DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM MERRILL

Generation No. 4

9. WILLIAM MERRILL (AMOS, JONATHAN, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN MERRILL & JEMIMA SMITH) was born in 1828 in Alabama, and died about 1902 in Shelby Co., AL.  He married PRISCILLA WILLIAMS on March 15, 1849 in Shelby Co., AL.  She was born in 1832 in Coosa Co., AL, and died before 1897 in Shelby Co., AL.  William and Priscilla are buried in Bethlehem Cemetery, Spring Creek, Shelby Co., AL

Children of WILLIAM MERRILL and PRISCILLA WILLIAMS are:

              i.   AZARIAH H. MERRILL, b. 28 Mar 1850, Shelby Co., AL; d. 06 Dec 1918, Shelby Co., AL; m. (1) MARY A. UNDERWOOD; m. (2) MARY ELIZABETH MAYNARD, 20 May 1872, Shelby Co., AL.

             ii.   ALICE ANN MERRILL, b. 12 Apr 1854, Shelby Co., AL; d. 05 Jan 1919, Shelby Co., AL; m. ABRAHAM MAYNARD, 19 Dec 1872, Shelby Co., AL.

             iii.   JEMINA JANE MERRILL, b. 18 Aug 1855, Shelby Co., AL; d. 05 Jan 1923, Calera, Shelby Co., AL; m. JAMES WESLEY MAYNARD, 06 Apr 1882, Shelby Co., AL.

            iv.   FRANCES ANN MERRILL, b. 10 May 1857, Shelby Co., AL; d. 31 Mar 1931, Clanton, Chelson Co., AL; m. JAMES THOMAS NELSON, 17 Dec 1890, Clanton, Chelson Co., AL.

v.   RACHEL MERRILL, b. 1859, Shelby Co., AL; d. 1928, Birmingham, AL; m. C. (BUD) HOPE.

              vi.   WILLIAM S. MERRILL, b. Abt. 1864, Shelby Co., AL; m. MARTHA CATHERINE CABANISS, 22 Dec 1889.

Generation No. 5

10. RACHEL MERRILL (WILLIAM, AMOS, JONATHAN, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN MERRILL & JEMIMA SMITH) was born about 1860 in Shelby Co., AL, and died in 1928 in Birmingham, AL.  She married C. (BUD) HOPE.  He was born in 1860 in Alabama, and died in 1902 in Birmingham, AL.

Children of RACHEL MERRILL and BUD HOPE are:

11.         i.   ALICE ANN HOPE, b. 21 Sep 1883, Alabama; d. 12 Jan 1968, Memphis, TN; m. JOHN MALCOME SWAFFER.

             ii.   JAMES HOPE, b. Alabama.

            iii.   THOMAS HOPE, b. Alabama.

            iv.   DILLIE BALZORA HOPE, b. 1887, Alabama; d. 1958, Alabama; m. JAMES ANDREW JONES.

Generation No. 6

11. ALICE ANN HOPE (RACHEL, WILLIAM, AMOS, JONATHAN, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN MERRILL & JEMIMA SMITH) was born on September 21, 1883 in Alabama, and died 12 Jan 1968 in Memphis, TN.  She married JOHN MALCOME SWAFFER.  He was born on June 20, 1882 in Mississippi, and died on January 6, 1957 in Binghamton (a Memphis suburb), TN. Alice and John are buried in Memphis Memorial Cemetery, [Section E],5668 Popular Avenue, Memphis, TN.

Notes for ALICE HOPE and JOHN SWAFFER:

        Alice and John are listed in the 1910 Water Valley, Yalobusha Co., Mississippi census.  John worked for the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) as a car inspector.  By 1918 he had moved his family to Binghampton, Shelby Co., Tennessee where he worked for the Saint Louis and San Francisco Railway Company (FRISCO RR) as a steel car worker.  Binghampton was eventually absorbed into the city of Memphis. The 1920 and 1930 censuses list them in Memphis wards 33 and 3, respectively, Shelby Co., TN.  John is listed as a railroad car inspector in both censuses.  John received an annuity from the US Railroad Retirement Board in later years.

