| Notes |
- Robert Sweezey comments:
John Swasey emigrated from England with his father and brother to Salem, Massachusetts, about 1629.
John moved with his father John to Long Island around 1658. His brother Joseph stayed in Salem and started the Salem branch of the Swasey family.
There is much confusion regarding the children of this John Sweezey.
John's Last Will and Testament mentions all 4 daughters, Samuel, John and Joseph, which means they were all alive in 1692. The 1686 census shows John with 3 males and 4 females in the house. There are separate listings for his sons John and Joseph. So who are the people in the house? If my records are correct, in the house would be John himself & son Samuel (I do not know who the other male is, possibly another son I am not aware of) as for the 4 females - his wife Mary, and daughters Mary and Sarah (Abigail and Mehitabel were married prior to 1686). Who is the other female?
John Swayze was born in 1619 in Suffolk, England. Another source says he was born in 1619 in Sherborne, Dorsetshire, England. He immigrated around 1630 to Salem, Essex County, MA.
He signed a will on 20 May 1692 in Riverhead, Long Island, NY.
In the name of God, Amen I, John Swayze, of Southold, in Long Island, in County of Suffolk and in the Province of New York, being of good and sound memory and calling to mind ye uncertainty of this life, and that I must yield to death when it shall please God, do make, constitute and ordain this my last Will and Testament, hereby revoking and annulling any other or forms of wills by me made either by word or writing.
Imprimis: I give my soul unto God who gave it and my body being dead to be buried, and my worldly estate (my just debts being paid) - first I give and bestow in name and form following:
Item: I give and bequeath unto my son John my dwelling house orchard together with the buildings, fencing and other improvements on my home stall and all ye land by me improved southward of ye land which my son John Swasey hath fencedin containing ye whole breadth of ye land far as the South Bay - ye other lot westward of it being a second lot with half ye share of ye meadow commonly called "Horton's Meadow" and being another share of meadow at a place called ye "Great Meadow," and also all my implements of husbandry and other tools.
Item: I give and bequeath to my son Joseph Swasey one hundred acres of land upon which he is settled lying westward of my son John's land and northward of my son Joseph's home lot, and half of ye above of the great meadow lying on the other side of the river which was formerly John Younge's and also ye other half of ye lot westward of it (whereof the other half I have given to my son John) and my horses. in ye woods to be equally divided between my three sons.
Item: I give and bequeath to my son Samuel ye land now in the occupation of my son John lying between my son Joseph's and the house or (home) stall, which by these presents I have given to my son John; and ye other half of ye above of ye meadow called "Horton's Meadow," with this condition or limitation that my sd son Samuel shall not have power to sell or dispose of any part or parcel of ye sd land hereby granted to him so that if he shall decease without issue ye right of inheritance of ye sd land shall be to the next proper heir. Also I give to him half of my cattle and the bed and furniture which he lyeth on.
Item : I give to my daughter Aldridge and to the heirs of Peter Aldridge deceased one hundred acres of land lying on the north side of the land given to my son Joseph (if there he so much land there) be it more or less.
Item : I give to my youngest daughters Sarah and Mary Swasey ye other half of my cattle to be equally divided (between) them.
Item : I give and bequeath to my four daughters, Abagail, Mehitabel, Sarah and Mary, all my household goods to be equally divided between them.
Item : My will is that in consideration of ye lands given to my sons John and Joseph they shall pay to my two youngest daughters Sarah and Mary ye sum of 20 pounds current pay of the country; that is to say, 10 pounds apiece to each of my youngest daughters within two years after my decease.
Item : My will is that Bessie my servant shall be free and set at liberty at my decease and she shall have the bed she lyeth upon.
Lastly: I do hereby nominate and appoint John Tuthill of Southold and John Hallett to be the Executors of this Will and Testament.
In witness whereof I do hereunto set my hand and seal ye 20 of May, 1692.
John Swayze (Seal)
Witnessed by us Tho. Hulse., Joseph Tooker.
He died on 10 Jun 1692 in Suffolk County, Aquebogue, Long Island, N.Y.
