Descendants of Jacob and Elizabeth VanMeter Swank through David and Amanda Miller Swank

By Charlotte Carl-Mitchell

Adapted from the article for the Summit newsletter in 2003

According to notes compiled by Ed Carl, Jr., the Swanks were part of the group of early Americans called Pennsylvania Dutch. (The Dutch was a corruption of Deutsch, meaning German.) This name was applied to Swiss, German and even French Huguenots who arrived in America in the 1700s and early 1800s and settled in south-central and eastern Pennsylvania. Almost all of these immigrants came from the area of South Germany known as The Palatinate so they were called Palatines. The Swanks initially arrived and settled in Pennsylvania but later migrated to Kentucky as recruited members of one of Daniel Boone's return trips. Later, probably because of Indian uprisings in Kentucky, they moved to what is now Mississippi County in Missouri.

My great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Swank Carl said that some of her Swanks fought in the American Revolution under Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne, but I haven't been able to verify that. She also said her Swanks were related to "Molly Pitcher" (the heroine of the Revolutionary War who tore off her petticoat to swab out the American cannons and brought pitchers of water to the men and her husband in an artillery battery at the Battle of Monmouth). I've not been able to verify that either.

Jacob Swank was born on 28 Jan 1776 in Monongalia, Virginia/Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Van Meter 20 Apr 1797 in Hardin Co., Kentucky; and died in 1853 in Mississippi County, Missouri. Elizabeth Van Meter was of Dutch descent, born on 25 July 1780 to Abraham and Elizabeth Cline (or Kline) Van Meter. Elizabeth Van Meter Swank died on 15 Sept 1846. Both Jacob and Elizabeth were buried in Mississippi County. They had eleven children:

John Swank (1798-1866) married Sarah Lee

Letitia (Lettice) Swank (1799-1851) married Garrard Goodin

Jacob Swank Jr. (1804-1894) married Mary Quigley

William Swank (1807-1889) married Lettie Ashby or Lettia Van Meter

Eleanor Swank (1809-1851) married (1) Thomas Vernon, (2) Joseph Dyson

Catherine Swank (1812-1867) married John Goodin

Elizabeth Swank (1813-1845) married James Washington Smith

Sarah Swank (1816- ) married (1) James Alton, (2) James Crutcher

Silas Swank (1819-1885) married (1) Sarah Thompson Randall, (2) Frances Thompson

** David Swank (1823-1906) married Amanda Miller

Mary Swank

The Jacob Swank house still exists in Charleston, Missouri and is on a list of historic homes. Sadly, it's owned by a descendant who hasn't maintained it. Another descendant, Cory Hutchison has started a campaign to restore and save it.

According to my notes and pages from the family Bible, David Swank was born on 15 Sept 1823 in Hardin County, Kentucky. [Mr. Glen Summit says it was 23 Sept 1823.] David was approximately 13 years of age when his family moved from Kentucky to Charleston, Missouri in 1836. Charleston is in the southeastern most corner of the state in an area called Missouri's Bootheel because of the shape of the area that abuts Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. David married Amanda Miller on 15 Mar 1849 in Arkansas.

The map shows Charleston, MO marked in yellow and Hardin, KY in pink. (The image is from the Sikeston Miner Missouri website: http://rosecity.net/sikeston/links.html.)

David and his siblings lived at a turbulent time in American history. We have a photocopy of a letter Silas Swank wrote his brother David on 19 Dec 1860 in which he talks about the trials and tribulations of his family - a bad bout with measles over the winter, the death of a child and other illnesses. But he also included happy news, that “our niece, Beck McFarland and Dr. Simpson is about to get married ... as I believe also May Swank and Price Lane also, Laura and Thomas Beckwith.” They had had a good corn crop and the wheat looked fine but the river had been very low so freight costs were high. It was at this point he mentioned his fear the Union would split and launched into a diatribe against those "professinal men who are willing to bow their heads and ware old Abe Linkins yok." He might not have been educated or a good speller, but he was aware of what was going on around him.

