John Swift

From The Beavertown History Wiki

Life in Philadelphia

John Swift was born in Bristol, England to John and Mary (White) Swift in the year 1720. John and his siblings, Joseph and Mary, came to the American colonies sometime around 1737-1738 with their father. Here they stayed in the custody of their uncle John White, a Philadelphia merchant. John was indeed a young English gentleman, and enjoyed the social life of Philadelphia. His is famous for beginning the subscription dances known as "Assemblies" in that city sometime around 1740. He traveled back to England in 1743, and remained until 1747 when he returned to Philadelphia. There John became a well known merchant. Mr. Swift married Magdalen Kollock, and later her niece, Rebecca Kollock. He was a member of the City Councils from 1757 to 1764, and served as the Crown Collector of the Port of Philadelphia from 1762 to 1772. This latter position was the origin of his name "The Old Collector".^[1]

Land Investor

John was also a land investor, and received many patents for acreage throughout the state. This is how, in 1760, he came to own the land that Beavertown now sits upon.^[2] This tract was eventually sold to Jacob Lechner who created the town, then known as "Swifttown" in honor of Mr. Swift. John Yost Kern purchased land in this area from John Swift on October 10, 1790, and another tract, known as "Somerset", was sold by Matthew Kern to Swift on December 5th, 1794, the deeds for which survive to this day. In his later years, John Swift lived in Bucks County at a location called "Croyden Lodge". Records indicate that one of his daughters was married there in 1778.^[1] It is likely that John never laid eyes upon most of the land that he owned, including the area now occupied by Beavertown, but he was most certainly the land's first private owner.

John Yost Kern Deed

Deed for "Somerset"

References