Some sources show that John died in 1706, but I believe that is an error, and the 1706 date is for his son John. I believe John died 10 June 1692, soon after his Will was signed.
From Genealogy of the Swasey Family by B. F. Swasey:
"John Swayze, his wife and his father moved from Salem to Southold, Long Island, as early as 1658 - having previously sold his holdings in Salem to his wife's mother per the following record: Jan. 14, 1652, John Swasey of Salem hath sold unto Dorothy King, a widow, his dwelling house with the lands belonging to it lying on the South river in S., and five or six acres of land in South Field lying between Richard Hyde's and Daniell Kimball's land as by writing dated the 15th of the first month 1652, as apeth. John Swayze and his wife became members of the first church founded in Southold in 1650 by Rev. John Younge. Long Island from its first settlement was under the jurisdiction of the Colony of New Haven, although it was primarily settled by the Dutch from Holland. Southold became strictly a Puritan town. Moral and religious life was tuned to a high pitch and all the details of secular business must harmonize with its high standard. Disorder and evil deeds that would now pass unnoticed were overtaken and punished. John Swayze lived with his father on the farm until 1667, making at this time an exchange of a part of his woodland and meadow with Barnabas Horton for similar land, "Horton to pay as balance six pounds of good sheep's wool at the next shearing time."
In 1669 he moved to Aquebogue, in Suffolk County, upon a large farm later occupied by Rev. Moses Swasey.
In 1675 he is taxed for 1 head, 10 acres, 28 pounds; 2 oxen, 2 cows, 22 pounds; 1 2-year-old, 1 yearling, 8 pounds 10 shillings. Amount, 58 pounds 10 shillings.
Being the sole heir of his father's landed property in Southold and Brookhaven he was classed among the wealthy men in that part of the country."
"Swezey History" by Richard M. Bayles is very confusing regarding this person. Here is what Richard Bayles has to say about John:
"As far as we know John Swezey 2nd had two sons, Stephen and Joseph (3rd). The latter is said to have been by trade a millwright, and (sic) occupation then common now extinct, by the decandence of the old time gristmills which formerly had a place in almost every country village. This Joseph Swezey resided at Fire Place, now Brookhaven, a short distance east of Snow's Corner on the south road. I do not know what children Joseph Swezey had other then William his son, who in the year 1746 and 1747 was in the army at or near Saratoga, as is shown by letters written by him to his parents, dated Oct. 8, 1746 and Mar. 17, 1747."
I do not show a Stephen or a Joseph as John's children, and the only Joseph that could possibly be the father of the William Sweezey who is in the Army would be: Joseph, son of Joseph and Mary Betts. Maybe Richard Bayles made a mistake, and meant to say "Joseph Swezey 2nd". It is very hard for me to figure out who Richard Bayles is talking about when he says John, and John Jr. The problem is that John Swasey, the Immigrant moved to Southold with his son John around 1658. At this time, they were about 70 and 35 years of age. Richard Bayles says that John was the first Swezey on Long Island, and he had two sons - John and Joseph. Now both the original John Swasey (1584 - 1675), and his son John (1619 - 1692) had sons named John and Joseph. Who is he talking about?? He appears to be talking about the second John Swasey, but why is there no mention of his father, who other historians claim is the John Swasey who help settle Southold? I believe that Richard Bayles (and Rev. Frederick Phillips Swezey's "Genealogy of the Swezey Family - Long Island Branch) have confused the two John Swasey's. It is easy to do, because both were adults in 1655 when they came to Long Island, and it is not always easy to know who is being talked about. I believe they lived most of their life in the same house, which adds to the confusion.
