The Whittaker Family of Cheshire

George was born in 1862 in Hertfordshire, England to George Swainston Sr. and Mary Groom who were poor but honorable people. He was the 7th of 10 children. Eight of the children lived to adulthood.

Life was a combination of hard work and simple pleasures. George helped his father farm a wealthy landowner's estate leaving with the men of the family early in the mornings and returning home in the golden glow of dusk.

The men lightened the burden of their work by singing folk songs. Some of them were sung according to the season with the songs of the harvest being among the most joyful. As the men brought in the rich bounty of the fields and prepared for the feast of celebration, their rich manly voices could be heard by the women and children working around the home cottages and they knew the fathers and brothers were coming home.

To supplement the meager wages earned by the men, the women and children learned the cottage industry of plaiting. Each village was known by the peculiar twist or pattern used by the residents. A class at the school in Stevanage taught the children this trade. They worked near their mother's knee and even the boys and men lent their help by wrapping a coil of rope around their shoulder and braiding it as they walked to and from the fields. Sometimes the monies earned plaiting were more than the farm workers' wages.

George's parents had joined the Mormon Church in 1852 when Mormon missionaries came to England to preach the gospel. Many of the English people were converted and thousands of them began immigrating to America when they could earn enough money for the ship passage. Although the Swainston family longed to go to "Zion" their meager earnings were not enough to pay for the voyage.

They lived and studied their new-found religion and worked to earn the necessary money. Their home was a place of comfort and refuge for the missionaries who loved the delicious bread that Sister Swainston baked for them.

In 1873, their oldest son Albert George crossed the ocean with his future wife Elizabeth Ann Ramsbottom and her family. Albert established himself in the west living in Idaho and Utah and then returned to England to bring his brother Ebenezer to America.

George Swainston

June 9, 1862 - May 27, 1953

George Swainston lived 90 good years and was a devoted husband, a loving father and a faithful friend. He loved the land he farmed and never complained that it required hard work for its harvest. He loved the seasons and found something to enjoy in each of them. He loved children and treated them kindly. His wife was the light of his life and he was most at ease and happy when she was near. He loved horses throughout his life and perhaps the one he sacrificed to bring family members to America most of all.
Another sweet memory from Donna Larsen Tanner describes his gentle nature and sweetness of character. "My Grandfather is such a handsome man with such beautiful white hair and a dark mustache. He is quiet and for awhile I was a bit timid when I was around him. But I stayed with them for a time during the summers and I have gotten to know him and feel comfortable with him. I love to listen to the way he rolls his letters (his English accent) like he called me "Donner." He teased me by calling, “Donner, go get the ‘orses" (horses). He made me feel real smart because I could swing up on the horse by holding on to the mane. When someone was around he had me show off by getting on that way."

George & Mary buried together in the Whitney, Idaho Cemetery.

George Swainston's Obituary

PRESTON, IDA. - George Swainston, 90, Whitney area resident, died in an Ogden hospital Friday morning of causes incident to age.

He was born June 9, 1862 , at Hertfordshire, England , a son of George and Mary Groom Swainston and came to Whitney 68 years ago and homesteaded. He married Mary Emma Frost, March 22, 1894 , in Salt Lake City and had been active in Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Surviving are 12 sons and daughters: George R., Morgan; Parley and Daniel Swainston, and Mrs. Janetta Swainston, Preston ; Charles, John E., Howard, and Lindon, and Ora Swainston, Whitney; Mrs. Lucy Tanner, Riverdale; Mrs. Doris Komer, Ogden ; and Mrs. Vela Sutton, Vernal; 38 grandchildren, 55 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 1 p.m. in Whitney Ward Chapel by Bishop Morris Poole, Friends may call at Richards and Sons Mortuary Sunday from noon till 4 p.m. and at family home Monday until time of services. Burial will be in Whitney Cemetery .

8 sons and 5 daughters