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The Dutch family of Swearingen, of which is referenced here, are all descendants of one Garrett Van Swearingen, who in
1656, set sail from Textel, Holland, as a member of the Dutch West India Company, and advanced for present day New Castle,
Co., Delaware, in an expedition of three ships, with hopes to colonize Fort Christiana. He was consequently appointed as supercargo
of the ill-fated Prins Maurits, which became damaged at sea, and eventually wrecked along the coast of Long Island.
Interestingly, this is the same ship which the father and uncle of Catherine (Garretson), wife of Col. Morgan Morgan, were
supposedly aboard. The accuracy of this is yet to be concluded, but if true, would likely mark the origin of acquaintance
between the Morgan and Swearingen families.
It was Garrett’s great-grandson, “Bible John” Swearingen (Van3, Thomas2,
Garrett1), of whom James Morgan spoke of in 1850. He was born in Maryland around 1721, and migrated, with
his son “Indian Van,” westward into southwestern Pennsylvania about 1770. As Franklin Ellis wrote in his History
of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, a description of John and Van is given:
John Swearingen and Van Swearingen, father and son, were among the
earliest settlers in Springhill
township, Fayette County, Penna, being here as early as
1770 and possibly in 1769, Van Swearingen
being in the latter year twenty-six years
old.
Thomas Swearingen Sr. and his son Thomas Swearingen came to Western
Pennsylvania about the same time
and settled west of the Monongahela. The ancestors
of all the Swearingens in this region
were Garrett Van Swearingen and Barbara De
Barette, his wife, who came from
Holland to America, settled in Maryland and were
with their children Garrett and
Barbara naturalized in that province in April, 1669, as is
shown by the records in Baltimore.
Two other children of theirs, Elizabeth and
Zachariah, were born in the Delaware
counties and so needed no naturalization. The
prefix Van was afterwards dropped
from the surname of the family, but was used as
we see, as the Christian name of
the son of John Swearingen.
Of this John Swearingen who settled in Springhill township very little is
known beyond the fact of his settlement
here and that he was a resident of the
township in 1785. His son, Van Swearingen,
did not remain long in Springhill but
removed to a new location on the
east side of the Monongahela near the mouth of
Redstone, but retaining ownership
of his lands in Springhill at least until 1785. Before
that time, however, he had left
his second location near Redstone and removed to
Washington County, of which he was
elected sheriff upon its organization in 1781. After
a few years spent by him in Washington
County, he removed to land which he had
located in early 1772 in Ohio County,
Virginia, and died there December 2, 1793. During
all the period of his residence
west of the Alleghenies, he was a prominent man both in
civil and military life.
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