| Sources |
- [S120] A Place Called Home: Our Story, David L. Popiel, Duay O'Neil, et. al., (2006, The Newport Plain Talk / Jones Media Inc.), dpopiel@xtn.net., 92.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 7B, 31 Jan 2012.
James Swagerty—‘I do not sell my people’
ust across the john w. Fisher bridge
in eastport stands the bridge House, a
handsome two-story brick dwelling situ-
ated on a spacious lot and facing Hwy.
25/70. since the death of its last resi-
dent, josephine (taylor) Ford, the home
and accompanying acreage have been
for sale.
standing directly in front of the home, it’s easy
to envision its position as the center of one of
Cocke County’s most prominent pre-Civil war
plantations, its f elds tended by the numerous
slaves belonging to its then-owners james and
nancy (Clark) swagerty.
but such an assumption would be wrong.
while the swagertys were living in today’s
newport when war swept the land, they did not
live in this particular house.
james swagerty was born july 14, 1800, in Par-
rottsville, at his family’s home on Clear Creek. He
was a son of james and delilah (Meek) swagerty,
and the grandson of German immigrant Friedrich
schweickhart, who was still living at the old swa-
gerty home constructed in the 1780s. today the
swagerty blockhouse on old Hwy. 321 reminds
travelers of this family’s place in Cocke County’s
earliest history.
young james swagerty began his business
career as a hunter and trapper, specializing in
muskrat, otter, and beaver pelts. He made trips
to Charleston, sC with wagons loaded with fur
hides. Prof ts from his sales and trades were put
to good use, and as time passed, james honed his
business skills.
by 1820s, james and his father had built a tan-
nery on their Parrottsville property and cut out
the need to take the skins elsewhere for process-
ing
james also found time to court nancy Clark,
daughter of thomas and susannah (Gooch) Clark,
of the family who settled near rankin. they mar-
ried in 1826 and,
with the money
james had saved
from his lucrative
fur business, pur-
chased 1000 acres
of land between
the French broad
and Pigeon rivers.
Here they built
a two-story log
home and f lled it
with handmade
pieces of furniture
built with lumber
from their own
property. slave
labor tended the
acreage, some of
the richest farm-
land in the area.
during the
1850s, Cocke
County citizens
looked forward
to the coming of
the railroad to
link their county
with such cities
Knoxville, Chat-
tanooga, bristol,
and asheville. For
a man like swager-
ty, railroads could
move his products
quickly to distant
markets.
However, as
the routes for the
proposed railroad
were selected and
surveyed, the swa-
gertys learned their house stood in its way. but
james and nancy, by this time among Cocke
County’s wealthiest people, opted to build a new
home, one they planned in the Italianate style.
the frame structure, which is said to have once
boasted a “widow’s walk” on its roof, wasn’t com-
pleted until 1866, the year after the war ended. It
remained in the swagerty family until the twenti-
eth century and was eventually purchased by the
late dr. Hobart Ford and his wife josephine. the
Fords added the brick in 1930.
In the 1860 Census, james swagerty’s wealth
was considerable. the worth of his real estate
was recorded as $20,000 and his personal wealth
as $56,355. this would have included the value
of the numerous slaves living on the farm.
when war erupted the next year, james swa-
gerty, quite naturally, cast his lot with the south-
ern cause. His name appears often in documents
of the era.
two of the swagerty sons joined the Confeder-
ate army. tragically the second oldest, alexan-
der swagerty, died in 1862 at the battle of Fort
donelson.
Perhaps one of the most important traits pos-
sessed by james swagerty was that of practical-
ity and the ability to examine with a clear head
the points of a situation and determine the best
course of action.
such was the case in
late 1863. by this time,
the south had lost the
battle of Gettysburg.
Closer to home, the
northern victories in
Knoxville and Chatta-
nooga convinced james
that the southern cause
was lost.
