THE BLACK SWANS

by which said Wicked Acts...Timothy Swann upon...divers other days & times...was and is Tortured Afflicted Consumed Pined Wasted and Tormented... ~ Indictment of Mary Bradbury

the Swans in Rowley

In 1639, our grandfather Richard Swan (10GGF) settled in the town of Rowley with his wife Anna Spofford (10GGM) and six children. Four more children were born to them in Rowley.

While Richard became one of the prominent men in Rowley, he also initiated a bad precedent for his children when he was brought to Court in 1650 for attacking a fellow townsman.

"Richard Swaine of Rowley presented...for breach of the peace in striking Ezekiel Northen in the face with a staff or goad..." This "breach of peace" resulted in "Rich: Swan fined three shillings, and to pay fees of Ezekell Northen and court."

Richard went on to acquire quite a bit of property before he died in 1678. His will was extensive, translating into four modern typewritten pages. In spite of Richard's complaint to the town minister that his son Robert (9U) had written "a letter full of lies," that very son inherited the bulk of Richard's estate. Robert, received 200 acres of "village lands," land in Rowley, the dwelling house with barn, orchard, house lot and a good measure of pasture land to boot. Richard left bequests of between £10 - £35 to his daughters and four of his grandchildren. Possibly because bequests had been given to her three children, our poor grandmother, Julia Swan Stickney (9GGM), was the only one left out of the will

Uncle Robert, rabble rouser

In 1650, well before he received his inheritance, Richard's oldest son Robert moved from Rowley to Haverhill. There he embarked on a pattern of social disobedience that would continue throughout his lifetime.

Only three years after the move to Haverhill, Robert infuriated half the town when he, according to our grandfather Henry Palmer (10GGF), went "very sinfully to get that heifer." The heifer case was covered in our Petty Crimes post.

On 25 Sept. 1655 “willm Wyld sued Robert Swan for not paying for the carpenter work of a house and diet. Withdrawn.” The case was withdrawn when William Wild decided he'd rather not wrangle with Uncle Robert. Then, in the November Court of 1656, Robert was involved in a suit for non-payment of corn.

In 1666, the Court recorded an incident where John Carleton was fined £3 "for striking several blows to Robert Swan." Uncle Robert was then fined 30 shillings "for striking back several blows to John Carleton."

In the 1670's, Robert was still at it when the town ordered him to "pull down" a ditch he had made across one of the town's highways. Failure to comply would "result in prosecution." The next year, court records indicate that Robert had another brush with the law when he was fined 20 shillings for being caught "drunk and cursing."

In 1675, Robert took a little time out from his town shenanigans to do his part in King Philip's War. He is credited with service in the Great Swamp Fight against the Narragansett.

the fun continues

After the war, Uncle Robert was back up to his old tricks. In March 1684, Robert Swan was sued by John Whittier of Haverhill for “not keeping an agreement.” Robert lost that case. The only one to speak in his favor was his son Timothy (1C10X).

In 1686, Robert was presented before the Court for "seditious language..." Evidently, Robert was displeased that one of his neighbors, having two sons elected selectmen of the town, had his taxes eased. Robert was hauled in for saying "that he hoped that some of his (own) sons would be selectmen and then he should be but little in the rates..." It appears that freedom of speech was not yet a thing in Puritan America.

That same year Robert tried to pull a fast one on the town. He told the selectmen that he owned a piece of land and "...It being now in my hands to dispose of as... I think it expedient that a proposition be made to the town in the first place." It might seem magnanimous of Uncle Robert to offer his land to the town first but there was a slight problem. It seems the town had doubts as to the ownership of the property. From The History of Haverhill by George Chase, we find that Haverhill resident George Brown had a thing or two to say about the matter. "...he (Brown) plumply charged Goodman Swan with having told him a wrong story about a certain brook, on account of which Browne had laid out more land to Swan than he was entitled to..."