We also have a copy of a letter David Swank wrote to his niece, by marriage, Mrs. Emma Embree in 1896. After some research, I was able to identify Mrs. Embree and discover her relationship to David. Mary Emma Fairly (or Fairleigh) was born on 31 Mar 1851 in Union Church, Jefferson Co., Mississippi. She married James William Swank on 2 June 1870. James was born on 17 Jan 1832 in Kentucky. He was the son of David's brother Jacob Swank, Jr. and his wife Mary Quigley. According to Paul C. Summitt, "Jacob Swank Jr. (1804-1894) apparently lived in Hardin County until the mid-1830s and then went to Missouri with his father. Both a Jacob Swank and a Jacob Swank Jr. are listed in the 1840 census for Scott county, Missouri, which in 1845 would give birth to Mississippi county." Jacob Jr. and Mary had two other children. Their son, John Swank died at 12 years of age. Another son, Jacob "Jake" Swank married Martha Miller, David's wife Amanda's sister, and had one son who also died young. It might seem strange for David's nephew to marry David's sister-in-law since David and Jake would be of two different generations, but Jake's father Jacob, Jr. was 19 years older than David.

James William or 'Wills' was married before Emma to Mary Ellen McDonald. There seems to be a disagreement about how many children resulted from which marriage. Karalee Goranflo listed four children from the first marriage and five from the second, but in her list two of the children's names repeat. Mrs. Elma Rust, a genealogist who worked with my father in 1979 and the early 1980s, said there were two children from the first marriage to Mary Ellen McDonald and six from the second to Emma Fairly. Glen Summit also listed eight children and noted the first two, Mary and John William, were probably from a previous marriage.

Combining information from Mrs. Rust and Mr. Summit, the children of James William Swank were:

Mary Jane "Molly" Swank m. Ed Taliaferro

John Swank m. Anna May Luiton

Lula (Talula) Alice Swank, b. 10 March 1871 in Texas, m. A. M. Shipe

James Clay Swank, b. 13 Oct 1872 in Texas, m. Maggie Maulding

Robert E. Lee Swank b. 8 Feb 1876, never married

Emma Belle Swank b. 10 Dec 1877 in Turners Bend on Brazos River, Somervell Co, Tx, never married

Katie Effie Swank b. 8 Aug 1878, died young

Minnie Ella Swank b. 24 March 1880 in Texas, never married

James William Swank died on 14 Sept 1881 and was buried in Squaw Creek Cemetery, Rainbow, Somervell County, Texas. Emma Fairly Swank then married Perry Lincoln Embree in 1883 and had three children with him between 1884 and 1894. Since the letter from David to her was dated 1896, he obviously kept up with her even after her second marriage and family. Referring to his nephew, he said, "our fathers fought under Gen Wayne and his father under Washington. Our father was born in Ky. during the first settlements of that State in a fort owned by our Grandfather. Will's Grandma on our side was born in the same state in a fort owned by her Pa where Louisville Ky. now stands. Her people are Vanmeters Hay Cooffs Nandius and Ex president Tyler. All of the most leading families of that state. Will's Ma was a Miss Mary Quigly whose father died whilst she was quite young but [who was] one of the leading men of that day."

Amanda Miller was the daughter of Pamelia (Pamela or Permelia) Caroline Carothers and Robert Richardson Miller. R.R. Miller was born in Virginia on 10 Apr 1809 and died on 25 Sept 1876. Pamelia Carothers was born in Tennessee on 14 Nov 1814 and died 6 Mar 1859. Her family was of Scot/Irish roots. Pamelia and R. R. were married 6 Jan 1831 according to an entry in the family Bible. In 1850 the family was living in Union Township of St. Francis County, Arkansas. By 1860, the Miller family had moved to Greene County, Arkansas and settled in St. Francis Township. After Pamelia's death in 1859, Robert Miller married again because the 1860 census listed his wife as Matilda. It also listed him as owning real property worth $3,000 and personal property valued at $1,800. $4,800 in 1860 would be $104,347 in 2002 dollars. In the 1870 census, R. R. was listed as blind, but he was obviously a man of some substance. Pages from the family Bible list the births and deaths of these children:

** Amanda Miller (24 Dec 1831- )

John Middleton Miller (9 Mar 1833- )

Martha Miller (23 Sept 1834- ) married Jacob "Jake" Swank, David's nephew, Oct 1852

Mary Miller (9 Aug 1836- ) married John Armstrong

Jane Miller (23 Aug 1838- ) married Noble J. Self, Oct 1861

Lucinda Miller (25 Feb 1840-29 Aug 1844)

Elisabeth Miller (7 Dec 1841- ) married Elisha Bobo, 14 Mar 1861 (?)