Meanwhile, james
and nancy’s son william
r. swagerty, who had
escaped from Fort donel-
son before its defeat and
capture in February of
1862, was with the 26th
tennessee, Company C,
at Murfreesboro, where
he was wounded on jan-
uary 2, 1863.
william recovered
from that wound and re-
ceived a 60-day furlough,
then returned to the
army in March.
according to swagerty
family history, james and
nancy quite naturally did
not want to lose a second
son to a cause that ap-
peared doomed. In late
november of that year,
when union forces held
newport and east ten-
nessee, james arranged
for his daughter Marga-
ret to go to ringgold,
Ga, where william was
assigned to a Csa hospi-
tal. two of the swagerty
servants, andrew and
alfred, accompanied her on this perilous jour-
ney.
Margaret’s mission was to deliver a message
to william from their father, which said, “Father
wants you home.”
william obeyed his father’s summons and re-
turned to Cocke County hidden in the wagon car-
rying his sister and the family’s slaves. Here he
was hidden in the smokehouse of john rorex, a
neighbor and family friend.
william was later discovered, arrested by
union soldiers, and taken to sevierville to await
his transfer to a prison at Camp Chase, Mary-
land.
In a desperate move to save his son’s life,
james sent a message to william urging him to
take the hated “oath of allegiance” and thus gain
his freedom. william did so, taking the oath on
december 11, 1863 at sevierville. He did return
to newport, where he and his wife, the former
lydia allen, eventually became the parents of f ve
daughters. one of these, Fanny (swagerty) eu-
bank, devoted much time to recording her fam-
ily’s history and it is from her writings that this
story was taken.
as the tide turned against the south, james
swagerty’s immense fortune would have dwin-
dled dramatically. one family story tells of a slave
known as “blacksmith jim.” reportedly, in 1863,
james swagerty was offered $3500 for him, but,
tempting as the offer must have been, refused,
saying, “I do not sell my people and will not
break up families.”
one of the former swagerty slaves was augus-
ta, a daughter of andrew and Mariah, who was
nine years old at the time of emancipation. born
May 7, 1855, augusta later married thomas Fos-
ter and lived until February 10, 1953.
when augusta was 91, descendants of james
and nancy swagerty visited her in her newport
home, which stood near today’s Macedonia Mis-
sionary baptist Church. augusta spoke of the day
she and her family learned of their freedom.
There wasn’t no ceremony or f ag wavin’. Mr.
James Swagerty come by our cabins and stood be-
fore us and told us we was free to go. He told us
‘If you want to stay on the farm, you are welcome
to stay and farm, or until you f nd another place.
Mr. Swagerty was a good master and some of us
stayed on the farm as long as we wanted to.
Many of the newly-freed swagerty slaves ac-
cepted the offer to remain on the farm. several
took the name swagerty as their own surname,
adding an extra “G” to its spelling.
nancy (Clark) swagerty died november 18,
1882 at the bridge House. a newspaper account
of her death reported
Her health had declined for more than two
years, but through all her sickness, she bore up
with wonderful fortitude. She was often heard to
say she had no fear of death and could meet it in
the same spirit that she had borne her aff iction.
She spoke the names of her children around
the bedside until within a few minutes of her
death.
The loss to her children and the community,
as a mother, as a neighbor, and a friend will be
severely felt. Her place cannot be f lled.
She was born in this county July 25, 1810, and
was married to him, who is now the bereaved
husband, on March 9, 1826. Long and faithfully
had this devoted pair shared together life’s joys
and sorrows, its gains and losses, ministering to
each other’s wants and ever mindful of the hap-
piness of those around them.
Her remains were laid to rest Sunday eve-
ning, the 19th, at the family burying ground in
the presence of a large gathering of relatives and
friends.
james swagerty lived until February 8, 1885.
His remains were interred next to those of his
wife. the family “burying ground” eventually
became part of the Guy and ruth Freshour farm
across the highway from the bridge House.
Smoky Mountain Homeplace
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