It came down to Brown's word against Swan's so the matter was opened up to the town and "...Considerable discourse was had about Robt Swan's motion, which was unanimously opposed with manifestation of great dislike..." According to records, Uncle Robert had shown "no original title, but only a blank, pretended to be Mr Endicot's title..." and further "The town declares that till they be dispossessed by law they will not buy of R Swan or of any other, but will hold what they account their own."

What happend next was just another case of the inexplicable, crazy Puritan ways. From Chase's History: "Notwithstanding these matters of dispute, Swan evidently had the confidence of the town, for the very next vote, at the same meeting, placed him on a committee to run disputed and uncertain lands, — a most important office." George Browne, disgusted with the whole affair, "openly declared that he would not any longer stand as a lot-layer...," a position that would have had him working closely with Uncle Robert.

In 1689, Robert's first wife died. Six months later, he married widow Hannah Ross. Then, two years after his marriage, Robert suddenly had his hands full with a scandal involving his son Timothy, and the witch fracas that sourrounded it.

Uncle Robert in court again

In 1685 Uncle Robert's son, Timothy, was accused of being “uncivil” to and “fornicating” with another Haverhill resident, Elizabeth Emerson, who subsequently found she was with child. In the ensuing court appearances, Elizabeth maintained that Timothy's "uncivil" behavior amounted to rape. Timothy was found not guilty of rape but ordered by the Court to support the child.

Robert, already up in arms about his son's support order, decided to vent his displeasure in public when the Court required Robert's son-in-law Nathaniel Ayers to support his own out-of-wedlock child. Uncle Robert's comments landed him in court a year later, accused of “defaming the acts of this court, in the sentences they passed upon [Nathaniel] Ayers and Caleb Hopkinson in allowing maintenance toward keeping their bastard children.” According to testimony, Robert had loudly proclaimed that forcing the men to "maintain" their children amounted to “two of the most unjust actions ever done and before he should be so dealt with, he would carry the case to Boston.”

At that same Court session, three other men testified against Robert. Josiah Gage said that Robert brought up his son's conviction for fornication and "declared it unlikely because he had charged him not to go into that wicked house and his son had obeyed and furthermore his son could not abide the jade."

The Court was not pleased with any of it. Records show that Robert was fined £1 12s, quite a hefty fine in those day. The Court further said it was "desirous of winning such an ancient man to Christian deportment." Robert, only 58 at the time, was still too old to learn new tricks.

Cousin Timothy, town pariah

Note: Most of the information I have about Timothy Swan and his role in the Salem Witch Trials comes from an extremely well researched dissertation by Niall Chithelen for Cornell University in 2017.

Cousin Timothy's involvment with Elizabeth Emerson, would continue to haunt him for reasons out of his control. Poor Elizabeth had a rough beginning. When she was twelve, her father Michael had been brought to court “for cruel and excessive beating of his daughter with a flail swingle and for kicking her, and was fined and bound to good behavior.” Then, when she was only twenty, she went through the shame of having Timothy Swan's baby without benefit of marriage.

Five years later, things got much worse. Elizabeth found herself pregnant, again with no husband, and this times with twins. When neighbors discovered the bodies of two infants sewn up in a bag and buried in Elizabeth's yard, she was arrested and subsequently tried for murder. In late 1691, the Court found Elizabeth Emerson guilty of murder and she was condemned to hang. While awaiting execution, Elizabeth was joined in jail by hoards of women and men accused of witchcraft. Sixteen of these would eventually confess to afflicting Elizabeth's former paramour, Timothy Swan.

While Cousin Timothy was in no way involved in Elizabeth's most recent crime, he was forever linked with her in the mind of Haverhill residents. Already disliked in the community, he had become the town pariah. The town's passionate dislike for Timothy Swan would manifest itself mightily during the witch trials shortly to come.