James Marshall Miller (16 Apr 1843-30 Jan 1854)

Jacob Morris Miller (6 Jan 1845- )

Virginia Miller (5 Dec 1846- ) married James Thompson 28 June 1866

Robert Carothers Miller (5 May 1849-14 Sept 1850)

William Samuel Miller (4 Apr 1851- ) married Mary Victoria Stepp

Amanda Miller was born on 24 Dec 1831 in Arkansas. A family story says that she was a good horsewoman (perhaps her Virginia heritage) and that she and David Swank met when he rescued her as she tried to ride across a swollen stream. Amanda and David Swank married in 15 March 1849. In the 1850 census, she was listed as living with her parents. That was because David was at the California Gold Rush. Their first child was born on 22 Dec 1849, but their second not until 24 Apr 1852 so either she lost a baby or David didn't get back from the California gold fields until the middle of 1851.

In 1980, a granddaughter of William Samuel Miller, Amanda's youngest brother, reminisced about her Miller ancestors. She remembered Jacob Morris Miller, "Uncle Jake," as being of very small stature, as were all the Millers, it seems. She remembered her great aunts Virginia Miller Thompson, whom she called "Aunt Vir" and Elisabeth Miller Bobo whom she called "Aunt Liz." Virginia named two of her daughters after her sisters, one being Amanda and the other Elisabeth, whom the granddaughter called "Aunt Lizzie." In later years, Virginia told stories about when her father lived in Virginia and owned slaves. "On Sunday mornings when they were preparing to go to church, they would have slaves put 'grease' (bacon?) on their faces so they would look well fed. Negroes tend to look 'ashey' when they are poorly fed," she explained. According to the 1830 census, Richard Miller had four slaves and William Carothers, Pamelia's father, had five. In the 1840 census, Mr. Carothers had nine slaves. Both Edward Miller Carl Sr. and Jr. were given the Miller name to honor Amanda's family.

A hand-detailed photograph of Amanda Miller Swank and her daughter Mary Elizabeth Swank. Since Mary was born in Dec 1853, the image probably dates to around 1857. This would be about the time David and Amanda moved from MO to TX. Mary remembered being around 5 when they moved.

We have a transcription of a letter Mary Swank wrote. In it she says about her father, "The Rev. David Swank was born in Harden, now LaRue county Ky. Sept. 15, 1823 in the community with Abraham Lincoln with whom he was intimately acquainted in his early manhood days. His mother was Elizabeth Vanmeter whose father settled in Louisville, Ky. and was a cousin of President John Tyler; his father Jacob Swank faught under Mad Anthony Wayne and was with him at Stoney Point and at early age he my father migrated to Missouri, going into the general merchandise business at Charleston, of which city he served as mayor. After getting burned out at Charleston he went to California in 1849 to try to retrieve his fortune. Later he came to Texas and engaged in the merchantile business at Wanahachie first and then at Peora, in Will County. He voted against secession but when it carried he cast his lot with his adopted home Texas serving as bookkeeper in the quartermaster department at Wourton (Houston? Wharton?) for a time and afterwards as Captain of a company who guarded our frontier from the Indians. After the Civil War he removed with his family to Benton Co., Ark and to this union twelve children were born."

According to census, Bible and other records, David and Amanda Miller Swank's children were:

William Henry Swank b. 22 Dec 1849 in Arkansas, died in Texas, murdered by a Baptist preacher

David Hervey Swank b. 24 Apr 1852 in Arkansas[GS says 1851] m. Susan Bright, son, David Jr.

** Mary Elizabeth Swank b. 6 Dec 1853 in Phillips Co, Arkansas [GS says Greene Co.] m. John H. Carl

Catherine Miller Swank b. 2 Dec 1855 in Arkansas and drowned in Spavinaw Creek, 16 July 1869

Alma Marshall Swank b. 14 Sept 1857 in Missouri; died single

Amanda Elizabeth Swank b. 26 May 1859 in Texas [GS has Amanda Eliza Mittie Swank b. in Missouri]

Martha Ellen Swank b. 18 Aug 1861 in Texas [GS says Charleston], m. Zelph (or Zeph) Phillips 27 Apr 1880 and d. 21 June 1883

Charlie Pierce Swank b. 22 May 1864 in Texas, d. 8 Aug 1866

Samuel Jacob Swank b. 27 Apr 1866 in Texas; died single

John Walter Swank b. 24 Sept 1868 in Arkansas and killed in a mine accident 3 Sept 1884

Robert Richardson Swank b. 5 Sept 1869 [GS says Sept 1871]

