Individual Details

Richard SWAIN

(Bef 26 Sep 1595 - 14 Apr 1682)

In 1647, a group of followers of George Fox, an Anglican churchwarden’s son, formed the Religious Society of Friends, devoting themselves to Christianity in its original simplicity. Fox openly criticized the established church and the injustice that he perceived. In 1650, a judge imprisoned Fox for blasphemy, mocking his exhortation to “tremble at the word of the Lord,” by calling him a “Quaker.” The new religion spread rapidly; by 1657 about a thousand Friends were in English prisons.[1]

In the New World, like England, the Quakers raised “an accusing and critical voice”; and, like the Anglican leaders against whom they were revolting, the Puritan leaders in Massachusetts perceived the Quakers as a threat. While some saw the colonies as an opportunity merely to dissent from the established church, the Quakers saw an opportunity for martyrdom, preferring “to die for the whole truth rather than live with a half-truth.” Because Rhode Island declined to persecute them, they avoided that colony and instead immigrated to Massachusetts where expulsion, flogging, and torture awaited them. “Never before perhaps have people gone to such trouble or traveled so far for the joys of suffering for their Lord.” The perception of menace led to increasingly brutal forms of persecution; in 1658 the Massachusetts Bay Colony enacted a law prescribing the death penalty for Quakers.[2]

Richard Swain was born in Berkshire, England about 1595, and came to Newbury, Massachusetts bay with his wife Basil (yes, an unusual name) in 1635. In 1638, he was among a group of petitioners who were granted the right to create a settlement in what we now call Hampton, New Hampshire—then part of the Massachusetts Bay colony—where he was granted 100 acres of land. Six years later, he petitioned and was granted 30 acres in the new settlement of Exeter. He was a member of the church and a respectable citizen, holding several offices, including selectman, and owning several properties. In 1657, his wife Basil, died. Shortly thereafter, a George Bunker* died, leaving his widow, Jane Elizabeth Godfrey Bunker*, with five children ranging in age from two to twelve. Richard married Jane, 30 years younger than him, in 1658. (Quick remarriage was encouraged, even enforced, in the New England colonies, so that indigent widows and their families did not become a burden on the community.) Richard and Jane had one child of their own, named after the father.

On 12 November 1659, Richard was convicted of “entertaining the Quakers,” fined 3 english pounds (about half the price of an ox in those days) and “disenfranchised”—losing his rights as a church member and citizen. We don’t know the details of his offense, but in a similar case, Thomas Macy simply had allowed Quaker travelers to shelter in his home during a severe storm.[3]

Swain was hard-nosed character. He reacted by joining nine (eventually 31) other persons, including Macy, to purchase nearly all of Nantucket Island from Thomas Mayhew* (who also owned Martha’s Vineyard). Nantucket was an attractive destination because it was, at that time, part of England’s claim to New York, hence beyond the jurisdiction of the Puritan Massachusetts Bay courts.

In a flurry of activity, Swain sold most of his properties, giving the remainder to his sons and the husbands of his daughters, leaving one son-in-law as his “attorney” to clean up his affairs in Massachusetts Bay. In 1661, along with 2nd wife Jane, her children, and one son by his prior marriage, he emigrated to Nantucket.

By 1664 he was the highway surveyor in Nantucket. By 1676, he had accumulated enough land to give Nantucket farms to his sons, Richard and John, and to Thomas Look*, the husband of his wife’s daughter, Elizabeth*. He died in 1682 and is marked in the Founder’s Burial Ground in Nantucket.

Some sources uncritically claim that Swain and the other Nantucket immigrants were Quakers. This seems unlikely. Macy is known to have remained a Baptist until his death.[3] There was no Quaker “meeting” (their word for congregation) on Nantucket until 1708.[4] It seems far more likely that they were simply escaping an oppressive government.

In the 18th century, Nantucket became almost completely Quaker and began its domination of the commercial whaling industry. Most of the whaler owners and captains were Quaker.

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* Thomas and Elizabeth Bunker Look are 8th great-grandparents of the Moore brothers, so George and Jane Bunker (her first marriage) are 9th great-grandparents. (Thomas Macy’s daughter, Mary, married William Bunker, another child of Jane’s first marriage.)

Thomas Mayhew (the lord of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket) is a 9th great-grandfather along a different line. I have described his life in another story.

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Except as otherwise noted, this article is based on:

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635, 7 volumes (Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 1999-2011), vol 6, pp 609-617; indexed database of page images, NEHGS, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB397/i/12124/613/147531186 : viewed 18 March 2017); genealogical biography of Richard Swain.

Other sources:

[1] “George Fox”, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Wikipedia.org (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Fox : viewed 27 Mar 2017).

[2] Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers: The Colonial Experience, (New York: Vintage Books of Random House, 1958), pp. 36-38.

[3] "The Macy-Colby House: Amesbury, Massachusetts," (http://www.macycolbyhouse.org/Thomas-Macy/ : viewed 27 Mar 2017).

[4] “Frequently Asked Questions: Quakerism in Early Nantucket,” (https://www.nha.org/library/faq/quakers.html : viewed 27 Mar 2017).

