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The Swain Saga (continued from July, 1984 issue)
Part Two DURING THE PAST few years, the genealogical records of the Nan tucket Historical Association have been enriched through the contribu tion of those descendants of the original white settlers of the Island. Among such valuable contributions are a series of studies on the Swain Family, prepared by Mrs. S.C. Foote, of Chelmer, Brisbane, Australia, which she has titled "The Swain Saga". Mrs. Foote's ancestor was Cap tain Samuel Swain, of Nantucket, one of the island's whaling masters out of London. After four voyages to the Pacific, all successful, Captain Swain took out the ship Bermondsey, of London, and this was his last command. He put in at Sydney, Australia, and died on board his ship, being buried in a cemetery ashore.
The Swain Saga by Mrs. Nancy Foote (nee Swain) RICHARD SWAIN, FIRST of that name in the new world of America, settled in Hampton, N.H., and with his son, John Swain, was one of the original purchasers of Nantucket in 1659. Richard married the widow of George Bunker (Jane Godfrey Bunker), and brought the family of Bunker children with his own to Nantucket. There were five Bunker children, and two children born from the marriage of Richard and Jane (Bunker) Swain, John and Richard Swain. John Swain was the founder of the Swain family on Nantucket, as his brother, Richard, Jr. moved to settle in New Jersey. Richard Swain, the father, lived in the area of Hummock Pond, now called Clark's Cove, and here his wife, Jean, died on October 31,1662, the first death to be recorded among the white settlers. Richard died twenty years later, April 14,1682. John Swain had married Mary Wyer in Hampton, and their first child, Mary, was born before the couple moved to Nantucket. On the Island, eight more children were born to them. Their first son, named John, was born September 1, 1664, and was the first white male child born on Nantucket. John Swain II married Experience Folger, daughter of Peter and Mary Folger, and the sister of Abiah Folger, the mother of Benjamin Franklin. The couple had nine children. A great-grandson of John
