Genealogy England Robert Sweet (b. 1552, Hackney, London, England) Still under investigation Spouse: Joanna Rainham (b. 1554, Essex County, England) Still under investigation Children: John Sweet (b. 1579, Modbury, Devon County, England/d. 1637, Providence, Rhode Island) USA - Generation One John Sweet (b. 1579, Modbury, Devon County, England/d. 1637, Providence, Rhode Island) Spouse: Mary Periam (b. 1581, Wales or Modbury, Devon County, England/d. 31 July 1681, Warwick, Rhode Island) Erratta: in Salem, Massachusetts circa 1630 Child 1: John Sweet (b. 1620, Devon, England/d. 1677, Newport, RI) Child 2: James Sweet (b. 1622, Devon England/ d. 18 June 1698, Warwick, RI) Erratta 1: John married Elizabeth Jeffreys Erratta 2: James married Mary Green Erratta 3: I have no further information about James Sweet and Mary Greene USA - Generation Two John Sweet (b. 1620, Devon, England/d. 1677, Newport, RI) Spouse: Elizabeth Jeffreys Child 1: John Sweet Child 2: Daniel Sweet Child 3: James Sweet Child 4: Richard Sweet Child 5: Henry Sweet Child 6: William Sweet Child 7: Benjamin Sweet Child 8: Jeremiah Sweet Child 9: daughter - name unknown USA - Generation Three James Sweet (b. ?/d. 27 July 1719, Cowesett, RI) Spouse 1: Mary ? Spouse 2: Jane ? Child 1: Daniel Sweet Child 2: William Sweet Child 3: Mary Sweet Child 4: Sarah Sweet Child 5: Elizabeth Sweet USA - Generation Four Daniel Sweet (b. ?/d. 1739, Gloucester, RI) Spouse: Ethalanah Carpenter (b. ?/d. 9 September 1775) * Erratta 1: Daniel was a Miller/Yeoman. Owned land in Providence, RI in 1715 * Erratta 2: Ethalanah was the daughter of Timothy Carpenter Child 1: Jeremiah Sweet Child 2: James Sweet Child 3: Timothy Sweet USA - Generation Five James Sweet Spouse: Mary Whipple Erratta 1: James is of Gloucester, Rhode Island 1775 Erratta 2: James is of Killingly Connecticut 1779 Erratta 3: Married 26 November 1747 in Gloucester, Rhode Island Child 1: John Sweet Erratta 1: Husbandman of Killingly, Connecticut 1779, 1780 Erratta 2: Yeoman of Gloucester, Rhode Island 1795 Child 2: Daniel Sweet Erratta: Husbandman of Killingly, Connecticut 1779 Child 3: James Sweet USA - Generation Six James Sweet Spouse: Catherine Mann of Smithfield, Rhode Island Erratta 1: James is a Husbandman of Killingly, CT 1779, 1780 Erratta 2: James is a Husbandman of Gloucester, RI 1790 Erratta 3: Married 15 August 1773 in Gloucester, RI Child 1: James Sweet (b. 1783, Killingly, Ct/d. 3 July 1857, Brooklyn, Ct) Child 2: son - unknown Child 3: son - unknown Child 4: son - unknown Child 5: daughter - unknown Child 6: daughter - unknown Child 7: daughter - unknown Child 8: daughter - unknown Child 9: daughter - unknown USA - Generation Seven James Sweet (b. 1783, Killingly, Ct/d. 3 July 1857, Brooklyn, Ct) Spouse: Lucy Downing (b. 1792, Hampton or Brooklyn, Ct/d. 5 February 1863, Brooklyn, Ct) Erratta 1: James is of Brooklyn, Ct 1810 Erratta 2: James is a Farmer in Brooklyn, Ct 1850 Erratta 3: James died 3 July 1857 aged 73 yrs, 8 mo, 6 days of Brooklyn, Ct Child 1: Albert B. Sweet (b. 1819) Erratta 1: Stonemason 1870; Farmer 1880 of Brooklyn, Ct Erratta 2: Married twice - first wife unknown, second wife a Mary A? (b. 1817, Ct) Child 2: Marvin O. Sweet Child 3: William N. Sweet Child 4: Edwin S. Sweet Child 5: Asa K. Sweet Child 6: Andrew J. Sweet Child 7: Helen M. Sweet (Comins) - adopted Child 8: David Downing Sweet (b. 1807 Brooklyn, Ct/d. 24 October 1892 Brooklyn, Ct) USA - Generation Eight David Downing Sweet (b. 1807 Brooklyn, Ct/d. 24 October 1892 Brooklyn, Ct) Spouse: Elma S. Freeman (b. 1808, Ct) Erratta 1: 1831 of