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Swett Family of Newburyport Papers, 1764-1860

 Collection
Identifier: MH 216

Scope and Content Note

The Swett family papers document the activities of the Newburyport, Massachusetts, shipping family. It includes papers of the father, Edmund Swett, as well as five of his children and contains bills and receipts, correspondence, ships' papers, a shipping account book, a written description of the Swett coat of arms, and documents not obviously related to the Swett family. The collection has been organized into three series.

Series I. Edmund Swett (1743-1825) includes bills, receipts, correspondence, ships' papers, and a shipping account book.

Series II. Children of Edmund and Hannah contains materials relating to their five children. This series has been divided into five subseries. Subseries A. Hannah Swett (born 1770) contains correspondence. Subseries B. Samuel Swett (1772-1819) contains correspondence and ships' papers. Subseries C. Jacob Swett (1775-1874) contains bills, receipts, a land description, correspondence, and genealogy. Subseries D. Moses Swett (1779-1854) contains correspondence, bills, and receipts. Subseries E. Charles Swett (1789-1885) contains bills, receipts, and a bill of sale for the ship Navy.

Series III. Other contains a written description of the Swett coat of arms, and documents not obviously related to the Swett family.

Dates

  • Creation: 1764-1860

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical Sketches

Edmund Swett was born on June 19, 1743, in Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Moses (1708-1748) and Mary (Titcomb) (1710-1754) Swett. He became a mariner and ship owner. He was a member of the Leonides Fire Society. In 1767 he married Hannah Boardman (1753-1821) and they had 12 children: Edmund (1769-1794); Hannah (born 1770); Samuel (1772-1819); Jacob (1775-1874); Mary (1777-1862); Moses (1779-1854); Elizabeth (born 1781); John (born 1783); Benjamin (1785-1868); William (1787-1867); Charles (1789-1885); Sarah Boardman (1791-1876); and Anna (1794-1876). He died on March 7, 1825.

Samuel Swett, son of Edmund and Hannah Swett, was born on December 22, 1772, in British Jamaica. He became a ship captain. He died in Washington, D.C. on September 8, 1819.

Jacob Swett was born in 1755 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the son of Edmund and Hannah Swett. He married Mary Leigh (1778-1860) in 1797 and they had two children, He died in 1874 in Meigs, Ohio.

Moses Swett was born on June 22, 1779, the son of Edmund and Hannah Swett. He was a shoemaker and died on May 19, 1854.

Charles Swett was born on March 29, 1789 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the son of Edmund and Hannah Swett. He never married. He died on February 4, 1885.

Extent

0.5 linear feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Swett family papers document the activities of the Newburyport, Massachusetts, shipping family.

Series List

SERIES I. Edmund Swett (1743-1825)

SERIES II. Children of Edmund and Hannah

  • A. Hannah Swett (b. 1770)
  • B. Samuel Swett (1772-1819)
  • C. Jacob Swett (1775-1874)
  • D. Moses Swett (1779-1854)
  • E. Charles Swett (1789-1885)
SERIES III. Other

Physical Location

Phillips Library Stacks

Provenance

The bulk of this material was purchased by the Peabody Museum of Salem in 1948 (acc #11,893). One folder of documents came from the Essex Institute (Fam. Mss. 983) of unknown provenance. Edmund's account book was purchased by the Essex Institute in June 1924.

Bibliography and Related Collections

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Ancestry.com. The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Tamara Gaydos, September 2016.

Subject

Title
SWETT FAMILY OF NEWBURYPORT PAPERS, 1764-1860
Author
Processed by: Tamara Gaydos; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Phillips Library Repository

Contact:
Peabody Essex Museum
306 Newburyport Turnpike
Rowley MA 01969 USA