown, Texas.

 “Lull’d in the countless chambers of the brain, our thoughts are lin’k by many a hidden chair; Awake but one, and low, what myriads rise!  Each stamps its image as the other flies.”  Pope and Mary Ann.

 Submitted by Mary Ann Swinney Sires