Darling Research
Darling-Swayze-Walter-Swann Line
By Don Taylor

[After looking at her husband, James Walter, her daughter, Catherine Ann Dent Walter, her son, Elkanah Walter, and a cursory look at several of her other children, I still don’t know much about the life of 5^th great-grandmother Margaret Ann Swann.

Family Search has profile KZHN-T1Y for Margaret. Ancestry has a confusing number of trees for Margaret. Some indicate she was born in 1758 or 1760 in Charles County, Maryland. Other trees suggest she was born in 1771. Some have the correct parents, some different parents.]

Howell/Darling – Ancestor #102

List of Grands

6.  Robert Harry Darling(1907-1969)
7.  Rufus Harry Darling(1857-1917)
8.  Elizabeth Jane SwayzeWiseman Darling (1818-1881)
9.  Catherine Ann Dent Walter(abt 1790-1868)
10. Margaret Ann Swann (1760-1826)
11. Samuel Swann (1676-1743)*
12. Edward Swann (1633-1708)*

*  Individuals marked with an asterisk have not been researched by me and are tentative or speculative.

Margaret Ann Swann Walter (1760-1826)

Birth

Birth records for colonial women are sparse. A DAR application for her husband indicates she was born in Maryland, and an “Excerpt from a Book of Remembrance” indicates she was born in 1760. I tend to believe DAR accepted facts are accurate for Patriots, but I’m not sure I think their info for spouses of Patriots is to be trusted. Similarly, I’ve not found the source for A Book of Remembrance. I’ll ask the individual who added the info to Margaret’s FamilySearch Memories for further source information.

Various researchers have other dates for Margaret, daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Dent) Swann.

One suggests Margaret was born in 1758, but sources that fact to a record showing her parents to be Thomas & Ann Swann.

Others suggest Margaret was born in 1771 or 1772 without cited source records. If so, Nancy would have been born when she was 16. They also don’t provide for any marriage date. My records indicate Margaret and James married in 1783. Being married at 11 is very unlikely in colonial America, so I suspect the 1771 & 1772 birth dates are incorrect.

I’ve decided to accept 1760 in Maryland as Margaret’s birth information tentatively. Hopefully, further research into the Swann line, particularly her parents and siblings, will shed additional light on Margaret’s Birth Information

Siblings

FamilySearch indicates that Samuel and Catherine (Dent) Swann had 17 children, including Margaret. (Margaret is the 10^th child.) Siblings include John Robert, Basil, Alexander, Zephaniah, Ann, Josiah, Henry, Leonard, Charles, Samuel Hatch, Edward Burch, Philip, Anna, Elizabeth, John, and Thomas Mercer Swann. However, my records indicate Samuel and Catherine had 11 children, and Margaret was the 3^rd.

Marriage

Margaret and James Walter married “after the war.” (Which ended 19 April 1783.) Nancy Ann was born about 1788, so I suspect Margaret and James were married about 1787. However, the Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolutions Buried in the State of Ohio indicates that James married Margaret Ann Levan, suggesting she was married earlier. Martin Walter, born in 1779, could be James’ or Margaret’s child from a previous marriage. 

Children of James and Margaret Ann (Swann) Walter

Adulthood

Much of the information known about Margaret comes from the will of Samuel Swann. In the will, dated 1807, he gave 1/8^th of his property. The distribution of the will in December 1809 included 1/8 of the sundry property going to Margaret.

After the marriage, Margaret and James and Margaret lived in Frederick County, Virginia, before locating to Fairfield County, Ohio.

Death/Burial, etc.

Margaret died in 1826 at New Salem, Ohio at the age of 66.

Events by Location

Margaret relocated westward about 350 miles during her lifetime.

• Maryland (prob. St. Mary’s County)      Birth (1760)
• Ohio, Fairfield County, New Salem        Death (1826)
• Ohio, Fairfield County, Lancaster          Death of husband (1838)
• Virginia, Frederick                                        Birth of Catherine (1794)
• Virginia, Frederick, Winchester              Birth of Elizabeth (1796)
• Virginia, Montgomery, Big Spring         Marriage, Birth of Nancy, Elkanah                                                                                        (1787-1789)

Further Actions / Follow-up

• Determine if Martin Walker is the child of James, Margaret, or them together.
• Determine Nancy Ann’s husband and if the surname was Levan instead.
• Determine BMD information on Margaret’s children.
• Research Margaret’s parents & siblings.

Sources

• Daughters of the American Revolution – DAR “Descendants” Database, Member: Helen J. Roy – National # 455124 – Ancestor # A120153 – Accessed; 30 December 2016. https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=3.
• Daughters of the American Revolution – Supporting Documentation, DAR, A120153 M455124 – Pages 6-9 – Deed of Trust. Daughters of the American Revolution All Rights Reserved. Copy Services A120153 M455124.
• FamilySearch Memories, Family Search, Margaret Swan – Stories – Excerpt From Book of Remembrance. Contributed by Brian_Scheewe – 13 February 2022. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KZHN-T1Y.
• FamilySearch Memories, Family Search, Margaret Swan – Stories – Great-great Grandfather – Written by Emily Swayzee McCarty. Contributed by Brian_Scheewe – 13 February 2022. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KZHN-T1Y.
• Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999, Hall of Records, Annapolis, Samuel Swann – 20 November 1807. Wills – 1777-1820 vol 1-3 – Image 543 of 743Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999,” images, FamilySearch: Accessed 20 May 2014), St. Mary’s > Wills 1777-1820 vol 1-3 > image 543 of 743; Hall of Records, Annapolis. Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999,” images, FamilySearch: Accessed 20 May 2014), St. Mary’s > Wills 1777-1820 vol 1-3 > image 543 of 743; Hall of Records, Annapolis. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYMH-9WF4?i=542.
• Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolutions Buried in the State of Ohio, (1929), Walter, James. Revolutionary Soldiers 1775-1783 – Page 385. (Archive.org).

Endnotes

[i] Levan is suspiciously similar to the surname Leevir (or Sevir) that Nancy Ann married.