Alice Hope Swaffer

Children of ALICE HOPE and JOHN SWAFFER are:

              i.   ERNEST SWAFFER.

             ii.   THELMA SWAFFER, b. 15 Feb 1905, Mississippi; m. (UNKNOWN) ALLEN.

            iii.   PEARL SWAFFER, b. 1907, Mississippi; m. LEON KIRKLAND.

            iv.   EDDIE DORIS SWAFFER, b. 25 Dec 1908, Mississippi; d. 12 Mar 1993, Memphis, TN; m. HIGHLANDER SCOTT.

             v.   JOHN MALCOME SWAFFER JR, b. 13 Jul 1911, Water Valley, MS; d. 23 Apr 2006, Hardin Co., TN; m. CARRIE MILDRED SHULTS 08 Feb 1934.

            vi.   FLORENCE SWAFFER, b. 22 Jul 1918, Tennessee; d. Oct 2001, Memphis, TN; m. CHARLES HILLIARD.

12.      vii.   CALVIN ANDREW SWAFFER, b. 16 Dec 1920, Memphis, TN; d. 18 May 1998, Duluth, GA; m. DOROTHY AGNES HILL.

          viii.   ROBERT DOUGLAS SWAFFER, b. Abt. 1927, Memphis, TN; d. as a young boy.

Generation No. 7

12. CALVIN ANDREW SWAFFER (ALICE ANN, RACHEL, WILLIAM, AMOS, JONATHAN, CAPTAIN BENJAMIN MERRILL & JEMIMA SMITH) was born 16 Dec 1920 in Memphis, TN, and died 18 May 1998 in Duluth, GA.  He married DOROTHY AGNES HILL 31 Jul 1944 in Memphis, TN, daughter of EUGENE HILL and HATTIE HOLMES.  She was born 27 Apr 1922 in Memphis, TN, and died 01 Sep 2003 in Duluth, GA.

Notes for CALVIN ANDREW SWAFFER and DOROTHY AGNES HILL:

                Calvin and Dorothy graduated from Tech High School in Memphis, TN.  Calvin resigned as a dispatcher at Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. to join the Canadian Royal Air Force on July 10, 1941.  He did his pilot training on Prince Edward Island.  After the Americans came into the war, he transferred to the US Army 8th Air Force as an original 358th Bomb Squadron Co-Pilot assigned on 19 July 1942. His first mission was on 17 November 1942. Calvin dispatched on twenty-two combat missions with the Capt Carl H. Morales crew with four aborted (no-credit) missions (5, 8, 10, 13) and eighteen credited missions (1, 4, 12, 14, 17, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39).

1Lt Calvin Swaffer flew his first mission as 1st Pilot on 25 June 1943 even though his upgrade orders were not effective until 12 July 1943. He flew five missions as 1st Pilot out of Molesworth RAF base, Cambridgeshire, England with 1Lt John R. Johnston as Co-Pilot.  His combat tour ended on 14 July 1943 when he was forced to ditch his B-17 in the English Channel.   Returning from mission #50 to Villacoublay Airdrome near Paris, France, Calvin’s B-17F #42-29791 Memphis Blues (358BS) VK-B was hit by anti-aircraft fire halfway between the target and the French coast, causing one engine to catch fire. A second engine caught fire after being hit by flak in the Le Havre area. Spitfires protected his B-17 and followed it down as Calvin ditched in the English Channel, 30 miles off Shorham, England, 10 miles from nearest point off the French Coast, 20 miles north of Le Havre. Calvin’s crew was one of the first in which all the crewmen were picked up by British Air Sea rescue. Consequently, Calvin was given membership in the Goldfish Club and presented to the King and Queen at a Red Cross Club in the Midlands of England, where it was reported that Calvin responded  to the Queen’s offer of tea with “No, but if you have coffee I’ll have some of that.”