Note: Elizabeth Emerson was a cousin of our cousin Martha Toothaker Emerson's (1C9X) husband. When Martha was accused of witchcraft, her connection to Elizabeth would not have been helpful.

let the confessions begin

Sometime in the fateful year of 1692, Timothy Swan came down with a mysterious ailment. There is no record of Timothy ever accusing anyone of afflicting him. It's much more likely that the passion surrounding the accusations and a general loathing for Timothy in general led to the numerous confessions. It seems that people's desire to hurt Timothy Swan translated into a belief that they actually had done so.

The first person who confessed to afflicting Timothy was Ann Foster on 15 Jul 1692. She said under examination that "she tyed a Knot in Rage & threw it into the fire to hurt Timothy Swan..." Next in line was Mary Lacey. She confessed to hurting Timothy as well as our grandmother Elizabeth Ballard (8GGM). Mary Toothaker, wife of our uncle Roger (8U), shortly joined the crowd. The Toothaker's daughter, Martha, had married Elizabeth Emerson's cousin so that family had a particular grudge against Timothy. Mary admitted that she “did often think of him & her hands would be clinched together..."

Multiple confessors went on to say that they had afflicted Timothy on behalf of someone else in the community. Then, even the "afflicted girls" got into the act. Ann Putnam and Mary Walcott both said in one of their numerous depositions that they saw women from Andover and Haverhill afflict Timothy Swan.

Uncle Robert puts in his two cents

About two weeks after Ann Foster confessed to afflicting his son, Robert decided to do what he did best, make a complaint. From Court records on August 3:

"The Complaint of Roburt swane and John swane (1C10X) of Andovor against Mary Clarke...for themselves and severall of their neighbors: for High suspition of sundry acts of witchcraft by hir latly commited on the bodys of Timothy Swane of Andevor and Mary Walcott and Ann Putnam of Salem village wherby much hurt hath ben don the afore said afflicted persons and theirfore they crave justis..."

Prior to Robert's complaint, eight people had already confessed to afflicting Timothy. Why Robert chose to single out Mary Clarke for his complaint remains a mystery but was most probably due to some personal feud he had with her family.

sad endings

As the year progressed, Timothy's condition worsened as those accused of afflicting him languished in jail. Finally, in January of 1693, all of the men and women accused of afflicting Cousin Timothy were tried, found not guilty and released from prison. Just a few weeks later, on February 2, 1693, Timothy died from from the illness that had actually been afflicting him. Knowing the end was near, he made his will on January 24th, leaving all his property and possessions to his brothers. He was thirty years old.

On June 8th, 1693, Elizabeth Emerson, having sat in the Boston jail through the entirety of the Salem Witch trials, was finally executed for the murder of her children. She was twenty-eight years old.

On 11 Feb 1698, Robert Swan died in Haverhill "in the 74th year of his age."  Robert, who had inherited the bulk of his father's extensive estate died intestate, leaving his wife Hannah close to destitute:

"Hannah Swan Administratrix of ye Estate of Robert Swan...made Knowne unto me that ye said Estate Is Insolvent and not sufficient to pay all ye just Debts due wch ye Decd owed... Praying that a Comission may be made out unto some prsons to Receive and Examine ye Claimes of ye Severall Creditors thereto According to ye Direcctions of ye Law…"

And so, a sad ending indeed for all involved.

Frances Swan's violent husband

Uncle Robert's sister, Frances (9A), and her husband deserve a mention in our Black Swan post. In 1653, Frances married Mark Quilter who had a reputation for drinking and also for a violent temper. Some proof of his violence is in the the records of the Essex County Court. In 1664, the Court recorded two incidents involving Quilter:

"Marke Quilter, presented for striking his wife, was fined." A neighbor, Mrs. Greene testified that "being at the house of Marke Quilter...she heard the tongs clang and heard his wife cry out 'This is a brave Cullar for your Rogery to make Mrs. Greene beleeve you strike the pigg when you strike me."

