This website is dedicated to the family of Roger SWIRE and his wife Frances Lydia COX. Their life together began on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent before they moved their young family to eastern Jamaica, settling in Portland Parish. The couple had 12 children. Their third son was named Philip.

The letters copied and transcribed on this website have been in the Philip SWIRE family for more than 130 years. They are now being shared with descendents principally located in the United States, Jamaica, and England.

From the scanned images you will note that letters were often written in an unusual way to save paper. The letter writer starts in regular fashion, then turns the paper 90 degrees and writes over the other section. Once you have adjusted your eyes to the proper direction of the words, they should be fairly easy to make out. If not, transcriptions are provided below each letter.

These letters have provided a wealth of information on family connections; along with birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates. We thank the Philip Swire family (originally of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and now other parts of the U. S.) for allowing these precious mementos to be preserved and shared.

Most of these letters were written to Philip Swire from his mother Frances Lydia (Cox) Swire in Jamaica. There are also many letters from his sisters and their children, along with one sister-in-law.

Much credit goes to Stefhany Swire, Dorothy Snyder, and Marjorie Biscoe for their invaluable contributions to this research.

For additional family, information, please follow the many links to other pages on this website, as noted by the names underlined in blue.       

Photos taken in Port Antonio, Portland Parish, Jamaica in the 1990's by Swire family researcher Dorothy Snyder.