Laura Jane Swank b. 26 May 1873

David Swank was a lay Methodist minister and circuit rider. In addition, he became a gold prospector in 1849, the same year he and Amanda married, when he, along with some of his brothers, took part in the California Gold Rush. From birth records of their children, it appears David and Amanda moved from Arkansas to Missouri sometime between 1855 and 1857 since their child Alma Marshall was born 14 Sept 1857 in Missouri. They then moved from Missouri to Texas during the period 1857-1859. This matches what their daughter Mary said in later years, that she was about five years old at the time. She also said the move occurred on the advice of a doctor in Missouri. Amanda suffered from a health condition and it was thought she needed the dry air of Texas for recovery. Another theory, advanced by Ed Carl, Jr. was that David foresaw the coming of the Civil War and did not wish to become involved or to subject his family to the possible hazards of war. For whatever reason, David moved his family and settled on Paluxy Creek, which was near what is now Glen Rose, west of Ft. Worth. Mary often reminisced about the times she and her brothers and sisters would go down to the stream to play and gather wild mustang grapes. They later moved to Johnson County, near the Brazos river. Once established in a log cabin, David began raising horses and cows. He eventually was appointed a captain of a local Ranger company for protection from raiding Indian groups. Once, when he and the local rangers were away, Indians raided their home and stole their horses. She was later quoted as saying she lived through many Indian raids and on more than one occasion manned the powder horn while the men prepared the long muzzle-loaders. One time, as Mary told the story, Amanda noticed corn missing from their corn crib. That night she told her children to hide, got her musket, opened their cabin door and waited for the thief to go by. She called a warning, then shot into the darkness. The next day the children saw their neighborhood doctor sitting on a grapevine on Paluxy Creek, bleeding. Not all the people who stole in those days were Indians!

The record in the family Bible states that David and Amanda's daughter, Amanda Elizabeth Swank was born on 26 May 1859 in Texas. Glen Summit listed her name as Amanda Eliza Mittie Swank. Information on the Swanks compiled by Mrs. Elma Rust and sent to my father, Ed Carl, Jr. in 1979 also listed Amanda that way. According to Mrs. Rust, Amanda Eliza Mittie was born in 1859, married in 1885 Gustave Ferdinand Von Fintel and with him had four children: Gus. F. Jr. (1886-1909); Edward Henry (1888-1907); Jennie Mittie (1889- ); and Elizabeth Rhea (1891- ). My father admitted that until he saw the information, he hadn't known which of David and Amanda's children was 'Mittie.' He remembered meeting 'Aunt Mit' when he was in high school. and she came to visit her sister, Mary, Ed's grandmother. He noted that both women were small and dainty, but very active and sturdy. "Aunt Mit was a 'honey blonde' with blue eyes, both of which she inherited from her father. Grandma Carl had jet black hair and dark eyes, which she inherited from her mother, Amanda." A death notice for Mary Carl in 1949 noted that her sister, Mrs. Mittie von Fintel of Indian, Oklahoma was one of her survivors.

This photograph shows Mary Elizabeth Swank Carl, left, and her sister Amanda 'Mittie' Swank Von Fintell, right. Also shown are Minnie Carl and her son J. W. Carl. The sisters are too old to show the stark difference in their coloring, but younger pictures of Mary show how dark her hair and eyes were.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Rust's list also had Mary marrying a John H. Earl (instead of Carl), two of their sons marrying women named Bouner (instead of Bonner), one son being named David Harvey instead of David Hervey and another son marrying a woman named Wilderman (instead of Wideman) - incorrect information that was assumed correct by later researchers. Mrs. Rust may have been the source of the errors or passed them along from somewhere else. In addition, her list noted that David and Amanda's son David married a Susan Bright and had a son, David H. Jr.; that their daughter, Martha Ellen married Zeph Phillips but had no children; and that Laura Jane married a Mr. Swimford and had a child, Earl. Both Glen Summit and Karalee Goranflo list Martha Ellen's husband as Zelph Phillips. Mrs. Rust obviously worked very hard in compiling information on the Swanks and in 1982 published a 172 page book entitled "John Swank, ca. 1750-1794, and some of his descendents." Even with the mistakes on some of my family, her report is still a helpful source of information.