I have just reviewed Mathers 'The Refugees of 1776 from Long Island to Connecticut'. Mather's has added to the confusion about this family also. He talks about John1 as the first to come to Long Island, and then talks about his two sons John2 and Joseph2 being on Long Island with him. Now, our original immigrant John the First, came to America with his two sons John2 and Joseph2. John2 came to Long Island with his father, and John2 also had sons named John3 and Joseph3. The problem is that it can be very confusing as to who Mather's is talking about, and I believe that has led to much confusion about this family. The person that Mathers refers to as John1, is really John2. Both John1 and John2 were on Long Island from about 1655, and John1 did not die until about 1675. This meant that there were two adult John Sweezey's alive on Long Island for the 22 years from 1653 to 1675. It is impossible to tell which John Sweezey is being talked about during this time period. To make matters worse, there is a John3 born in 1651, so by 1672, we have 3 adult John Sweezeys living in Suffolk County.
Some historians have claimed that there is no evidence that John the first ever came to Long Island. I do not believe this to be true, but that person is correct in the fact that I have never seen any document that conclusively belongs to John1, showing him living on Long Island. Every document I have seen with the name John Swesey during this early history of Long Island could be refering to John2. A John Swasey is given 4 'allotments' of land in 1662 in the Southold/Aquebogue area. It is not possible to tell if this is John1 or John2. It is assumed that he was given the extra 2 allotments (most only received 2 lots), because this was two families (John1 & John2). B.F. Swasey tells us that John1 had received a large tract on land on Long Island in 1655 when he was assigned by the New Haven Colony to afix the border between Southold and Smithtown. This is the first 'Allotment', and is in the Southold area. I believe that the 'allotment' in the Aquebogue area in 1662 was just for John2 and his family. By 1662, John2 had 3 sons (John, Joseph and Samuel), as well as a number of daughters, and this could be why he received 4 lots. It is likely that, at around 1669, John2 moved out of his father's house in Southold and into a new home in Aquebogue.
Now, if someone assumes that the John Swezey referred to in Mathers as John1 is our original ancestor (1584-1675), then you will be very confused. I am sure he is talking about John2. Mathers only lists two sons for John2 - John & Joseph. I show from numerous sources, that he had at least three sons - John, Joseph & Samuel. He goes on to list the sons of Joseph (this is the one who married Mary Betts) and shows sons Joseph Jr., Samuel, Richard, and Stephen (which I show is correct). Mathers goes on to talk about Rev. Samuel being the first Minister of the Congregational Church at Chester, NJ, and Rev. Moses being the Minister of the Church at Upper Aquebogue. Samuel, the son of Joseph above was Judge Samuel who started the New Jersey Swayze family. If you follow the genealogy assuming that Mather's John1 is the original immigrant, then it appears that the Samuel Swezey he mentions is Samuel (1653-1736) who married Hannah Beardsley, and also, that he is a Reverend in New Jersey. This Samuel Sweezey never moved to New Jersey, and was not a Reverend. Mather's made two mistakes here. The Samuel that he lists, is Judge Samuel, and the Rev. Samuel, is Samuel's son Samuel Jr., who moved to NJ with his father in 1737, and was a Reverend.
Another problem is Moses Sweezey, the Rev. for the Church of Upper Aquebogue. This Moses Sweezey (1770-1826), is many generations later, and because of him being mentioned by Mather, I have seen genealogies showing this Moses as as son of John2. Other people have used this to show another son for John2 (this John Sweezey), named Richard, all based upon Mathers information (or mis-information).
And finally, Mather's puts dates next to the names of these people that do not seem to match anything. I think they are dates that these people showed up in some documents, but they tend to look like birth and death dates. This has caused all sorts of problems. I have found these dates all over the Internet being used as birth or death dates, based upon this one paragraph in Mathers.
Here is chronological list that John Swasey appears on in the early history of Southold:
There is a John Swasey listed in "List of Heads of Families in Southold, 1658", from the Town Records. This should be John Sr. (if he ever came to Long Island). I must assume than that John Jr. (1619-1692), and John III (1641-1706) are all living together in 1658 because there is no listing for a second John Swasey. John Sr. would have been 74 years old at this time, and John Jr. would have been 39. If this document pertains to John Jr., then where is John Sr.?? I have not seen any biography that claims John Sr. died before 1658. And, if John Sr. is alive at this time, why isn't John referred to as a Junior in the document??
