THE ANTON & MAGGIE SWARTZ FAMILY (Victor & His Siblings)
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.
Based upon the 1900 census, it appears that Anton and Maggie Swartz had seven children, but only four of them lived to adulthood. This article examines those children.
GEORGE SWARTZ
I believe that George was Anton and Maggie's first child to reach adulthood. Unfortunately, I have no specific information about him. I have not been able to find him in any census, but I believe that he went to Oklahoma to live. I am sure that I have information about him in my documents related to the death of Glen and the administration of his estate. Unfortunately, I do not know where they are. They are not lost; they are just not found and I will add that information when I find the records.
ESTELLA SWARTZ
I believe that Estella is the only daughter of Anton and Maggie to reach adulthood. According to the census of 1900 at that time she was living with her parents and two younger brothers, Victor and Glen. That census shows her being 15 years old, having been born in September of 1884. I have some pictures of her which I will post eventually.
I believe that she went to Denver, Colorado, and I have information about her in my documents related to the death of Glen and the administration of his estate. As stated above, I do not know where those records are, but will add that information when I find the records.
VICTOR WARREN SWARTZ
This is my grandfather and his story is told in another article. You can link to it by clicking here.
GLEN A. SWARTZ
Glen A. Swartz was my grandfather's younger brother. He is the only of my grandfather's siblings that I met personally, although I did not know him well. The fact that I was able to find Glen in the censuses of 1900, 1910 and 1920 has helped me a lot in learning about his parents.
All of the censuses show him living in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. In the 1900 census he is shown as being 9 years old with a birth date of June, 1890. At that point he was living with his parents, Anton and Maggie, his sister, Estella, and brother, Victor. In the 1910 census he is 19 years old, single and appears to be living with a family although it not entirely clear. The family is not Swartz and does not appear to be of German origins or related to Glen's employment. By the time of the 1920 census he was 29 and living with his wife, Dorothy. The census information definitely shows that his father was born in Germany and his mother was born in Illinois.
Both the 1910 and 1920 censuses show his occupation as being a butter maker working for a creamery. Of course, by about 1950 when my family went to live in Mason City, Iowa, he owned the creamery. It is my recollection that we moved to Mason City with the idea that my father might eventually run or even own the creamery. For some reason, that idea came to an end and Glen accepted an offer to purchase the creamery from a large dairy goods processing company - Marigold, I believe.
Glen was a successful business man. In addition to the creamery, he owned three or four farms in the Mason City area and possibly other businesses. His wife, Dorothy, died and he remarried, but I do not have the name of his second wife. It appears that he was as successful at enjoying the fruits of his labor as he was at earning the money. He purchased a luxurious camper and traveled around the country. By the time of his death, I believe that his estate was only modest.
GARFIELD SWARTZ AND TWO OTHER CHILDREN
The census of 1880 shows that Anton and Maggie had one child, one month old, named Garfield. Since the census of 1900 does not list a Garfield and shows that Maggie had seven children, four of which were living, I assume that Garfield died at a young age. All the four living are accounted for.
The name Garfield gives rise to some interesting speculation. In 1880, James A. Garfield was a prominent national politician and in November of 1880 was elected President of the United States. I doubt that it can be said that Anton and Maggie named their first son after the President-elect of the United States, however. Garfield was born one month prior to the taking of the census and at the time the census was taken I do not believe that Garfield had been elected president. At the time of the census taking, James A. Garfield was a senator from Ohio and was very much in the national news.
Was Anton interested enough in the politics of his adopted county to name his son (possibly his first son) after a prominent national politician? What was Maggie's level of interest?
Of course, President Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, and died on September 19, 1881. So, it appears that both President Garfield and Garfield Swartz suffered premature deaths.
I have no information about the other two children. Of course the answer might have been in the 1890 census records that were destroyed, but I will continue to keep an eye out for more on this subject.