Evidently Mark didn't save his blows only for his wife. Court records show that "Marke Quilter, upon complaint against him for striking the wife of Richard Shatswell, was fined and bound to good behavior." Richard Shatswell expounded on the harm done to his wife:

"Richard Shatswell's complaint against Marcke Quilter, for cruel misusing of said Shatswell's wife by...violently taking her from the chair...throwing her down on the floor, her head against a door, her neck being doubled, then taking her up, and continuing violent shaking and thrusting her out of the house. And although he had so bruised her that she could stand only on one leg, he was so cruel that he would not give her leave to recover her breath."

As is so often the sad case, Frances Quilter defended her husband. She testified in Court that "if Goodwife Shatswell had gone when her husband told her to, he would not have used violence..."

the tavern incident

Mark Quilter, like his Swan in-laws, was generally disliked by his fellow townspeople and was often "the butt of boisterious humor" at the local tavern on training days. In 1672, on a particularly horrific day for Mark, a shooting occurred at the tavern. According to Court records:

"There was a shooting affray at the ordinary of Quartermaster John Perkins, and Mark Quilter a 'notorious toper' was ordered away, the candle was blown out and some one shot him in the darkness." Everyone involved was summoned to Court to explain themselves.

From the testimony of John Edwards it appears that Mark's drinking buddies liked to get him drunk and have a little sport with him:

"...one in the Room called for one dozen of beer for Mark Quilter... And many drank to him & I took notice that Mark had two cups full before him & another drunk to him... And presently Thomas Bishop was shooting under the table. Mark complained & said, is this the kindness you pretended in drinking to me? I’ll stay no longer with you... And about this time the light was put out...All was in a tumult, and Mark was very angry, his clothes burned with shooting under the table. And Our Master said, 'Mark get you gone, for they will do you mischief'...& Mark going to follow ye Quartermaster...a pistol was shot by some...

“And Mark said, ‘You have lamed me!’ I then did light the light and cried out, ‘You have killed the man!’ And all the persons were hustling and gone out of the room. Two as they went presented & snapped their pistols at Mark as they went, as he was lying by the door & bleeding...I viewed his wound and cried again, ‘You have killed the man’ for he lay speechless & ready to die away..."

a final family fight

Mark Quilter survived. He had been shot in the leg, however, and it appears that he never quite recovered from the incident. Five years after the shooting, he died. Not surprisingly for the rancorous Swan and Quilter families, Mark's death began a series of family battles over his will.

Mark died in 1778, seven months after his father-in-law, Richard Swan (10GGF). And, like his father-in-law, he died intestate. Two days after Mark's death, his brother Joseph presented a nuncupative (oral) will. Naturally, this supposed will favored Joseph and the Quilter family. Aunt Frances contested, countering that without a husband, children or family, the town would have to support her unless they settled in her favor. She said further that her husband had made his will when not in a condition to do so as he had been ill from his leg wound for "some time."

So came the obligatory questioning about Mark's mental capabilities. The doctor attending him at his death said that "he was altogether uncapable of making a will, his understanding and speech being taken away by his distemper..." The Quilters countered by finding a neighbor who testified that Mark was rational the night before his death.

Another neighbor testified that she and Frances "wished him to make his will while he was able but he wouldn't." She also said that on the day before his death he appeard confused, faint and weak and that is when Joseph obtained the nuncupative will.

Finally, a year after Mark's death, the court decreed that he had died intestate. The "pretended will presented to this court ought to be accounted null and void, the widow to have the whole estate during her life and afterwards one half to the relations of her deceased husband."

Note: Somewhere in this whole drawn out process, it was agreed by both parties "that Edward Lumis...should arbitrate their differences..." regarding certain personal items. Edward Loomis is our 9th great-grandfather.

One can only hope that Aunt Frances lived in relative peace after the death of her husband. She died in 1694 at age sixty-one.