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Benjamin Swisher's Children
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Because we are still trying to piece
together the histories of six divergent branches of a very
large family, I would like to begin a short history of each
of Benjamin's children who lived to adulthood. I am including
here all that I currently know. I encourage anyone from
other branches to contribute photos and information to help
fill in the gaps in our knowledge of our ancestors
Please feel free to
correct any errors found here. Just Email
me if you find anything wrong.
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Elizabeth
Maria
Whitmore
7.24.1837-
2.15.1880
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No Photo Available
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Very little is known about Maria, as she was called. She was
the child of Elizabeth Smith and Lovell Whitmore, born probably
in Muscatine, IA. Maria's father died of unknown causes not
long after Maria was born. In 1841, when her mother married
Benjamin Swisher, she became an integral part of the Swisher
family. She was beloved by her younger Swisher siblings, especially
Kate, who named her youngest daughter after her. Maria married
James Riley Cloud on 11.14.1855. They had several children,
but it is apparent that most of them died while quite young.
A letter I have from Kate to her brother Lovell describes
Maria as gravely ill in early 1880. Apparently she succumbed
shortly after that. We would very much like to contact any
descendants of Elizabeth Maria Whitmore Cloud. If you have
knowledge of any leads to her family, please email. |
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Lovell Swisher
10.14.1843-5.5.1924
(my gg grandfather)
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Lovell
was the second child. His brother Wilson was born in 1842,
but died at the age of 1 year and 2 months, of causes unknown,
just two weeks before Lovell was born. (I have always found
it interesting that Lovell was named for his mother's deceased
husband - Lovell Whitmore). He was born in a 1 room log cabin
on his parents' farm, and spent his childhood there. He attended
the State University of Iowa at Iowa City and was near graduation
when he left to pursue a civil engineering job conducting
government surveys in the Lake Superior area. He also performed
a survey for the ship canal between Chicago and the quad-cities.
Both the obituaries that I have state that he suffered a railroad
accident at Red Oak, Iowa (date unknown, but before 1873)
and had to leave surveying. He married Elizabeth Leonard in
1870, and was elected as Treasurer of Johnson County in 1873.
In 1884 he was elected cashier of the First National Bank
of Iowa City, a position he held until his retirement. He
was also Treasurer of the University of Iowa for 21 years,
from 1890 to 1911. His children were: Abraham William (died
at age 19), Arthur Raub (lawyer, dentist),
Leonard Alonzo (minister), Benjamin
Franklin (lawyer), Charles Lovell (insurance),
and Mabel Alice (a wonderful great aunt) |
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Abram E. Swisher
3.6.1846-8.29.1909
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Abram was also born at the cabin along Swisher
Creek. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1872.
He then attended the school of Law and graduated in 1874.
He became the attorney for the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad
as well as the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway
and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Line. He married Ida
Forrest Ingalls in 1979. During his career, he organized the
Citizen's Savings and Trust Company in 1883 and was elected
its first cashier. He later became President of the Bank.
He also maintained the family farm in Swisher after his father's
death in 1887. His children were: Esther (professor
of piano at U of I), Alice (Mrs. Benjamin
Bradley), Ingalls (lawyer, mayor of
Iowa City), and Helen (professional
harpist, Mrs. Frank Whinery). |
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John P. Swisher
12.23.1847-1.26.1889
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Like his brothers and sister, John was born
at the family farm. Beyond that, little is known about him.
He lived to be forty-two, and never married. He attended the
University of Iowa Law School, and upon graduation, moved
to Cedar Rapids, 15 miles north of Swisher and formed a law
partnership with Henry Bowman. He died of pneumonia at St.
Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, after a week's illness. We
found a very flowery memorial from the Cedar Rapids Gazette
on microfilm at the Iowa Historical Society this summer. The
unnamed writer, who said he had known John for years wrote
the following:
"No one may ever know the kindly things he did, for they
were plucked like roses to be forgotten on the morrow. His
courage was the inspiration of many who would have fallen
but for him; his encouragement was the strength of weaker
ones. There was no place in his big warm heart for rancor
or deceit. His sunny nature never mirrored a lie. His lips
never uttered an intentional falsehood. His mind never inspired
an untruth. He was a student whose heart was kept warm by
his love for his fellow men." |
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Benjamin Franklin Swisher
3.2.1849-3.26.1925
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No Photo Available
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Benjamin was born on the homestead, and most
likely to distinguish him from his father, he was called Frank.
He was educated in local schools and perhaps briefly attended
the University. He married a
Johnson County girl, Elizabeth Virginia Anderson, in 1871.
He decided upon a career in farming and did
so in Johnson County until 1879, when he moved to Cherokee
in western Iowa. Frank was a master farmer, and long before
there were scientific improvements to strains of corn, he
set about breeding a better stock. He was very successful
and the results of his experiments became known as "Swisher
Corn". He retired from active farming in 1912. His children
were:
Lovell A. (farmer), Luella (Mrs.
Jesse L. Kinmonth), Elmer Orlestes (unknown),
Ruth (Mrs Andrew M. Wilson), Catherine
(Mrs. Theodore R. Crippen), Ida Grace
(Mrs. Rufus R. Crippen), Olive Blanche
(unmarried),Verna Ethel (Mrs.
Claude P. Jones), Frances Elizabeth (Mrs.
Walter A. Stevenson), Cora Bell (Mrs.
Laurence W. Ramsden), Ella Irene (Mrs.
Roy Glidewell). |
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Catherine Swisher
3.11.1851-9.9.1884 |
No Photo Available
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Not much is known about Catherine. She was called Catty or
Kate, and was devoted to her parents and brothers. She remained
at home helping her mother and father and stayed on, looking
after her father after her mother died in 1875. In 1877 she
married Eugene Adam Ballard. They remained on the Swisher
farm, with Eugene sharing in working the fields and stock.
Her two daughters were born there in 1881 and 1883. While
the reason is unclear, in early 1884 they pulled up stakes
and moved to Manhattan, Kansas. One possible reason is that
her mother's family, the Leonards, all lived there, and in
one of her letters home, she alludes to a job that Eugene
was offered there. Her letters speak of her deep unhappiness
in Kansas, and her longing to return home, but it was not
to be. She seems to have had a lingering illness, and died
in Kansas in September of 1884. Her children were: Mary
Elizabeth Ballard (Mrs. Melvin W. Myler),
and Maria Eugenia Ballard (Mrs. James Edward
Knowles). |
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Stephen A. Swisher
2.4.1856-2.21.1934 |
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Stephen was also born in the log cabin, though by this time,
it had expanded to two buildings joined by a passageway. He
was the youngest child. A sister Ruth had been born between
him and Catherine in 1853, but she died of unknown causes
in 1855. Stephen attended the local school and also the Iowa
City Academy and the University of Iowa. Upon graduation from
the university, he began an insurance agency in Iowa City,
which he managed until the early thirties, when his health
began to fail. In 1896, he married Nell Gabriella Custer.
Stephen was a devoted historian, and was on the board of curators
of the Iowa State Historical Society for 22 years. He served
as the Society's president from 1931 to 1933. He was also
active in the Iowa Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons of
the Revolution. His children were: Pauline (Mrs.
Lester A. Royal), Gabriella (died at
age 2), Stephen A.(unknown),
John Custer (unknown), Thomas Rose (died
at age 15), Gretchen Eleanor (Mrs.
Charles Stephenson/died at 23) |
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