A Revolutionary War Martyr

A cousin to my sons, Samuel Swift (1715-1775), was a member of the Sons of Liberty and called a “martyr for freedom’s cause” by his friend, Samuel Adams (1722-1803). Samuel Swift was married twice, but at the period of time we’re interested in, he was married to his second wife, Ann Foster (1729-1788), with whom he had six children.

Swift died under British house arrest in Boston, Massachusetts, having contracted an illness from which he did not recover. I suspect it may have been smallpox or diphtheria as these were two prevalent diseases during the Revolutionary War and decimated General Washington’s troops.

Let’s backtrack from Swift’s death to the events leading up to his house arrest. His good friend, Samuel Adams, was the founder of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty, was founded in 1765 in Boston and dissolved in 1776. It was a secret organization organized in all thirteen colonies to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It played a major role in battling the Stamp Act and applying pressure to merchants who did not comply with the non-importation associations (see prior blog). Wherever these groups existed, they were directed in secret by leading men – Samuel Swift was one of these men. 

Image from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Additionally, Swift was part of Boston’s Committee of Correspondence. Each major city had one of these committees whose purpose was to maintain contact between colonial cities. The defined purpose of Boston’s Committee was to “Prepare a statement of the rights of colonists, and of this province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as subjects; Prepare a declaration of the infringement of those rights; and Prepare a letter to be sent to all towns in this province (Massachusetts) and to the world, giving the sense of this town.” In 1773, this Committee was charged with managing the “tea crisis” and was the driving force behind the Boston Tea Party. Samuel Swift – not an actual member of the Boston Tea Party - is alleged to have been one of the managers of the Boston Tea Party. 1 Though the Committees of Correspondence were primarily concerned with diplomacy, the Sons of Liberty were more about action. So, it was probably the Sons of Liberty members (who were also members of the Committees of Correspondence) who pulled off the Boston Tea Party. 

Google Image

 Samuel Swift was known for his zeal regarding the revolution, and Samuel Adams said that “Samuel Swift caused Bostonians to secrete their arms when the British Governor, Gage, offered the town freedom if arms were brought into the arsenal.”  Additionally, in 1775, Swift was the presiding officer at a Freemasons meeting where it was agreed to use the concealed arms and, if needed, pitchforks and axes, to attack the British soldiers stationed in Boston. About June 1775, Gov. Gage got wind of this scheme and imprisoned Samuel Swift. 2

Swift’s willingness to resort to violence is seen in a letter he wrote to Samuel Adams on October 24, 1774: “As for my part I am no Swordsman but with Gun or flail I fear no man more especially my Cause being Good as I think otherwise [sic] I would not engage.” 3 

Needless to say, Swift’s wife, Ann, was distraught about her husband’s house arrest. She and their children were forced to leave their home and went to live in Springfield, Massachusetts, about 90 miles west of Boston. Ann was an inveterate diary keeper.  She writes in her diary in June 1775: “Here I am in the woods, Boston being so surrounded by armies that we could not enjoy our home: no school for the children, and the town forsaken by the ministers—the pillars of the land.” At the same time, she wrote a letter to a British officer, Captain Handfield, asking that her husband be able to come to her:

“Capt. Handfield, Sir,

            Your kindness in undertaking to me a pass for me emboldens me to ask the like favor for my dear husband whom I hear is in a very weak state of health. The anxiety of my mind is great about him. A word from you would have more weight than all the arguments that he could make use of.

            Could I come to him, this favor I would not ask. I, Sir I trust in your goodness that you will do what you can to forward Mr. Swift to me and in doing so you will greatly oblige

            Your distressed friend                        ANN SWIFT

Should be glad if he would bring out two

trunks which there is clothing in that I

want very much for myself and children.” 4

Despite his wife’s plea, Samuel Swift was not released to go to Springfield. I presume that despite his illness, Governor Gage, deemed him a threat, sick or not.  Samuel Swift died on August 30, 1775. His wife wrote in her diary: “Departed this life, in the 61^st year of his age, my dear husband, Samuel Swift. He died in Boston, or in other words, murdered there. He was not allowed to come to see me and live with his wife and children in the country. There he gave up the ghost—his heart was broken; the cruel treatment he met with in being a friend to his country was more than he could bear. With six fatherless children (in the woods) and all my substance in Boston.” 5 

Both Ann Foster Swift and Samuel Adams were correct – Samuel Swift, a true Revolutionary, gave his life for his country, dying a martyr. 

