Fifth Generation America SWOPE : John Adam "John" Swope 1 John Adam ìJohnî SWOPE1,2 Birth: 2 Oct 1815, Gettysburg, Penna14 Death: 25 Oct 1880, Gettysburg, Penna14 Burial: Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Penna15 Alias: John A Swope in Censusí entries Father: Adam SWOPE  (1778-1855) Mother: Lydia SPANGLER (1785-1841) Spouse: Nancy Moore McCURDY Birth: 1820 after July 12th or 1821 before July 12, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania [ calculated from  her later census entries)  and in  (Cumberland Township, Adams County, Penna)4,5 [Probably In Parentís Cabin Out Emmitsburg Road South of Gettysburg] Death: 6 Aug 1904, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Father: James McCURDY (1785-1822) Mother: Martha MOOR(E) (ca 1787-1854) [No ascendancy yet assured]

Image of Mrs John Adam Swope  [Nancy Moore McCURDY Swope] in late life

• Lydia Jane (1845-)
• James Adam ìJamesî (1848-)
• Samuel McCurdy (1850-1931)
• John Franklin (1855-1895)

CENSUS DATA
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1850 census Gettysburg shows
HOF: John A Swope,  34 yo, saddle tree maker, real estate valued at 450$, wife Nancy 29 (and heavy with Samuel McCurdy, soon to be born) , Lydia Swope 25, James (son) 2, Martha MíCurdy 62 (Nancyís mother), and Ami MíCurdy (first name very hard to decipher-this likely represents a daughter of Martha McCurdy living with her mother and sister, and sisterís husband-it could, i suppose, also be a widowed wife to a McCurdy son )
I canít figure out who Lydia Swope 25 is, but John Adam Swope and Nancy Moore McCurdyís  daughter Lydia Swope should be 5 for this census and is not mentioned. There were no wives to John Adam Swopeís brothers, minus the Gilbert wife to David, as the others died unmarried, limiting the possibility this is a widow to a deceased brother Swope.
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 1860 Census
in 1860 Census they were living with George and Clarissa (John Adam Swopeís Siblings).  Apparantly, the area they had formerly inhabited carried the smell of the tanneries that were located there and in which Johnís father was engaged, probably leading to the families relocation.  The census shows:
George SWOPE 45 [looks like it could be 45 or 48 but we know its 45], Cabinet maker, real estate 1500$, personal worth 400$
Living with Clarissa Swope, 50, real estate valued 1000, no personal monetary worth noted [sister to George and John A]
John A Swope, 43 Saddle Tree Maker, personal worth 1000$ [brother to both George and Clarissa]
Nancy , 36 [Nancy Moore McCurdy Swope, Johnís wife] and their children:
Lydia 13
James 11 years
Samuel   9 years
John 7 years
Lydia james Samuel and John were all attended in the school year previous according to the census which made note of the status of children as being school going or not the previous year.
These persons are all residing next to Tanner Henry RUPP and Butcher George A CODORI
 

As an aside, In 1868 the clock in the cuppola of the courthouse was placed there a gift from  H. D Wattles.
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1870 Census
in 12th July 1870 Census (page 31 of Census for Adams County, Gettysburg Boro on line vis Ancestry.com and in hard copy)
the family is listed 165/176 and is listed as one family with head of household George , brother to John A.

George, cabinet maker 57  Real Estate value 4000, Personal Estate Value 3500 (Brother to John A)
(Clarissa, the sister of George and John A and with whom they lived as well in the 1860 census had died in 1865.)
John A, Saddle tree maker  Real Estate Value 3000 Personal estate Value 600
Nancy 49 and a housekeeper
James A 21, ìworks as a Cabinet Makerî
Samuel McC, 19, Student College (this would be Pennsylvania College, later to be called Gettysburg College)
John F, 15 Clerk in dry good store
Daughter Lydia was married and no longer living at home and does not appear on census

Spouse: Nancy Moore** McCURDY ³

Children of John Adam "John " SWOPE and Nancy Moore McCurdy:
Lydia Jane (1845-)
James Adam ìJamesî (1848-)
Samuel McCurdy (1850-1931)
John Franklin (1855-1895)