Events

Birth	Bef 26 Sep 1595	Berkshire, England
Baptism	26 Sep 1595	Binfield, Berkshire, England
Baptism	21 Sep 1596	Binfield, Berkshire, England
Marriage	8 Sep 1617	Battersea, Surrey, England - Basil SAUNDERS
Marriage	By Abt 1619	Basil SAUNDERS
Arrival	1635	probably arrived on ship TrueLove - Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Miscellaneous	6 Sep 1638	was among a group of men who petitioned for (and were granted) permission to begin a plantation at Winnacunnet (the site of modern Hampton, NH) - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Miscellaneous	Bef 9 Oct 1638	was admitted to the church - Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Removed	1639	Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Miscellaneous	13 Mar 1638/39	was admitted as a freeman - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	24 Dec 1639	granted 100 acres (also subsequent grants) - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Miscellaneous	29 Mar 1645	signed petition of Exeter inhabitants - Exeter, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	4 Nov 1647	granted 30 acres - Exeter, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	1650	a house and land - Exeter, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Miscellaneous	5 Oct 1652	Henry Green sued Richard Swaine for defamation for reporting that Greene "had attempted the chastity of Bassill Swaine and used beastly and unseemly carriages and temptations toward Grace Boulter." This was withdrawn but at the same court, Green was "fined for uncleanness and bound to good behavior" - Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Marriage	15 Sep 1658	Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America - Jane Elizabeth GODFREY
Religion	Abt 1659	became a Quaker
Property	2 Jul 1659	and nine other men bought Nantucket from Thomas Mayhew of Martha's Vineyard
Miscellaneous	12 Oct 1659	fined three pounds and disenfranchised for "his entertaining the Quakers"
Property	5 Jul 1660 - 6 Jul 1660	sold several parcels of land in Topsfield
Miscellaneous	4 Sep 1660	appointed his son-in-law Nathaniel Boulter to be his attorney for business in Hampton - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	4 Sep 1660	gave his Hampton residence and much of his land to son-in-law Nathaniel Boulter and his wife Grace - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	4 Sep 1660	sold more property in Hampton - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Removed	Abt 1661	with his 2nd wife, her children, and his sons John and Richard - Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	16 Oct 1661	("late of Hampton & Jane my wife") sold more Hampton property - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	30 Oct 1661	("late of Hampton & Jane my wife") gave property to Nathaniel Weare (presumably the husband of daughter Elizabeth) - Hampton, Norfolk, Province of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	2 Jul 1663	bought from William Pile of Dover a 10th part of the patent for Nantucket - Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	6 Jul 1663	gave the recently purchased share to son-in-law Nathaniel Boulter - Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	28 Feb 1676/77	gave land to sons Richard and John, excepting the land he had promised to Thomas Looke (the husband of his step-daughter Elizabeth Bunker) - Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Property	28 Feb 1676/77	gave land to Thomas Look (husband of step-daughter Elizabeth Bunker) - Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Death	14 Apr 1682	Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Burial	Aft 14 Apr 1682	Founders Burial Ground, Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Probate	1 Aug 1682	Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Alt name		Richard SWAYNE
Occupation		"planter", "husbandman" (i.e. farmer)
Education		signed his deeds by a mark

Families

Spouse	Jane Elizabeth GODFREY (1626 - 1662)
Child	Richard SWAIN (1659 - 1707)

Spouse	Basil SAUNDERS ( - 1657)
Child	William SWAIN (1619 - 1657)
Child	Francis SWAIN (1620 - 1665)
Child	Nicholas SWAIN (1623 - 1650)
Child	Grace SWAIN (1627 - 1693)
Child	Richard SWAIN (1630 - )
Child	John SWAIN (1634 - )
Child	Elizabeth SWAIN (1638 - 1712)

Father

William SWAIN ( - )

Notes

Endnotes

16. "The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, V.1-8," database of images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (AmericanAncestors.org: viewed 21 December 2014), Vol 2, p 879, Chapter 105, The Bunker Family, citing Edward C Moran, "Bunker Genealogy: The Charlestown, Mass. and Nantucket Mass. Branches and Some Unconnected Groups"; citing Frank J. Doherty, "The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, New York: An Historical and Genealogical Study of all the 18th Century Settlers in the Patent," 10 volumes. Self-published, Pleasant Valley, NY, 1990-2003.

17. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635, 7 volumes (Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 1999-2011), vol 6, p 613; indexed database of page images, NEHGS, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/category-search/503850/great-migration-study-project : viewed 18 March 2017); "Marriage: ... (2) Hampton 15 September 1658 Jane (Godfrey) Bunker [HampVR 1:74, widow of George Bunker of Topsfield [Amos Towne Anc 73]. She died at Nantucket on 31 October 1662.".

18. " U.S., New England Marriages prior to 1700," database index with page images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3824/: viewed 21 March 2017), p 722, "Swain, Richard (-1682) & 2/wf Jane (Godfrey) Bunker (-1662), w George; aft 29 May 1658, 15 Sep 1658; Hampton, NH"; citing Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700.

19. "New England Marriages to 1700 [Torrey]," database index with images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, AmericanAncestors (: accessed ), vol 2, p 1475, "Swain, Richard (-1682) & 2/wf Jane (Godfrey) Bunker (-1662), w George; aft 29 May 1658, 15 Sep 1658; Hampton, NH"; citing {Farr Anc. 270; Wildes Anc. 7; GDMNH 669; Reg. 9:150; Olcott (1937) 14, 15; McIntire Anc. 79; Hampton 986; Nantucket VR 144; Towne Anc. 73; Sv. 1:299; Essex Ant. 5:133; Brownell Anc. 147; EIHC 53:245}.

20. "New Hampshire, Marriage Records Index, 1637-1947," database index, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2554/: viewed 24 March 2017), Jane Barker female married Richard Swaine male 1658 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire; citing FHL film 1001302, "New Hampshire Marriage Records 1637–1947," index, FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2011 and “New Hampshire Statewide Marriage Records 1637–1947,” database, FamilySearch, 2009; from New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, “Marriage Records,” New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord.

Individual Details

Richard SWAIN

Events

Families

Notes

Birth

Baptism

Marriage

Religion

Property

Miscellaneous

Property

Probate

Endnotes