On Nov 20, 1661, a John Swasey is alloted 4 lots of land in the Occabauck (Aquebogue) Dividend. Getting 4 lots of land would indicate that there could be 4 adult males in the family. I cannot tell from this document, whether they are talking about John Sr., or John Jr. My feeling is that since he is not referred to as a Junior, this document refers to John Sr. Unless, of course, John Sr. has already died. At this point in time, John Jr. has three sons, all under the age of 11. It is possible that the 4 lots of land are for John Jr. and his three sons, but they seem kind of young at the time to be considered as adults. Most biographies that I have seen claim that the 1661 document refers to John Jr., but I am not so sure.
Now, a meeting on 19 Mar 1665/66 in Southold agreed to divide Plum Island into shares for every man in Southold. A document dated 22 May 1666 lists a John Swazye, who is given 4 shares. Again, I cannot tell which John this document refers to. John Sr. would have been 82 years old at this time, and John Jr. would have been 47. Why are there not two John Swazye's listed? Did John Sr. die prior to 1665?
In the 16 Sept 1675 List of Taxpayers in Southold, we see a John Swasie Senior (2 heads) (200 pounds), a John Swasie Jr. (62 pounds), and a Joseph Swasie (66 pounds). This is the first reference to a Senior and Junior in any Southold Records I have seen. And, by 1675, John Jr. would have been 54 years old, and John III would have been 24, and brother Joseph 23. My current information shows that none of John Jr.'s children are married by 1675, yet it appears that two of his sons are living in their own homes in 1675. I had originally interpreted this census to be for John Jr. and his two sons John III and Joseph. And I assumed that the second 'head' in John's home was either his aged father John Sr. (now about 91 years old), or son Samuel, who is 22 years old.
Any documents after 1675 must surely pertain to John Jr. or his son, since it is not likely that even if John Sr. lived past this date, he would be signing any documents.
Between 1676 and 1679, there is a 2nd and 3rd Aquebogue Land Dividend. There is a John Swazy listed who is given 4 more lots of land. These documents must surely pertain to John Jr. And again, why are the two sons not mentioned? They are both of age, and Joseph was marrried by 1677.
1683 - a John Swazey and a Joseph Swazey appear on a "Rate Lists of Long Island" for Southold, with estimated value of property. John is 202 pounds, and Joseph is 99. I am not sure how to interpret this information. We know that son Joseph is married to Mary Betts at this time, and since he appeared to be living on his own in the 1675 tax list, this must be the same Joseph. But there should be two John Swazeys at this time - John Jr., who appears in the 1675 tax list, and his son John III who was also listed in 1675 as a separate Tax Payer. This Tax Listing does not mention the number of heads in the household, so I guess it is possible that John III has now moved into the house with his father. This is very hard to interpret. Also, where is son Samuel? He is 30 years old at this time, and should be listed also.
1686 Census - There is a listing for a John Sr. (3 males, 4 females), a John Jr. (2 males, 1 female), and a Joseph (1 male, 4 females). This appears correct. Two of the males in John Senior's houshold are John and son Samuel. Three of the females are his wife, and daughters Mary and Sarah.
After reviewing all the available information, I can see why everyone is so confused. It is very conceivable that our 'Original Ancestor' did not come to Long Island, or if he did, he died very soon after. It looks to me as if it is John Jr. who in 1655 helped survey Long Island for the New Haven Colony and was awarded property in Southold. Then around 1657, he came to Southold with his son John III, and was given more land in Aquebogue in 1658.
I am leaning toward the theory that John, our original ancestor, did not come to Long Island. Remember, in 1655, when most historians claim that John came to Long Island with his son John - John Jr. did have a son name John who was born in 1651. It is very possible that when they say that John came to Long Island with his son John, they were talking about John Jr., and John III. Additionally, there is not one piece of documentation for the death or burial of John Sr. on Long Island. No Will, no death notice, no burial plot has ever been discovered.
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![John Sweezey, [II] >](img/male.jpg)
Abt 1619 - 1692 (73 years)
[2] 