David Swayze (1762-1838)

David Swayze is a great example of an individual that I know
I have so much more research to work on. 

Birth: I am
fairly certain that he was born on March 4th, 1762, to Amos and Ida
Swayze in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. 
There are a couple sources that indicate he may have been born on March
11th, which I would like to investigate further.  Another area is that his is the only child I
know that Amos and Ida had. I would need to investigate further and determine
if he had any siblings.

Military: We also
know that he was a patriot.  He served as
a private for New Jersey during the Revolution. According to DAR and SAR
records he served under Capt. McKinney, Hazlet, Henry, Bonnel & Ribble. His
service is an area that I really need to do much more research. What actions
might he have seen.  He also received a
pension for his service and it appears that he received a land grant for his
service.

Family:  He married Alice Mulligan on January 20th,
1792.   They had five children that I
know of.

Sometime between 1796 and 1817, David moved to Ohio. Because
in 1817, David was a Justice of the Peace in Fairfield County, Ohio, where he
married his son David to Catherine Walter. 

According to an entry on Find A Grave, “David Swayze was one of the founders of New Salem,
Ohio. It may have been named after the town of Salem, Mass. It was laid out by
Abraham Hashbarger/Hershberger and David Swayze.”

David Swayze died on 2 Mar 1838 in New Salem, Fairfield
county, Ohio at the age of 75.

He is buried New Salem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery in Salem,
Perry County, Ohio, USA.

I remember my wife’s 4th great-grandfather, David Swayze, today, on the 252nd
anniversary of his birth.

The Great Ancestors

Investigate various sources for David’s birthdate.

Investigate Amos & Ida Swayze for additional children.

Further document David’s Military Service.

Follow David’s move to Ohio better.

Find/acquire a better image of David Swayze’s marker where the writing is legible.