San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOSEPH H. SWAIN
For many years Joseph H. Swain has
been numbered among the prosperous and progressive farmers and stock raisers of
San Joaquin County, and previous to his removal to Stockton and from the year
1877 he lived on his fine ranch five miles north of Stockton on West Lane. He has added to his holding from time to time
until he is now the owner of 1218 acres of fine grain land and its excellent
improvements and thorough cultivation give it a reputation as one of the model
places of the county. Since 1892 he has resided
at 1045 North Commerce Street, Stockton.
Mr. Swain is a native of San Joaquin County, where he has worked out his
career in honorable effort to prosperous results, and he belongs to a family
whose members have been influential in county affairs from pioneer days to the
present. He was born January 13, 1856, a
son of the late Cornelius Swain and his wife (Juliza)
C. (Davis) Swain, the father a native of Tennessee and the mother of Missouri.
Cornelius Swain, who died at his
home in Stockton in 1904, was a well known pioneer of San Joaquin County. He brought his family from Missouri to this
state in 1853, crossing the plains with ox teams, and reached Stockton in the
same year. He was a wagon and carriage
maker, a trade which he followed for a short time after his arrival in
Stockton, but nearly all of his active career here was spent in ranching on his
fine estate on Cherokee Lane about six miles from Stockton, where he lived a
life of usefulness until his removal to Stockton about ten years before his
death. He was a prominent Mason, being a
member of Morning Star Lodge No. 68, F. & A. M., and of Stockton Commandery
No. 8, K. T., and he was buried with the rites of Masonry. He was a Democrat in politics, and as the
candidate of this, the minority party, some years ago ran for the office of
county treasurer. He served as trustee
and clerk of the board of the Davis school district, in which he formerly
resided, and he was always ready to act for the welfare and progress of his
county.
There were six children of the Swain
household: John A. resides in Stockton;
Joseph H. is the subject of this sketch; Charles C., deceased; Mrs. Mary Bell
Mitchell resides in San Francisco; George resides in Hollywood; and Mrs. Jessie
Hamilton resides in San Francisco. The
father died in 1904 at the age of seventy-eight and the mother was also
seventy-eight when she passed away in 1906.
Joseph H. Swain was reared on the
Swain ranch in San Joaquin County, and attended the Davis county school and the
Washington school in Stockton, then entered the Stockton High School, and after
his schools days were over he took up agricultural pursuits, which he
successfully followed until his removal to Stockton in 1892. While living in the country he served for a time
as a trustee of the Davis school district.
The marriage of Mr. Swain occurred
October 2, 1878, at the ranch home of his bride nine miles southeast of
Stockton, uniting him with Miss Nancy H. Castle, born on the same ranch where
her marriage occurred, a daughter of George H. and Harriet Castle. The former was born at Hobart, New York
state, March 27, 1822, of English ancestry; his maternal grandfather was a
Revolutionary soldier and served throughout the struggle that made the colonies
free. He removed to the state of
Wisconsin, from which state in 1852 he set out for California and was
accompanied on this journey by his two brothers, James U. and Christopher C.,
his wife and three children. He was
married at Springfield, Illinois, April 1, 1846, to Miss Harriet Oliver, who
was born at Springfield, Illinois, October 28, 1829, and died at Oakland August
2, 1882. They joined the usual emigrant
train of those days, and, crossing the Mississippi River on April 5, 1852,
arrived in Hangtown, California, on August 20.
The brothers employed their energies in mining on the middle fork of the
American River until 1856. Later Mr.
Castle located in San Joaquin County, where he acquired considerable land and at
his death left a large estate. He also
became a large landowner in Tulare County.
This worthy pioneer couple became the parents of fourteen children, nine
of whom grew up: Mary E., Mrs. Barney,
deceased; Cynthia, Mrs. Nicewonger resides in
Berkeley; Hasting, deceased; Dorlusca, Mrs. E. W. Kay
resides at San Anselmo; Nancy H., Mrs. Joseph H.
Swain, deceased; Edmund G. resides at Oakland; Mrs. Pamelia
Josephine Baggs resides in San Francisco; Durrett Oliver resides on the old Castle homestead nine
miles southeast of Stockton; Lavina G., Mrs. Blythe, deceased. George H. Castle at one time served as sheriff
of the county. After his marriage,
Joseph H. Swain bought a quarter-section of land on Hammer Lane, about five
miles north of Stockton and there resided for fourteen years, when the family
removed to Stockton, where he has since made his home. Some time later he
bought an eighty-acre piece of land adjoining his quarter-section and when his
father died he inherited 108 acres from the Swain estate, making 348 acres of
land. Mrs. Swain and the other Castle
heirs inherited 1170 acres of land, but 400 acres was afterwards disposed of,
leaving 770 acres. Mr. Swain bought out
the other heirs from time to time until he owned the entire acreage, making a
total of 1218 acres which he now owns and which is devoted to grain and
stockraising.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Swain became
the parents of a family of five children, three of whom are now living: Mabel J., Mrs. Frank M. Simpson, resides in
Alameda; George C. is the manager of the old home ranch; and Gladys O., Mrs.
Roy N. Waltz, resides in Stockton. There
is one grandchild, Donna J., a daughter of Mrs. Simpson. Mr. Swain is affiliated with the Morning Star
Lodge No. 68, F. & A. M., at Stockton, and Stockton Commandery No. 8, K.
T.; he is also a member of the Elks at Stockton, and is a member of the
Christian Church at Stockton. Mrs. Swain
passed away in the Stockton home on February 18, 1920.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
495-496. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases