CONTACT US

SWIRE Family of Yorkshire, England & Jamaica

 

Roger SWIRE

November 29, 1849 - September 18, 1921

Letter 10 - Dated March 18, 1875

(letter images & transcription below - click on images to enlarge & read letter)

Return to the Home Page

 

 

Roger SWIRE (photo above taken about 1920) wrote at least twelve letters to his uncle Philip SWIRE in Louisiana from his homes in Dubuque, Iowa, USA, Springfield, Illinois, USA, and Iowa City, Iowa, USA. The letters date from 1871 to 1881.

1

2

3

4

5

6

 

 

Transcription

 
Springfield, Ill.
18th Mch 75

Dear Uncle Phil,

I was really very glad to get your last letter & felt like answering it right off but I see it is just 3 mos. old now. I have a good deal of writing to do & so am apt to neglect my own correspondence though I dont mean to & bear them in mind to be attended to some time. It seems your time has come.

Mother was quite pleased to hear of you & yours & sends love & thanks for asking her to be sponsor for the little "new Roger Swire". We hope the boy wont have to wait to see us for his baptism, that would be too bad for him, though we both appreciate your attention & hope to see him someday. It will not be possible for me to say anything definite about a visit but must just content myself for the present with living in hope of accomplishing it sometime in the future, like a good many other things I live in hopes of, the most prominent being a trip to Jamaica. That I want to do above all things & hope I am getting nearer to it each year. I think I am. Do you hear from anyone there now, Granny or Roger Haughton? If so you have heard of Lydia's wedding. She was married on the 3rd of Feby. to Mr. Rowe the Archdeacon at Uncle George Hall's house in Browns Town St. Ann's. Her description of the wedding was very good & they must have had a nice time. She seems happily married & we know he will take good loving care of her, & as he is in very easy circumstances she will be comfortable. He gave her a carriage & horse & saddle for wedding present. They live in St. Elizabeths, Malvern (?) P. O. Roger Haughton was at the wedding & spent a happy time with his Alice, she writes very fondly of him. The next time I am writing I will try & think to send you Lydia's last letter with accts of the wedding. I have not got it by me now nor ans'd it yet. Aunt Spalding was with them. Roger H. wrote me a short letter sending a bit of the cake (?), the girls asked him to, he speaks of his long engagement with Alice & hopes his waiting time is nearly past & that his way is fast clearing to enable him to make her his wife. He asks if I wont try to come over, oh dear! how I do want it! but cant say anything about it, only hope on till I go for going I am if I live, before a great while longer. Dont you want to go with me? I think when I do, I shall go from New Orleans, visiting you on the way. Are there any steamers going direct do you know? They write me Granny is looking pretty well, dear old Lady, how well she stands all her trials through life. Aunt Liz has a little daughter. Edith Haughton is visiting in England the relatives of her affianced, who died just a week before the wedding you remember. Lydia says she wanted us so badly to be at her wedding & thought of us continually, I think it was a shame I was not there to give her away. How I do long to see those two dear girls, I dont think there is any body in the world I love quite so well as I do them & it is one of the greatest regrets of my life being so much separated from them as I grew up. I am still in the life ins. business & had reasonable success keeping me gaining a little each year.

Mother likes it quite well here & we get along nicely in our house keeping arrangements. I may not stay here all my life, but will till I see clearly a better chance. I did very well last year. I am thankful to say my health is excellent & I have work enough to keep me from mischief. I take a good deal of interest in church matters, of course am an Episcopalian as all my fathers were, am connected with a nice little mission Sunday School in which I feel great interest, it is two miles from town & I walk there every Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Mother now plays the organ for our singing Mrs. Ayer used to. I send you our circulars in connection with it. We have a good church & minister here. I belong to a private military organization here the "Governors Guard", we meet for drill practice twice a week, the state furnish us with arms. I enjoy the exercise exceedingly & we have had some good street parades. We have just got through a play at the Opera House called the "Color Guard" it represented scenes during the war & was well carried out we made about $600 (?) by it.

This has been a very severe winter with us, more snow & real solid cold than we have seen here for many years. Today it has been snowing hard all day & there is now about a foot of snow on the ground. No signs of spring yet. Business & money matters generally have been very dull, but we think they look well for good improvement this year. The McCullochs are coming to visit us next month. Mr. Page (mother's brother Robt.) is now a minister & living in Princeton in this state.

I am writing to Jamaica this week & will give them your love. I hope soon to get your photographs, do not forget them please, I long to see them.

Kiss the little folks for me especially my little namesake & tell them I am bound to have some good fun with them when I come. Love to Anna & with a great deal for yourself.

Ever your affectionate nephew,

Roger Swire

Mother sends her love & says she means to write to Aunt Kissy
 

Notes:

Mother is Caroline (PAGE) BARCLAY SWIRE (later HARRISON), the second wife of Roger SWIRE's father John Henry Dalzell SWIRE.

The "new Roger SWIRE" is Roger Philip SWIRE, born 15 July 1873 in Louisiana, USA, son of Philip SWIRE.

Granny is Frances Lydia (COX) SWIRE, mother of Philip SWIRE and John Henry Dalzell SWIRE.

Roger HAUGHTON (full name Roger Swire HAUGHTON) is the son of Hannah (SWIRE) HAUGHTON, sister to Philip SWIRE and John Henry Dalzell SWIRE.

Lydia (full name Lydia Anne SWIRE) is Roger SWIRE's oldest sister. Her husband is William ROWE, who was an Archdeacon in the Anglican Church in  Jamaica.

Alice (full name Alice Catherine SWIRE) is Roger SWIRE's other sister. She married Roger Swire HAUGHTON in Jamaica in 1876.

Uncle George HALL is the brother of Roger SWIRE's mother, Letitia Anne HALL, who died when Roger was not quite three years old.

Aunt SPALDING is the sister of Philip SWIRE and Roger's father John Henry Dalzell SWIRE. Her full name is Frances Ann (SWIRE) Spalding. She was also called "Fashey."

Aunt Liz is another sister of Philip SWIRE and John Henry Dalzell SWIRE. Her full name is Elizabeth Ann Coy (SWIRE) PAGE RUTTY.

Edith HAUGHTON is the daughter of Hannah (SWIRE) HAUGHTON, sister to Philip SWIRE and John Henry Dalzell SWIRE.

"Those two dear girls" is obviously a reference to Roger SWIRE's sisters Lydia and Alice.

The McCULLOCH's refers to the step-uncle and aunt of Roger SWIRE. The sister (Mary Anne PAGE) of his stepmother Caroline was married to Thomas McCULLOCH. Roger and Caroline are believed to have left Jamaica with the McCULLOCH's when they moved to Iowa, USA.

Mr. PAGE (Mother's brother Robt.) is Robert F. G. PAGE, Caroline's oldest brother. He came to Iowa before 1856 from Jamaica. He died in Wisconsin 1870 - 1880.

Anna is Anna Catherine (KEAN/KEEN) SWIRE, wife of Philip SWIRE.

Aunt Kissy is another sister of Philip SWIRE and John Henry Dalzell SWIRE. Her full name is Christina Octavia (SWIRE) SEYMOUR WOODS.

Copyright © 2004 - 2006. Swire Family Roots. All Rights Reserved.