                Calvin married Dorothy on July 31, 1944 while still in the USAF.  Calvin flew for American Airlines until he was furloughed in December 1946; then, he flew for the Tennessee Air National Guard and for Chicago & Southern Airlines until they were bought out by Delta Airlines.  Calvin and Dorothy moved from Memphis with their children in 1961 to Delta’s home base in Atlanta, where he flew until mandatory retirement in 1980.  Calvin and Dorothy were both avid golfers at the Atlanta Athletic Club.  They were members of Norcross First Baptist Church.  Both are buried in Peachtree Memorial Park in Norcross, GA.

                           1LT SWAFFER CREW – 358^th BS -15 July 1943                                              Calvin A Swaffer – USAF

                          (Day after rescue from downed B-17 Memphis Blues

Children of CALVIN SWAFFER and DOROTHY HILL are:

13.         i.   CALVIN RODNEY (ROD) SWAFFER, b. 02 Feb 1947, Memphis, TN; m. (1) GAYLE DEZENDORF; m. (2) POLLYANN HOLCOMB 14 Jun 1980, Rehoboth Baptist Church, Tucker, GA.  Rod had one child with Gayle, KRISTIN MICHELE¹⁴ SWAFFER, b. 30 Sep 1975 in Atlanta, GA, m. MICHAEL KEL FULLER 13 Sep 2003 in Greenville, GA.  Rod adopted Pollyann’s son from her previous marriage, CHRISTOPHER¹⁴ RODNEY SWAFFER, b. 25 Oct 1975 in Lumberton, NC; m. MARTA PAULINA SKONECZNA 07 Sep 2007 in Plano, TX with a formal ceremony in Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland 26 Jul 2008.

             ii.   PAMELA JO SWAFFER, b. 11 Mar 1954, Memphis, TN; m. NEIL PUTNAM Sep 1987 in Duluth, GA.  Their children are TYLER ANDREW PUTNAM, b. 16 Dec 1985; KAITLIN ELIZABETH PUTNAM, b. Mar 1991 and d. Mar 1991; and AUSTIN STEELE PUTNAM, b. 14 Apr 1992.

MERRILL  REFERENCES

1. Amos Merrill, 1850 US Federal Census, Shelby Co., AL
2. William Merrell, 1880 US Federal Census, Spring Creek, Shelby Co., AL.
3. Rachel Merrill, LDS FamilySearch.org, International Genealogical Index V5, North America.
4. http://www.thomaspaulmerrill.com/Benweb/default.htm (Website for descendants of Captain Benjamin Merrill.)
5. C. W. (Bud) Hope, LDS FamilySearch.org, International Genealogical Index V5, North America.
6. C. (Bud) Hope, Hope Forum, Genealogy.com. 
7. JM Swaffer, 1910 US Federal Census; Census Place: Water Valley, Yalobusha Co., MS; Sheet 2337.
8. John Malcolm Swaffer, Sep 12, 1918 WW1 Draft Registration, Shelby Co., TN, Draft Board #2, Roll 1877693.
9. Malcom J Swaffer, 1920 US Federal Census; Census Place: Memphis Ward 33, Shelby Co., TN; Image: 934.
10. JM Swaffer, 1930 US Federal Census; Census Place: Memphis Ward 3, Shelby Co., TN.
11. John Malcome Swaffer, Certificate of Annuity, US Railroad Retirement Board, No. A-293982.
12. Lt. Calvin Swoffer, First of the Many by Capt. John R McCrary and David E Scherman, Simon and Schuster, NY 1944, p.119.
13. Calvin A Swaffer, 303rdbg.com/358swaffer.html, The 303^rd Bomber Group, Hell’s Angels Webpage, 358^th Swaffer/Morales Crews.
14. The Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 25, 2006, Obit. John Malcome Swaffer, Jr.
15. The Savannah,TN Courier, July 14, 2005, Article entitled Enduring Love about John Malcome Swaffer, Jr and wife, Mildred.
16. Information provided by Ron Swaffer, son of John Malcome Swaffer, Jr.
17. Information provided to Pollyann Swaffer from Calvin Andrew Swaffer.