1.1 Lydia Jane SWOPE ³
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Birth: 15 May 1845, Gettysburg, Penna

ìShe was ìan exceptionally efficient co-worker with her husband in the church and a devoted wifeî.³
Not found in 1850 census with parents...where is she? She would have been 5 years old...there is a Lydia Swope 25 listed with the family, [Iím not sure who that is! ] . She is clearly present in the 1860 census

Spouse: T. C. (Rev) PRITCHARD³

• Birth: 24 Sep 1840
• Death: aft 1896, (Swope Book Published 1898)

Children:
Charles F. (Died as Infant) (-1868)
William (1869-)

1.2 James Adam ìJamesî SWOPE^7,8
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Birth: 14 Mar 1848, Gettysburg, Penna
Death: Probably Glenwood Iowa to whence he removed
Educ: Graduated Penna College, Gettysburg, Penna

Found 2 year old ìJames Swopeî with parents in 1850 census, Gettysburg, Adams Co., Penna. In 1860 11 year old James is living with his parents and his father's siblings.
ìAfter graduating college located in Glenwood Iowa where was in furniture business.î ⁹ No Children at time of Swope Book Writing  in 1898 when he would have been 50
 

• 1850 census shows John A Swope,  34 yo, saddle tree maker, real estate valued at 450$, wife Nancy 29 (and heavy with Samuel McCurdy, soon to be born) , Lydia Swope 25, James (son) 2, Martha MíCurdy 62 (Nancyís mother), I canít figure out who Lydia Swope 25 is, but their daughter Lydia Swope should be 5 for this census and is not mentioned.

• In 1860 Census James SWOPE was living with his parents [John SWOPE and Nancy Moore McCURDY] cohabitating with George and Clarissa (John Adam Swopeís Siblings).  Apparantly, the area his parent's  had formerly inhabited carried the smell of the tanneries that were located there and in which James' father was engaged, probably leading to the families relocation.  The census shows:
John A Swope 43
Nancy   36
Lydia 13
James 11 years
Samuel 9 years
John 7 years
Lydia james Samuel and John were all attended in the school year previous according to the census which made note of the status of children as being school going or not the previous year.

• Birth: 23 Aug 1860

Son of a Saddle Tree maker, at  the age of 12 his town was encompassed in the Battle bearing its name. At that time, and in the early dawn of July 1 1863, he and two friends travelled out to Willoughby Run (just west of Seminary Ridge) to speak to  northern cavalry then encamped and unaware of the carnage to come later in the day and in the two days to follow.  Apparantly enchanted by the youths, they agreed to the boysí desire to ìtry out their horsesî, and allowed them to ìride off to water themî. Not content with doing so at the obvious stream, they rode to Marsh Creek, engaged in water play , and it was there and while thus engaged that they heard what they thought was Penelope Ann, a revolutionary cannon ignited once a year, on July 4th, and which they believed to be a prepping for her performance four days later. In little time they realized that Penelope Ann could not be responsable for what they heard, and , family lore tells, the boys travelled on rapid horseback ìthrough the battle then commencingî to three very annoyed Cavalrymen in absence of their horses while their comrades were actively engaged.  On the occasion of Lincolnís address 4 months later, family lore tells he was selling lemonade (in november?) with his friends but  was accused of ìpilfering fundsî (my fatherís words likely mimicking the story as told  by his grandfather), at which time he removed to underneath the platform from which unusual vantage he watched the famous address.

ìIn 1874 he entered the office of David Wills of Gettysburg (ed note: the man who hosted Lincoln the night before the famous speech and who was partially responsable for the national cemetery in that town) , with whom he read law, and as a result of which education was admitted to the Bar at Gettysburg in 1876, and two years later to practise  before the Supreme Court of the State. He was twice elected District Attorney for the county of Adams, the second time without opposition, though a candidate of the minority party, and as such served six years from Jan., 1880 to Jan, 1886. In 1894 he was elected President Judge of the district, comprising Adams and Fulton counties by a very large majority. In politics he was Republican. Member and elder in Presbyterian Church. ì11

He married the beautiful Anna Kate Stair , known as ìAnnieî, and resided with her and their family on Baltimore Street next to the Presbyterian Church of which he was a member, and in a home now part of the Presbyterian church and holding the name of the subsequent owners. His grandaughter Betty Swope recalls (she was an accomplished singer and a student at Peabody Institute) being asked to singî Oh Take me Homeî at the foot of the ex Judgeís wifeís Sleigh bed on numerous occasions.  I get the impression that something more lively would have been preferred by the performer.

