John Swett of Newbury has been the subject of much speculation. He is said to have come from Devonshire, in the west of England -- and from the Isle of Guernsey, in the English Channel. Efforts have been made to link him to the Sweet families who settled in Rhode Island. However, none of these secondary sources refers to primary sources that could prove where John Swett came from.

A note in the Massachusetts Bay Colony records reads: "John and Benjamin Swett sailed from Wymondham Parish" with no indication of the date or the ship. Wymondham is in county Norfolk, in the east of England.

Wymondham Parish records [LDS Film #1911510] have:
Dorcas Swett, daughter of John Swett, baptized 31 May 1618.
Stephen Swett, son of John Swett, baptized 18 April 1620.
Joseph Swett, son of John Swett, baptized 21 January 1622.
Benjamin Swett, son of John Swett, baptized 12 May 1624.

John Swett, Jr., isn't in the Wymondham Parish records, because they only go back to March 1618, but other research shows he was born in 1613.

12 March 1642: "The Stint of the Ox and Cow Common" divided public pasture among the freemen at Parker River. Of the 92 proprietors listed, only Mr. Miller and John Swett received no allotted number of acres.

The Stint of the Ox and Cow Common is the earliest record we have of this family in New England. John Swett was probably about 52 years old, and his children were: John (29), Dorcas (24), Stephen (22), Joseph (20), Benjamin (18).

1641/2: The frost was so great and continual this winter, that all the [Boston] bay was frozen over, so much and so long, as the like, by the Indians' relation, had not been these 40 years, and it continued from the 18th of the 11th month [January 1642] to the 21st of the 12th month [February 1642]; so as horses and carts went over in many places where ships have sailed. [John Winthrop, vol. 2, p. 54.]

From the foregoing, it looks as though John Swett sailed in 1641 and arrived at Parker River between 21 February and 12 March 1642. And perhaps not coincidentally for a man who had four military-age sons, the last half of 1641 was the beginning of the English Civil War, which broke out in January 1642.

18 May 1642: John Swett was admitted to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Because this normally was done soon after the head of a household arrived in the colony, it suggests that he had not been there very long.

7 December 1642: John Swett was one of the signers of the proposal to move Newbury from the Parker River to the Merrimack River, and was included among the 91 Grantees of Newbury when it was approved by the court.

10 January 1644: The freeholders of Newbury voted: "He that hath the least land in the New Town shall have 8 acres, except John Swett, Thomas Silver & Jo Russe." Each man was allotted land for a home, planting and pasture, the size of same based on how much he had contributed to the venture. Thus, exclusion of John Swett from apportionment of farm land indicates that he was a recent arrival, or a poor man, or not a farmer. He seems to have been a recent arrival, and later records suggest that he was a leather-worker, probably a shoemaker.

11 January 1645: House lots and farm lots were laid out in the new settlement and assigned to freeholders of the town of Newbury. John Swett received house lot #26, between those of Richard Bartlett (#25) and John Bartlett (#27).

19 April 1649: The minutes of a meeting in Newbury to choose town officers have: "John Swett, leather searcher." We would call this office "leather inspector" which suggests he was a leather-worker, probably a cordwainer (shoemaker) as several of his descendants were.

11 December 1650: "Sarah, __ John Swett, died at Newbury." The source of this statement is an undocumented pedigree. Photocopies of the original records have "[---]ra Swett, Dec. 11, 1650" but nothing that indicates any relationship, or even her age at death. Thus, the widespread assumption that John Swett of Newbury had a wife named Sarah is not supported.

13 January 1652: "Died at Newbury, 'old' John Swett"

6 May 1665: "Phebe Swett, widow" died. She probably was the wife of John Swett. The Early Vital Records of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (nine compact disks) have no indication that any other man named Swett (or variant spellings) died in Massachusetts prior to 6 May 1665.

Summary:

Research among primary records indicates that John Swett was probably born in county Norfolk, England, about 1590, not in Devonshire or the Isle of Guernsey. His wife was Phebe, not Sarah His children Dorcas, Stephen, Joseph, and Benjamin were baptized in Wymondham, Norfolk, England, 1618 to 1624. He probably sailed in 1641. He was at the settlement on Parker River 12 March 1642, and died in Newbury 13 January 1652.

See Stephen Swett for continuation of Swetts in Newbury.


Submitted by: Ben H. Swett - ben@bswett.com
Website: http://www.swett-genealogy.com