 

Image from Find a Grave

Samuel Swift is my sons’ second cousin, nine times removed.

1 - "Committees of Correspondence: The Voice of the Patriots." Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, 5 Mar 2019, www.bostonteapartyship.com/committees-of-correspondence.

2 - Ibid.

3 - "To John Adams from Samuel Swift, 20 October 1774," Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-02-0059. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 2, December 1773-April 1775, ed. Robert J. Taylor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977, pp. 192-196.

4 - "North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000." Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. www.ancestry.com. Memoirs of Gen. Joseph Gardner Swift, LL D, USA : First graduate of the United States Military Academy.

5 - Ibid.

 

Epitahs - Headstone Poetry

I have always been interested in headstone art and epitaphs. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an epitaph as “an inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there.” Additionally, it is defined as “a brief statement commemorating a deceased person.”  Here are some epitaphs I recently came across in my research which speak to character and death.  

Robert W. Oliver

Robert W. Oliver (1768-1829) is the 6^th great uncle of my sons. He was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and died in the state of New York. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. He is buried in the Ingraham Cemetery in Ingraham, New York. His headstone reads as follows:

In Memory of

Robert Oliver

who departed this

life Dec 30^th 1829

Tis finished tis done the spirit is fled,

The prisoner is gone the Christian is dead.

The Christian is living through Jesus’ love,

And gladly receiving a Kingdom above.

Samuel Swift

Samuel Swift (1683-1747) is the 1^st cousin 10x removed of my sons. He was born and died in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Samuel was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the town of Wilton: He was a Colonel in the militia, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (trial court), and moderator of town meetings. He is buried in the Milton Cemetery in Milton, Massachusetts. His headstone reads as follows:

Here lies Inter’d the Remains of SAMUEL SWIFT Esq who departed this Life Oct 13 1747 age 64 years.

Who never did a Slander forge

His Neighbour’s Fame to wound;

Nor Hearken to a False Report

By Malice whispered round.

Who to his plighted Vows and Trust

Had ever Firmly stood,

And Tho’ he promis’d to his Loss

He made his Promise good.

  

Anna Swift

Anna Holman Swift (1680-1769) is the wife of the above Samuel Swift. She was born and died in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Anna was the mother of 11 children. She is buried in the Milton Cemetery in Milton, Massachusetts. Her headstone reads as follows:

Her lie inter’d the Remains

of Mrss. ANN SWIFT the

virtuous Consort of

SAMUEL SWIFT ESQ.r

SHE exchanged this life for

A better MAY 19^th 1762 in the

82d Year of her Age.

Reader remember thou art born to die,

Hark from the Grave to you this is my Cry;

Withdraw, prepare, think, Act Accordingly.

Luke, XVI 31.

Sarah Swift Adams (1711-1774) is the daughter of the above

Sarah Adams

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Swift.  Sarah was born and died in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Like her mother, she was also the mother of 11 children. She is buried in the Milton Cemetery in Milton, Massachusetts. Her headstone reads as follows:

In memory of

MRS. SARAH ADAMS

late Consort of Mr. John Adams

who died Nov. 16^th, 1774

aged 63 tears

Death is a debt to nature due,

As she has paid it so must you.

As she has paid it so must you.

In life then strive to get prepared,

To fly with her to meet the Lord.

All of the Swift headstones have a winged head. The head is referred to as the “death head.” Adding the wings, signifies that life is a fleeting thing.

Note:  All images are from Find A Grave website.