The Painting of Samuel McCurdy Swope that is  hanging in the Adams County Courthouse (which was dedicated by his grandson Donald McCurdy Swope, also an attorney, like his father before him) shows Samuel McC with a daisy in his lapel.  Donald and his sister Betty remember many evenings when their grandfather would walk through town to dinner at their home more than a mile removed. He always wore a flower in his lapel. He is remembered as a fine story teller with a dramatic flair.  The stories of the battle as related above are those my father told me when I asked ìwhat was our family doing at the time of the Battle?î  He answered, ìHiding in the Basement like the rest of the citizensî, and when pressed, told me the above, no doubt, a repeat of stories told to him by his grandfather who had experienced them as related. As an aside, that dining room table in the home of Broadway, now in possesion of my brother D H Swope, saw seated at it contemporaneously itís giver (Samuel McCurdy and Anna Kate (Stair) Swope on the occasion of their sonís marriage), their son James Donald and Ruth (Reinecke) Swope, and Jamesí and Ruthís son Donald McCurdy.
Donald McCurdy married Mary Olive (Howard) Swope, their son Douglas Howard Swope and Candace Kugel, his wife, brought Trevor to dinner offered on it in the same home in which Samuel and Annie ate when entertained by their son.
 It thus has served five generations of Swopes in the same dining room and is happily in family possesion while Trevor approaches manhood now removed from its original locale.
 

Samuel McCurdy Swope moved for admission of his son James Donald to acceptance by the bar of that new attorney.
James Donald Swope would likewise move for the admission of his own son, Donald McCurdy Swope.
I was present when Donald McCurdy Swope moved for the admission of my sister to the same. There were tears in his eyes, and he looked at the time to the painting of his greatgrandfather, beloved to him, watching the proceedings.

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For this census , Samuel McCurdy Swopeís parents were residing in the home on the Northwest corner of Baltimore across the street from the Farnsworth house. It was a Tannery area at the time, and his father had the work space behind the home.
1850 census shows John A Swope,  34 yo, saddle tree maker, real estate valued at 450$, wife Nancy 29 (and heavy with Samuel McCurdy, soon to be born) , Lydia Swope 25, James (son) 2, Martha MíCurdy 62 (Nancyís mother), I canít figure out who Lydia Swope 25 is, but John Adam and Nancy (nee McCurdy) Swopeís daughter Lydia Swope should be 5 for this census and is not mentioned. Could very well be an error in transcription from text.
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 in 1860 Census he and his parents were living with George and Clarissa (John Adam Swopeís Siblings).  Apparantly, the area they had formerly inhabited carried the smell of the tanneries that were located there and in which Johnís father was engaged, probably leading to the families relocation.  The census shows:
John A Swope 43
Nancy   36
Lydia 13
James 11 years
Samuel   9 years
John 7 years
Lydia , James,  Samuel and John all attended  school year in the year previous according to the census which made note of the status of children as being school going or not the previous year
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in 12th July 1870 Census (page 31 of Census for Adams County, Gettysburg Boro on line via Ancestry.com and in hard copy)
the family is listed 165/176 and is listed as one family with head of household George Swope:
George, cabinet maker 57  Real Estate value 4000, Personal Estate Value 3500 (Brother to John A)
         (Clarissa, the sister of George and John A and with whom they lived as well in the 1860 census had died in 1865.)
John A, Saddle tree maker  Real Estate Value 3000 Personal estate Value 600
Nancy 49 and a housekeeper
James A 21, ìworks as a Cabinet Makerî
Samuel McC, 19, Student College (this would be Pennsylvania College, later to be called Gettysburg College)

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He appears in the 1910 census Borough of Gettysburg, Adams County, Penna and as Head of Household
Samuel Mc C SwopeÝ Age: 59 State: PA
Ý Color: W Enumeration District: 0011
Ý Birth Place: Pennsylvania Visit: 0343
Ý County:  Adams, Gettysburg
Ý Relation:  Head of Household
Ý Other Residents: Wife Annie K 53, Pennsylvania
Son J Donald 28, Pennsylvania (to be married that year, at which time he would move to Broadway and be head of household)
Daughter Mary S 24, Pennsylvania
Daughter Amy Mc C 17, Pennsylvania
NR Bertie Horner 32, Pennsylvania
NR Marie 15, Pennsylvania

