The Winter-Swift Connection
Two families rooted in southeastern Massachusetts, the seafaring Swifts of Falmouth and the Winters of Fall River, joined when Le Roy Warren Swift married the daughter of Richmond C. Winter. Their story spans the Revolution, the Civil War, the whaling era, and two world wars.
Before the War
“My Mother’s mother. Elizabeth Arden.”
, written on tape label, teal ink
“My father Le Roy W. Swift. His Father, a Navy Capt. Fr Camp.”
, written on case back, red ink
The Louisiana Chapter
Isaac Warren and his wife Margaret (maiden name probably Bartley; also indexed “Bartoleny”) were a Philadelphia family, listed there in the censuses of 1850 and 1860.
By 1870 the Warrens were in Louisiana.
Isaac Warren died between 1870 and 1880. The 1880 census lists Margaret as widowed.
Rachel T. Warren married Leroy E. Swift on 16 June 1868 at Mt. Olivet Church, Algiers, New Orleans, during his naval service in the Gulf.
Their son, Le Roy Warren Swift, was born on 19 March 1869 and christened at Mt. Olivet, Algiers, in 1878. The christening record places his birth at Algiers; later censuses give his birthplace as Massachusetts.
Rachel T. Warren died, or the marriage ended, before August 1874. The date has not yet been found.
Leroy E. Swift married secondly Emma F. H. Richard on 12 August 1874 at Algiers. Their daughter, Cora Rachel, was born in 1875.
Leroy E. Swift died in New Orleans after 1874. The 1880 census lists Emma as widowed.
Le Roy Warren Swift returned north and married Fanny Harrison Winter at New Bedford on 13 June 1894.
The Gilded Age
“Richmond C. Winter. Born in Fall River, June 25th 1839, Mass. Died in New Bedford, Mass., Jan 17th 1912. My grandfather — my Mother’s father.”
, vital data card, pencil and blue ink
Summer at Waquoit
“Mama she was so pretty.”
, written beneath a group photo, blue ink
The Next Generation
The Family Tree
Swift Branch. Paternal
Winter Branch. Maternal
Research in Progress
Private, Capt. Samuel Fish’s co., Col. Nathaniel Freeman’s regt. September 1778, alarm at Dartmouth & Falmouth. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors, Vol. 15.
Isaac Warren and Margaret (maiden name probably Bartley) of Philadelphia, in Louisiana by 1870. The Warrens of this line were a Philadelphia family; no Plymouth connection has been found. See Warren & Arden.
She died, or the marriage ended, between her son’s birth in March 1869 and Leroy E. Swift’s remarriage in August 1874. The date has not yet been found.
Maiden name discovered from ambrotype case label. Completely unresearched. Fall River / New Bedford area, mid-1800s.
Oral history says a great-grandfather was involved in building the brick structure in the photograph. New Bedford city directories may identify a Winter, Swift, Wall, or Arden builder/contractor in Fair Haven.
The Places
Fall River. Where Richmond C. Winter was born, 1839. Great-Grandmother Winter’s portrait at Gay’s studio, 39 So. Main St. The yard where she was photographed standing in her garden.
New Bedford. Where Richmond died, 1912. The Ad Vivum studio in the Hastings Building where three portraits were made. Dartmouth Street, where the family gathered in the living room. Fair Haven, where a great-grandfather helped build.
Falmouth. Waquoit. The Swift homestead. Where Capt. Nathaniel Swift is buried. Where the annotator spent summers from age 10 to 17. The horse-drawn carriage from Woods Hole. The beach. The bridge at Childs River.
Falmouth. Woods Hole . Starting point of the carriage ride to Waquoit.
Childs River. “My grandfather’s time it was a whaling port. During WWII it was a naval base.”
Related Lines
“Many many years ago when I was very little.”
Additional Verified Ancestors
Surfaced from the archive CSV audit (April 2026).
| Name | Born | PID | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| ●Fanny Harrison Winter | 1869 | 9VNZ-J6H | 2nd great-grandmother via the Winter maternal line to John, Perry, and Patrick |
| ●William Winter | 1782 | K8YQ-SNC | 5th great-grandfather via the Winter line. Father of William Winter (1814), Richmond Chamberlain Winter’s father |
| ●Lucy Gould | 1786 | KZJQ-5V1 | 5th great-grandmother via the Winter line. Wife of William Winter, mother of William Winter (1814) |
| ●John Aldrich | 1688 | L47M-CSS | 8th great-grandfather via the Winter line (Aldrich branch). Father of Ruth Aldrich |
| ●Penelope Pray | 1688 | LD5P-66S | 8th great-grandmother via the Winter line (Aldrich branch). Mother of Ruth Aldrich |
| ●Jacob Chamberlain | 1691 | LRLP-3JF | 8th great-grandfather via the Winter line (Chamberlain branch). Father of John Chamberlain |
| ●Abigail Hasey | 1695 | LRLP-35W | 8th great-grandmother via the Winter line (Chamberlain branch). Mother of John Chamberlain |
| ●Timothy Winter | 1679 | 9H3G-RS5 | 8th great-grandfather via the Winter line. Father of Christopher Winter |