WPA Interviews

Swank, Joseph

INTERVIEW, with Joseph Swank, 17 April 1940

Mr. Swank's home is a few miles west of Tallman, Linn County, Oreg.

My name is Joseph Swank. I was born in Linn County, February 16, 1863, and have lived in Linn County practically all my life.

My grandfather was William Swank who came to Oregon in 1853. My grandmother was Barbara (Peckenpaugh) Swank. Grandfather was born in the state of Pennsylvania in 1798. He came to Oregon, as I have said, in 1853 and settled in the Sand Ridge neighborhood just west of Peterson's Butte. Grandfather died in the year 1865.

Although my grandfather came to Oregon in 1853, my own father came here in 1852. Father's name was Philip Swank and he was born in 1827, in Ohio. Mother's name was Sarah (Foster) Swank. She was also born in Ohio but in 1828-just a year younger than my father.

Father first took up a claim in Washington County, Oregon. Having reached The Dalles he was delayed by a big snow storm so he left his family and stock there and came down the Columbia and secured a job in a sawmill near the Lower Columbia. One day while not working he took his gun and went out to explore the country. He found some land which pleased him and staked it out for a claim. That land is still owned in the family. We have been paying taxes on it for just about ninety years and have never received much profit from its ownership. After staking out his claim father returned and brought his family on and settled there.

When father and mother came to Oregon they had two children. One of them, a sister, died at Oregon City soon after they arrived there. The other, my brother James William Swank, is still living. His home is at Albany and he is now 91 years old. He was born in 1849.

My father and mother had nine children altogether. The two oldest were born in the East. The rest here in Oregon. Their names are:

James W. Swank. Born in Ohio in 1849. Still lives at Albany.

A daughter. Born in Ohio. Died at one year, soon after the parents reached Oregon City.

John Swank. Born in Washington County in 1853. Died about one year ago.

Ida Swank. Born in Washington County, Ore. On June 12, 1857. Married Putnam Kester and lived on a portion of my grandfathers claim near Plainview.

Emma Jane Swank. Born August 27, 1858. Married Frank Cooper.

Joseph Swank. (Informant) Born in Linn County Feb. 16, 1863. Farmer. Lived in Linn County all my life.

Jay R. Swank. Born in Linn County, June 28, 1864. Was killed in a hunting accident in the Cascades in 1897 at the age of 33 years.

Jesse Swank. Born March 23, 1866. Married Dora Snyder, (sister to the informant's wife). Lives northeast of Tallman.

Julia Swank. Born Nov. 24, 1867. Married Joe Watson. Died 18-(?)

Both my father and mother died in 1893. I have failed to mention that the family moved from Washington County to Linn County in 1858. Father bought land near Tallman and some of the family still live on portions of that original purchase.

I went to school at the old Tallman schoolhouse. My first teacher there was T. L. Dugger. His home was just west of the schoolhouse. Later he became a pioneer newspaper man at Scio. Dick Reed was another of my teachers. He came from the East and was "A wise old guy". Miss Devore from Albany taught there a year or two.

In speaking of my first teacher, T. L. Dugger, he married Georgia Crawford, a daughter of Dr. George Crawford who was one of our early neighbors. Her brother, Whit Crawfor was Linn County's first Ford dealer. Another brother, Jim Crawford, was a very early photographer at Albany. Dugger was a rather old man and a Civil War Veteran.

One of my father's brothers came across the plains with him in 1852. His name was Joseph Swank. He died just about a year ago, one of the oldest pioneers in Linn County at the time. When he came to Oregon he was a frail, sickly boy. People would often remark, "Uncle Joe will never live as long as my dad," (My mother and father had lived together for 76 years), but uncle Joe was over 96 years old when he died. He took up a claim in Eastern Oregon and lived there for many years but died at Albany.

