Family of John Swindell
(1785 - ?)
In 1821 a husband and wife, John and Mary Swindell (Swindle) boarded a ship known as Ding Superior, and left St. Andrews, New Brunswick with their eight children, all which were born in Ireland, as were John and Mary. They made their way to the United States of America. On August 10, 1821 they landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family came to America with their destination being the state of Ohio.
According to the ship's records, John was 36 years old, and Mary was 32 years old at the time. The children are listed below.
| Name | Age | Born | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nancy | 15 years | about 1806 | Female |
| Anna | 12 years | about 1809 | Female |
| William | 11 years | about 1810 | Male |
| Rhody | 9 years | about 1812 | Female |
| Mary | 8 years | about 1813 | Female |
| Jane | 6 years | about 1815 | Female |
| David | 3 years | about 1818 | Male |
| Catherine | 1 year | about 1820 | Female |
We do not know the names of John or Mary's parents, or any other relatives that may have already been here, but we do know that they did arrive in Ohio soon after landing.
I have not been able to trace any of the siblings named above other than William. There is only one other male child, and I cannot pinpoint him. The females cannot be traced as they would have taken their husband's surname and the ancestry is lost.
Unfortunately, the United States Census records only show the name of the head of household prior to 1850. There are only two families showing a John Swindell or Swindle in the eastern half of the U.S. in 1840 that may possibly be our ancestors. One family lives in Worthington Township, Richland County, Ohio and the other in Morgan, Indiana. I am more inclined to believe that the family from Richland County is our John Swindell, but only if there was another male child born to him approximately between 1825-1830.
Since I cannot determine where our John and Mary Swindell are after the ship landed in 1821 with any accuracy, I will begin this history with their son, William. It is possible that the parents, or part of the family, returned to Ireland.
William remained in Ohio for several years, married Mehetable Huse, raised a family, and is buried here. Since he is the direct ancestor to everyone listed in this history, we will begin with him.