Pike Township Family Stories
JOHN SWICKARD FAMILY
Nichols, Iowa Centennial Book 1884-1984, pages 204-205 <John Swickard was born 12 April 1824 in Jefferson county, Ohio. He died 28 January 1886 and is buried in the Nichols cemetery.
His first wife was Margaret Nichols, a daughter of Samuel Nichols and Mary Rodgers Nichols. She was born 30 June 1830 in Ohio and married John Swickard 14 February 1855 in Muscatine county. She died 8 February 1879. Her obituary reads:
“Died, Near Nichols, Iowa, on the night of the 7th inst. of consumption, Mrs. Margaret Swickard, wife of John Swickard, in her 49th year. She was a native of Ohio and came to Iowa with her father, Samuel Nichols, about 1838. She was one of the first members of the Christian church of Nichols. She was married to Mr. John Swickard in 1855 and was the mother of ten children, only four of whom survive her. Her funeral took place at the Christian church in Nichols yesterday, Rev. Mr. Powell officiating. The deceased was greatly esteemed for her many good qualities of heart and mind by a large circle of acquaintances.”
The ten children of John Swickard and Margaret Nichols Swickard were: Florence (born 23 August 1856, died 23 May 1875); Byron (born 21 May 1858, died 23 Oct 1861); Alice (born 29 Oct 1959, died 23 Oct 1861); Samuel M.; B. Mathias; Marvin Lincoln (born 3 April 1865, died 19 August 1866); Anna D. (born 12 September 1868, died 1 April 1870); Benjamin F.; William (born 4 December 1870, died 10 August 1871), and Benjamin T. Swickard.
After her death, John married as his second wife Margaret (Maggie) Hines on 1 January 1880. They had two children, twins, Johnnie E. (born 24 March 1885, died 25 March 1885) and Arlie M. (born 24 March 1885, died 8 November 1885) and a daughter, Christine, who was born 20 November 1880.
John Swickard and Margaret Nichols Swickard and many of their children died from consumption, as tuberculosis was called in those days.
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Page created December 18, 2010 by Lynn McCleary