Thomas Swallow 1799 - 1863

Relationship to me:

1. Thomas Swallow & Hannah Teed
     2. Matilda Swallow & Charles Bragg
          3. John Thomas Bragg & Julia West Gamble
               4. Russell Mackie Bragg & Dorothy Madeleine Harrigan
                     5. Me

Swallow Family Crest

Thomas (Cheeseman) Swallow  was born 1799 in Hull, Yorkshire, England and died 7 August 1863 in Swallow Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada.  He married Hannah Teed, daughter of Daniel Teed and Jerusha Peers.   Hannah had been born in Malagash in 1894 making her 5 years older than Thomas.  She does not appear on the 1881 census but does show up in the 1871 census. She was living with her youngest son, Stephen and his wife, Jane Doyle at Swallow Hill..  She must have died in that 10 years, but I can't find a death record for her.  Those are facts about the beginning of Thomas' life and the end - but in the middle there is a delicious little  mystery that no one has solved to date.

Daniel Teed U.E.L. and his Descendants by Harvey Gullon, The North Cumberland Historical Society, Publicaton #15, ISBN #0-920784-01-1, July 1994.page 50, says

Grave of Thomas Swallow
Island Burying
Ground, Onslow
Nova Scotia

His parents are not known for sure at this time. he did have a brother; some say a twin who moved on to the USA and settled there. It has been told by the older generation that Thomas Swallow's name when arriving in Canada, was Cheeseman, he changed it to Swallow, his mother's maiden name. 

A more colourful tale goes like this: (and I have left the spelling I copied it from the written note)

The Swallow Family - note

There is quiet a tale in connection with the Swallow family tree, but it seems as though there must be at least a little foundation in fact, for every branch of the Swallow family tells the same story.


it seems that many years ago in Englan, the family name was Cheesemann. One of the young men was quiet a bit unruly, and as the law at that time, each young man had to serve some time with the military. This young Cheesemann was with the british navy, so the story goes, and through some difficulty on board ship was to go through court martial proceedings when the ship arrived in Nova Scotia. However, when the boat did arrive, he skipped ship and could not be found, so they sailed without him. He knew he could not use the Cheesemann name in his country wihtout beng discovered -- and noticed birds flying overhead - swallows - so decided that his name would be Swallow.

This is probably closer to the truth:

Ordinance Map showing Thomas Swallow's Grant

Thomas Swallow coming to Canada in 1819. He was born in Hull England 1799. One of twin boys,  he left England in 1818 aboard a ship headed for Archangel Russia, then on to the Canadian coast. He left the ship when docked in Wallace Harbour. He then secured employment with a Dotten family in Wallace. There he worked for some 5 years until he petitioned the Nova Scotia Government for 100 acres of crown land in Wentworth NS which he received in 1830 and promptly married a village lass named Hannah Teed. They had eleven children: Joseph, Daniel, William, Mary A, Jasper, John, George, Ann Sarah, Charlotte Kerr, Matilda, Stephen.

Thomas's grandson was called Thomas Cheeseman Swallow.  Coincidence?  Who knows?

Original Swallow homestead. Right to left: Annie Lynds
Swallow, Thomas Henry Swallow, Jane Doyle
Swallow and Mary Ardella Swallow Kennedy/

Having 11 children, the Swallows soon became a large part of the population of Wentworth and enjoyed a thriving farm life.

Thomas was buried in the Wentworth Cemetery and his grave stone stands proudly on the crest of the hill, overlooking the road.

Hannah is buried in the Island Burying Ground at Onslow in Colchester County Nova Scotia.  And therein lies another little mystery.  Why she not buried at Wentworth?  I'm going to find out when I visit there this summer.

One of many reminders of the Swallows in Wentworth