This week I am changing direction, and focusing on how this bramble bush first began.
Almost 27 years ago I was out for a night of fun with friends in a local club. The music was blaring. Everywhere people were dancing. A tall guy that I didn't know asked me to dance. Out to the dance floor we go, and the first thing I noticed was what a great dancer he was. The way he shook those hips reminded me of Patrick Swayze in the movie Dirty Dancing. The movie had been released a few years earlier, and was available for rent on VHS. I must confess I watched it on the big screen twice, and rented it several times. I was a fan of that movie & Swayze's snake hips. That night was the first of many dances with the man I would later marry.
We have been together 27 years, and are parents to 2 fantastic young adult men. That night on the dance floor is where our story began, and is the root of our bramble bush family tree.
What neither of us knew on the dance floor that night was that Chris is the 7th cousin X2 removed of Patrick Swayze. Those snake hips are a family trait. It's all in the jeans ...err I mean genes. Recently I was away for a week of training, and Chris joined me for a social night with music provided by a DJ. After we had been on the dance floor for a few dances one of the younger students in the class asked Chris where he got his moves. Chris told him they were way more impressive in the 80s. Those hips are still Chris' trademark. DNA knows.
Look up to the wedding photo
can you see the resemblance between
Chris and his 7th cousin X2 removed?
I should have posted video of the hips!
Are you asking yourself what hips and Patrick Swayze and my husband have to do with AT THE COURTHOUSE?
I'm so glad you asked!
Their common ancestor is Samuel Swayze who was a judge in New Jersey.
Samuel's grandparents immigrated to the United States separately, and later married in New York. Although there is no indication they knew each other before arriving in the United States they may have. Samuel's grandparents (Patrick's 8th great grandparents & Chris' 10th great grandparents) were John & Katherine (nee Kinge) Swasey.
My research indicates Samuel was one of the first Justices of the Peace & County Judges in the area. He was a member of the Society of Friends or more commonly known as Quakers. In 1737 he moved his family to an area of New Jersey that became known as Swayze Settlement.
Judge Samuel Swayze was one of the first to use the SWAYZE spelling, and Snake Hips Patrick made the spelling the one most familiar to folks. The name can be found with many variations: Swaysey, Swasey, Swezey, Swayzey, Swazey, Swazy, Swacy, Swacey, Sweasy, Swacie, Swecey...
Samuel Swayze was born the 20th of March 1689 in Southold, Suffolk County, New York, U.S.A. He died the 11th of May 1759 at the age of 70. He was buried in the Chester Congregational Cemetery at Morris County, New Jersey, USA. He was married to Abigail Penelope Horton (known as Penelope).
Penelope Horton was born the 14th of February 1690 in Southold, Suffolk County, New York, U.S.A. She died the 1st of December 1746 at the age of 56. She was also buried in the Chester Congregational Cemetery at Morris County, New Jersey, USA. where Samuel was laid to rest when he died 13 years later.
In April of 1747 (after Penelope died) Samuel married Susanna (nee Baldwin) Huntington who had also recently been widowed. Samuel's will left his wife, Susanna, an inheritance to be used during her natural life. I have not researched what became of Susanna, but in looking more closely at her line my interest was peaked in whether the actor Alec Baldwin was related to Susanna whose maiden name was Baldwin. More research for another time.
The First Congregational Church of Chester in New Jersey' celebrated their 275th Anniversary in 2014. You can meet Samuel & Penelope Swayze at this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6gxAdbnxgk
I wanted my children to know their role in their family story!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
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