Appears in 1920 Census Gettysburg, Baltimore Street with wife Anna as lawyer in general practise. (image attached under multimedia)
Page 32 of 40 in Online Images Ancestry.com, and in district encompassing Jail (there are two districts this census)
Samuel McC and Anna K.
No other residents of home

Spouse: Anna Kate (Annie) ** ìNanaî STAIR11
Birth: 7 Mar 1856, York, York Co, Penna12
Death: 5 Oct 1932, Gettysburg, Penna
Father: William Henry** STAIR (1830-<1855)
Mother: Maria Elizabeth** ìMaryî BENTZ (1834-1916)
Marr: 1876, Gettysburg Presbyterian Or York St Johnís Episcopal [Probably the brideís church. Her uncle was organist at St johns, and her mother remarried in St Johnís in 1868]

Children: Marion (died in Infancy) (Died as Infant)
 James Donald**îDeweyî (1881-1950)
 Mary Stair (1885-1966)
 Amy McCurdy (1893-1980)

1.4 John Franklin SWOPE8
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Birth: 1 Jun 1855, Gettysburg, Penna8
Death: 1895, Iowa8
Educ: Gettysburg College, Gettysburg Penna? (ìBorn in Gettysburg, educated thereî)9

On arriving at manhood he left his native place and went west, locating at Glenwood, Iowa, where he engaged in the furniture business in partnership with his brother, James. In 1888 he moved to Red Oak, Iowa.9
ìWith his genius for making fiends and his close attention his business grew wonderfully, and at the time of his death he had one of the largest furniture stores in southwestern Iowa. He was an enterprising and public spirited business man, and hightly esteemed citizen. His genial ways won him friends quickly, and his sterling qualities of head and heart held friends to him closely and commanded the respect of allî.9
No children at time of Swope Book writing (notes compiled 1896, after John F Swopeís death)9

Spouse: Mary FORD  8
Marr: 27 Jul 1880  8
 
 

Sources

1. Gilbert Ernest Swope, The Swope Family 1676-1896, T.B. & H.B Cochran, Publishers, 1898.  pages 75 & 89.
2. ìCensus listing, see detail.î Gettysburg Borough, Adams Co, Penna Enumerated Aug 23.
3. Gilbert Ernest Swope, The Swope Family 1676-1896, T.B. & H.B Cochran, Publishers, 1898.  page 89.
4. Family Notes from D M Swope-research and interviews. 1818-appears disputed by census in which she would have been born 1820/21. DM was intimate with his grandfather Sam Swope, the son of this couple
5. ìCensus listing, see detail.î 1850 Gettysburg, Adams Co, Penna shows she is 29, 1870 census she is 49.
6. ìAdams County Sentinel (Centinel) -Spelling varies at Historical Society and whereever it is sited-mostly Sentinel,î Adams County Newspaper published Gettysburg, Sited by the Adams county historical society in mcCurdy file, 3 march 1845 edition.
7. ìCensus listing, see detail.î 1850 Gettysburg Boro, adams Co., Penna Census with parents.
8. Gilbert Ernest Swope, The Swope Family 1676-1896, T.B. & H.B Cochran, Publishers, 1898.
9. Ibid. page 90.
10. Ibid. pgs 90 and 123-124.
11. Ibid. page 123-124.
12. Family Notes from DM Swope-research and interviews.
13. 1860 census [page number 42 in hard copy for Gettysburg Borough, Adams County, penna 197 in upper right hand corner-  page no 197 in mixed townships [only township offered for] Adams County, Penna in ancestry.com subscription ] Ennumerated 13th June 1860
Dwelling 297/343rd enumerated. George Swope, Head of Household.
14. Remembrances of Samuel McCurdy Swope, son of John SWOPE and Nancy Moore McCurdy as recorded by his grandchild D M Swope
15. Evergreen cemetery tombstone, Gettysburg, Adams County, Penna. Viewed by writer.