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MARGUERITE (MAGGIE) COOK

Anton & Maggie Swartz

ANTON & MAGGIE SWARTZ

The original of this picture is curved outward making it impossible to scan or copy. So, this is a photograph of the picture and the quality of the reproduction is, therefore, less than ideal.

Until recently, I have not known the name of my great grandmother on my father's father's side of my family. The censuses of 1880 and 1900 show that her name was Maggie. My aunt insists that it was Marguerite. Thus, I must conclude that her name was Marguerite, but that she went by Maggie. My aunt thinks that there was another Swartz named Maggie. The census information that I have and that was recorded 20 years apart clearly shows her name to be Maggie, so I am listing her formal name to be Marguerite and her familiar name to be Maggie.

The 1880 records are from the LDS web site and are not primary records; in other words, the online records I have seen so far are not a copy of the actual document, but is digital data entered by hand by a person looking at a copy of the original. Those records show her name to be Maggie Sworts. The records I have from the 1900 census are from microfilm copies of the original documents. Those records clearly (in my opinion) show her name as Maggie Swartz. The name Sworts appears to be a Soundex spelling. Soundex, if you do not know, is a way of identifying persons based upon similar sounds within their names. Thus, a person can still be found even it the name is phonetically spelled or slightly misspelled. I will eventually cover that subject under the heading Genealogy Resources which links from the Genealogy Home Page.

The 1900 census shows Maggie living with her husband, Anton, daughter, Estella and sons, Victor and Glen. Thus, this record is unquestionably that of my great grandmother. I believe that there was a fourth and older son, George, who must have moved out of his house by this census. In 1900, the census says that Maggie was 40 years old and her birth date was April, 1860. It shows that she was born in Illinois, but that her parents were born in New York. She has no listed occupation, so I presume she stayed home with the children.

Of course, the 1890 census data is not available due to the fire at the Commerce Department. The 1880 census data mentioned above shows Maggie living with her husband, Antone, and one month old son, Garfield. In talking to my aunt recently, she had no recollection of a child named Garfield, but the 1900 census does show that Maggie had 7 children, but only 4 were living. Therefore, I presume Garfield and 2 other children died at a young age which was not uncommon in those times.

While the census information shows Maggie's roots to be in Illinois and New York, my aunt believes she was French Canadian. I have no other proof, but will keep my eye out for that information.

I have not been able to find Anton, Maggie, George or Estella anywhere in the 1910 or 1920 censuses. I now know that Maggie died in 1908, but that Anton lived on until 1944. I believe that Estella went to Colorado and George went to Oklahoma. As for Victor, by 1910 he was gone from Mason City and was living in Kansas City, Missouri. Only Glen is found in Mason City in the 1910 census, apparently living as a boarder.

I do not know when nor where Anton and Maggie met or were married. If I could find a record of their marriage, I would probably get that information, so I have another thing for which to be on the lookout.

I have written a little about the children of Anton and Maggie Swartz. If interested, click here to link to stories about their children.

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