San Joaquin County
Biographies
CORNELIUS SWAIN
CORNELIUS SWAIN, one of the
enterprising and successful farmers of San Joaquin County, is a native of
Davidson County, Tennessee, where he was born February 17, 1826, a son of John
and Mary (Ormes) Swain; the latter a native of Tennessee, her parents being of
Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. His father, John Swain, was a native of North
Carolina. In 1830, when our subject was about four years of age, the family
migrated to Illinois, and located in Jackson County, where Cornelius was
raised. He was a schoolmate of John A. Logan, whose parents were near
neighbors. In 1850 Mr. Swain moved to Missouri, and located in Westport, which
town is now part of Kansas City. In 1851 he was married to Eliza Catharine
Davis, who was born in Jackson County, Missouri, daughter of Anderson Davis,
who was born in Roan County, North Carolina, December 25, 1801, and is one of
the oldest citizens living in San Joaquin County. He is a man who has seen his
share of this world’s hardships; his whole life, it might be said, has been
spent upon the frontier.
Mr. Swain continued to make his home in
Missouri until 1853, when he and his family, together with his wife’s parents
and a few intimate friends, left Missouri April 28, and arrived in Stockton
September 28, 1853, after a journey of five months to the day. Mr. Swain
located almost immediately on the ranch where he now lives, buying a claim of
what was a Spanish grant, and has made his home there ever since. His landed
possessions at this time amount to 1,240 acres, and all the improvements that
are seen on it to-day were made by Mr. Swain; when he first settled on it there
was not even a furrough plowed. The ranch is situated on the Cherokee Lane
road, five miles from Stockton. During his residence in the county Mr. Swain
has been principally engaged in raising stock, mules being his principal
favorite in the stock line. His ranch is one of the finest in the county, and
the improvements are a valuable acquisition. In business matters Mr. Swain has
been very successful; he ranks among our best and most respected citizens. Is a
stockholder and director of the San Joaquin Valley Bank.
He has a family of six children, four sons
and two daughters. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for over
twenty years, and has taken nearly all the degrees of the order. He belongs to
the Morning Star Lodge, No. 68, also the Chapter, both lodges of Stockton.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Page 249. Lewis Pub. Co.
Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2008 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Genealogy Databases