John, James and Margaret Swanson

John Swanson (1870 - 1944) was sent to Illinois in 1877 and was placed with Hugh O'Hara on his farm in Assumption, Illinois. John apparently continued to live in the same area the rest of his life, working as a farmer and at one time owned a hotel in Clay City. He had two children with his wife, Margaret Herbert. His children were James and Sarah. Sarah never married, but James did marry and had at least one child before his father's death. While he was living with the O'Hara's John received a 4th grade education. A small notice in the Decatur newspaper indicated that in 1925 John Swanson and his wife returned to Assumption from St. Louis in order to care for Mrs. O'Hara in her old age. John was buried in Assumption along with his wife.

When John Swanson died in 1944, the names of his brother and sister appeared in his obituary: James Swanson (1863 - 1946) and Margaret Pringle. James was living in Aurora and Margaret was living in Maricopa, Arizona. James Swanson may have been the 17 year old apprentice on the John Dyer farm in Grundy County in 1880. His birthplace was given as "U.S." and his parents birthplace as unknown. A search of the genealogical records shows that James worked in the railroad all his life and was a crane operator in the 1920s. James had several children with his wife, Esther Whyte. However, by the time of his death in 1946, he was divorced from Esther. His children were: Raymond, Herbert, Russell, Margaret and Myrtle.

Margaret (1865 - 1956) was married twice, the first time to "Livingston." Apparently she did not have any children from that marriage, or her children did not live with her. She married a second time in 1899 to John Donald Pringle, who already had four children. Margaret was working as a milliner in McHenry County when she married Pringle.

The parents of these three children were John and Mary Clendining Swanson, two immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. Their children James and Margaret were both born in England or Scotland, but John was born in New York.