According to genealogical records, David must have moved his family back to Arkansas between 1866 and 1868 because a son was born in Texas on 27 Apr 1866 and another son in Arkansas on 24 Sept 1868. We have a copy of a receipt dated 6 Dec 1866 and signed by Amanda Swank selling her entire stock of cattle running within Hood, Johnson, Erath, Bosque and Hill counties in Texas for $475. Perhaps they were liquidating their property before they moved. The 1870 census for Round Prairie Township, Benton County, Arkansas lists David, Amanda, their children William, David, Alma, Amanda, Ellen, Samuel and John and a housekeeper named Virginia. David was listed as a farmer and Alma, Amanda, Ellen and Samuel were students. David and Amanda didn't stay in Arkansas, however. After the California Gold Rush, there was a Silver and Gold Rush in Colorado in the 1870s and 1880s. According to Mary, David and Amanda Swank and some of their family joined that Rush along with Mary's husband, John H. Carl. The timing of this journey was referred to years later by one of David's grandsons. Newt Carl said his "Grandfather Swank, Uncle Al, Uncle Dave" and his Father left with the gold rush for Ledville, Colorado a little while after his sister Ella was born, in March 1879. In the 1880 census for Osage Township, Benton County, Arkansas, the Swank family name was listed, but David himself wasn't named. He was noted as being 55, white and married. Amanda was 53, a wife and housekeeper. Their son David (the "Uncle Dave" from Newt's letter) was listed as being 27, a farmer and a widower. In the letter David Swank wrote to Emma Embree in 1896, he mentioned "the trouble in which my son Dave got into here arose from leaving his wife." David went on to say Dave's wife had an uncontrollable temper, that he stood it for 11 years and then divided (separated?) and left. He also said that Dave's brother and sisters in Colorado were doing well. The next child listed in the 1880 census was Allen ("Uncle Al?"), 23, single and a farmer. That confused me because I thought the child born after David, Alma Marshall Swank, was female, but the child was listed as male in the 1870 census as well as the 1880, though in 1870 the name was listed as Alana and in 1880 as Allen. To make things more confusing, we have a copy of a calling card for Alma M. Swank that has a bouquet of flowers on it and looks very feminine. One of David and Amanda's grandsons, J.F. Carl, named his daughter Alma. If Newt's memories were correct, David could have been in Colorado when the census enumerator came to call on 5 June 1880, but if so, Al and Dave weren't with him, at least on that day. Continuing down the 1880 census list, Mittie was 19 and a teacher; Samuel, 15, John, 13 and Robert 10, were at school. Laura, 6, was not.

The calling card looks very feminine for a man. But if Alma were a woman, who was Uncle Al Swank and why did two census reports say he was male? One of those little family mysteries.

Whatever the timing, the trek to Colorado occurred and resulted in two tragedies. Amanda died on 12 October 1881 and was buried in Denver, and one of David and Amanda's sons, John Walter Swank, was killed in a mine accident on 3 Sept 1884, just a few weeks before he turned 16. In later years, Mary used large chunks of gold and silver quartz rock for door-stoppers as mementos of her Swank family's trek to Colorado. In addition to being a minister and prospector, David seems to have also been an expert in homeopathic medicine and passed that knowledge on to his daughter. His grandson graduated from Dr. David Swank's School of Pantherapy and Osteopathology in 1902. It's possible that the 'Dr. David Swank' who ran the school could have been the Rev. Swank's son David, but the older Swank was alive in 1902 so the school could have just as well been his. David Swank Sr. eventually moved back to Texas. In the letter David wrote Emma Embree in 1896, he said he sometimes felt bad when he thought of the past, the loss of his wife and six children. "How sadly I am. Poor in this world's goods. No permanent home. a wayfairing man. I look forward to the day when I shall meet those gone before. My dear niece and children I may never see you in this life as I do not think [it] possible for me to pay you a visit. I am so poor and old. You see from my writing that I am so nervous. I hope this may find you all well and God's blessings resting upon you." David Swank died in Corsicana from myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, on 11 Feb 1906 and is buried in Pettys Chapel Cemetery.

In addition to being a Methodist minister, a gold prospector, a farmer, rancher, ranger and father, David Swank was a poet. We have copies of two of his poems written in 1879 and another undated one. The ones with titles are Only a While and O Lord Let Me Do Thy Bidding. The first two are from photocopies. I have the original of the third one.

Amanda Miller and the Rev. David Swank were the parents of Mary Elizabeth Swank who was born on 6 Dec 1853 in Phillips County, Arkansas. (In a letter written by Mary's son Newt in 1952, he said she was born either in Northeast Arkansas or Charleston, Missouri, but the record in the family Bible says Phillips County, Arkansas.) According to Wanda Pyburn, Mary's great granddaughter through Tom Carl, Mary was taught 'homeopathic medicine' from her father, David Swank. It was said that "when the men were away at [the Civil] war she kept the women and children from starving in the winter by collecting roots and herbs in the forest."