Our neighbors in the Tallman neighborhood in early days were such men as Dr. W. F. Alexander, a very prominent early physician; Dr. George Crawford who was one of the very early dentists here; the Houston family to the southwest of us; the Faulkner family; Sylvester Cameron and Mercer Thompson.

Speaking of early doctors and dentists, Dr. Crawford made his own dental tools and they were skillfully shaped though very crude as dentists tools now appear. Crawford pulled a tooth for me at one time and in so doing he "killed" the eyetooth. I had a lot of trouble with that eyetooth after that and it finally came out up near my nose. Dr. Alexander was gruff old cuss. He practiced all over this valley and was quite famous. Whenever he passed a farm where there were onions growing in the garden he would say, "No use stopping there; no one sick." Dr. Alexander treated me for ague which was very bad in the early days here. He dosed me with whiskey and quinine but it did me little good. When I had the `ager' I would first be cold, couldn't get warm by any means, and then in a short time I would be burning up with fever. I finally cured my chills with a medicine of my own. It is a good remedy but it tastes like something you get in a horse stable. Just take a quart of oats and boil it and then drink the water. It is not very pleasant but I just held my nose and swallowed it down and in a short time my chills and fever were a thing of the past and never came back.

I should mention another pioneer family here. It was the Balch family. I was very young when they left but I remember them well. Fredrick Balch went to school at Tallman and the Balch home was across the road from the Tallman school but down near the railroad. The old buildings are now all gone but if I could see I could point out the exact spot. There is a memorial monument on the Tallman school grounds in honor of Fred Balch.

I was well acquainted with Asa Peterson who named Peterson's Butte near Lebanon. The Petersons were very early settlers there. The Peterson plum which is now spread all over this region was originated by the Petersons. It was the first plum grown in this region and in the early days great amounts were dried and freighted to the Southern Oregon mines. I think that the Peterson plum was a seedling, the seed brought across the plains.

Other neighbors were Johnny Miller, Jim McKnight whose son was County Judge of Linn County; Bill Clymer, Caviness; Spurlocks and John Thompson.

Barnet Ramsay lived north of our place, two or three miles. I suppose his name was Burnet though he never was known by anything but the title "Pot Ramsay". He was a potter there in the early 1860's. He made brown clayware such as jugs, crocks, jars and such stuff. Lots of people went there to get jugs to hold whiskey. In those days whiskey was commonly made by anyone who wished and it sold for two bits a gallon. The clay for the pottery was obtained nearby. There is lots of clay in this region, all the clay you want. There were many little brick yards scattered about the country. There was one on my wife's father's place, (Milton Snyder) and one on the Mark's place, one also, I believe, further north near the Central Christian Church Cemetery.

I married Lydia May Snyder who is a daughter of Milton Snyder, born Aug. 25, 1845, and Fidelia A. (Simons) Snyder, born Feb. 5, 1848. We have the following children:

Leighton Merill Swank. Born Jan. 29, 1894. His home is in Washington County, Ore., but at present he is in the Oregon Tuberculosis Hospital.

Eldon Philip Swank. Born Oct. 27, 1895. He died in France on December 4th, 1918.

Lola Marie Swank. Born Dec. 14, 1897. Married name is Tate. She lives at Portland.

Ross Hugh Swank. Born Feb. 6, 1900. Lives at Albany.

Myrtle Eleanor Swank. Born Feb. 22, 1902. Her married name is Munger. She lives at Sherwood.

Irene Verna Swank. Born Apr. 7, 1904. Her married name is Foster. Lives at Portland.

Imogene Evelyn Swank. Born Oct. 14, 1908. Her married name is Winstead. She lives here on the Swank farm.

(Mr. Swank is a farmer and has farmed all his life. He is a vigorous man for his years but is now completely blind.)

Copyright © 2000 Patricia Dunn. All rights reserved. This transcription may not be reproduced in any media without the express written permission by the author. Permission has been given by the Transcriber to publish on the LGS web site.