Edward Swinson

(Feb 11, 1898 – Sep 11, 1959)

Edward, called "Ederd", was the first born child to Jacob Edward and Clara Susan Casteen Swinson. Eleven children were born to Jacob and Clara, nine living to adulthood. One girl, Tama, died at an early age. Two boys, James and Johna (pronounced Jonah), also died at early ages.

Ederd was born in Onslow County near Maple Hill, N.C., down the lane ½ mile off the dirt road running from the Burnt Show to the Bear Grass Road. The house was built of wood, cut from trees growing on the place. It was an unpainted house, with a dog-trot separating it from the kitchen, with a fireplace in each building. Two shallow wells furnished water. Later, a deep well was dug for a hand pumped pump. The water had an outstandingly good taste. A system of canal ditches ran through the fields for drainage, bridged at places, allowing travel from one field to another. At one of the connecting ditches was a swimming hole. Hand-cut rails provided the split rail fences surrounding the farmed acres. Main crops were cotton and tobacco, with grain crops for feeding animals, and a large assortment of vegetables and fruit trees.

The farm was self-sufficient except for a few commodities such as coffee, salt, pepper, sugar and flour. Giant twin oaks graced the front yard giving shade to both buildings. Inserted between the oak trees was a shelf made to keep the washing lye safe from the hands of the children. The farm was part of the original Jess Swinson homestead, deeded in the 1800s, with about 75 acres of wooded land and 25 acres of cleared land.

Ederd married two times. At age 24, in 1922, he married Sina Viola Rogers, a local girl. They lived with the family and helped with farming. Claudie, their first son was born December 2, 1923. He lives in Oswego, New York where he married Helen Barton. They have one daughter and five sons, one son died. Claudie is a crane operator and gardener.

Grandpa Jacob gathered up his family along about here and moved to Quitman, Georgia. Aunt Bertha was nine years old. Ederd bought the farm.

Leon came next, born September 6, 1925. He married Melva Henderson, one born to them, divorced, and remarried to Claudie Deloree Worden. Two daughters were born to them, divorced. Leon’s Pamela Sue was the first of Ederd’s heirs to graduate from college. Leon has seven grandchildren, works Civil Service, and lives at Maple Hill, North Carolina.

Floyd was born in 1927 and died at the age of three.

Nellie Mae, born July 11, 1929, married William Batson and lives at West End, North Carolina. Five sons living, one son died. She has two grandchildren. Nellie works as a writer and homemaker.

Lillie Bell, born August 9, 1931, lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She married Leon Coleman and has one son living, two sons died, and is now divorced. Lillie was the first to graduate high school. She has one grandchild and works as an investor and realtor.

Mary Alice, born February 17, 1933, lives in Cedar Hill, Tennessee. She married Wade Kempt Gann and has one daughter. She works in a boot factory. Sina died while Mary Alice was still a small baby in 1934.

Ederd remarried Aredell Jenkins in June 1935. She was 19 years younger than Ederd. Sarah Jane, their first child, was born March 31, 1936. She married C. T. Silance and they had one son and three daughters. They divorced and she remarried to Delmon Hill, and they divorced. Sarah has three grandchildren and lives in Trenton, North Carolina. She works for the Social Services as a companion.

Samuel came along next, born June 13, 1937. He married Dollie Wilson and they had four girls. They divorced and he remarried to Lillian Smith. They have one daughter. He has five grandchildren, lives in Van Wert, Ohio and is a tool factory worker.

Edward, Jr., called Eddie, born January 6, 1939, married Minnie Wilson (sister of Dollie). They have one girl, three sons, one grandchild, and live in Greenbrier, Tennesse. He works in a chair factory.

Evelyn Estell, born December 1940, died at two months.

Sybil Faye, born December 2, 1942, married Ronnie Marshburn. They have three daughters, one son, and one grandchild. She lives at Maple Hill, North Carolina and works as a secretary.

Mattie Susan, born April 24, 1948, married Danny Hobbs. They had one daughter and two sons, divorced. She remarried Tony Howell, lives in Greenbrier, Tennessee, and is a factory worker.

Kenneth, born June 11, 1949, married Nancy Francis, divorced, remarried Donna Swinson (no relation), lives in Greenbrier, Tennessee and is a factory worker.

Charlotte Geneva, born June 1, 1952, married Ray Osborne. They have three daughters and live in Havelock, North Carolina. Charlotte is a homemaker.

The new house was built between 1950-1955 out on the dirt road where Aredell lives with her remarried husband, Robert Lee Sanderson. The old house was torn down in the later part of the 1960s. There’s nothing there today but a big field, still under cultivation by the new owner.

Ederd died in a tragic automobile accident, Tuesday, September 22, 1959, at Wallace, North Carolina. He was returning home from selling his last sale of tobacco for the season. He was buried in the Swinson Cemetery at the edge of Uncle John’s farm. He lies beside his first wife Sina. The children of Ederd and Sina, including the grandchildren, called him Papa. The children of Ederd and Aredell called him Daddy. The family sold the farm in 1967.

Nellie Mae Swinson Batson, 1984