Brooklyn, Ct; 1840 of Lisbon, New London Co., Ct - Farmer Erratta 2: 1850 of Franklin, New London Co., Ct Erratta 3: 1880 of Brooklyn, Ct with brother Albert Erratta 4: Died 24 October 1892 aged 84 yrs, 1 mo, 17 days of Brooklyn, Ct Erratta 5: Married 29 September 1831 in Lisbon, Ct Child 1: Mary Sweet (b. 1833) Child 2: Charles Sweet (b. 1834) Erratta: Charles served in the Connecticut Infantry 1862 - 1863 Child 3: Sarah Sweet (b. 1836) Child 4: James Sweet (b. 1839/d. 13 May 1901 Seymour, New Haven, Ct) Erratta 1: Enlisted in the Connecticut Infantry aged 23, 8 september 1862 Erratta 2: Spouse: Arminta, married 5 May 1869, New Rochelle, NY Child 5: Edward Sweet (b. 1842) Child 6: Ann Sweet (b. 1844) Child 7: William C. Sweet (b. 1846 Franklin, New London Co, Ct/d. 29 April 1898 Hartford, Ct) USA - Generation Nine William C. Sweet (b. 1846 Franklin, New London Co, Ct/d. 29 April 1898 Hartford, Ct) Spouse: Elizabeth Sullivan (b. August 1860 County Kerry, Ireland) Erratta 1: William was a Coachman, Main Street, Hartford, Ct 1880 Erratta 2: Of 195 Park Street, Hartford, Ct 1882 Erratta 3: Listed in Hartford City Directories until 1898 Erratta 4: Died 29 April 1898 in the Police Station, 7th Ward, Hartford, Ct. aged 55 Erratta 5: Elizabeth in USA from 1870 Erratta 6: Married 18 November 1880, Hartford, Ct Erratta 7: Listed in Hartford City Directories from 1898 as a Dressmaker, 2 Grand St, Hartford, 1900 Child 1: Mary Elma Sweet (b. December 1887) Erratta: Married William Birmingham Child 2: Andrew St. Clair Sweet (b. October 1890/d. unmarried) Child 3: Arthur Charles Sweet (b. 14 December 1882/d. 1915) USA - Generation Ten Arthur Charles Sweet (b. 14 December 1882/d. 1915) Spouse: Ellen Marguerite Donahue Erratta 1: b. 14 December 1882 at 195 Park Street, Hartford, Ct Erratta 2: Carpenter, 2 Grand Street, Hartford, Ct 1900 Child 1: Anna Marguerite Sweet Erratta: Married John Falvey Child 2: Florence Elizabeth Sweet Erratta: Married Earle Donegan Child 3: Dorathy Elma Sweet, deceased, unmarried, of 69 Maple Avenue, Hartford, Ct Child 4: Andrew St. Clair Sweet (b. 9 March 1914 Windsor, Connecticut/d. 11 April 1981 Kailua, Hawaii) Comment 1: This family search was completed prior to Andrew's death. Comment 2: Andrew died before I could learn about his siblings, thus the lack of dates*. Comment 3: * I did meet Dorathy in Hartford as a teen and she did visit us in Hawaii. Comment 4: Andrew was estranged from his siblings and reconciled with Dorathy prior to his death. Comment 5: Any information regarding his siblings is appreciated. USA - Generation Eleven Andrew St. Clair Sweet (b. 9 March 1914 Windsor, Connecticut/d. 11 April 1981 Kailua, Hawaii) Erratta 1: Buried full military ceremony, Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific Erratta 2: Captain, United States Army, Punchbowl Sec 1, Grave 1011 Spouse 1: Marguerite ? (divorced, Puerto Rico) Child 1: John Sweet Erratta: Married and divorced while stationed in Puerto Rico during World War II Spouse 2: Sue Sugi Sweet (Eeyonuk Chun) (b. 1932, Korea) Child 2: John Steven Sweet (b. 1963, Seoul, South Korea) USA - Generation Twelve John Steven Sweet (b. 1963, Seoul, South Korea) Spouse: Melinda Pfaff (b. 1965, Torrance, California) Child: Elisabeth Sweet (b. 1991, Santa Monica, California) Genealogical Narrative The object of this research was to trace the ancestry, in the male line, of Arthur Charles Sweet. We are provided with the following information before we began research: * Andrew St Clair Sweet (father of John Steven Sweet), Anna Marguerite Sweet, Florence Elizabeth Sweet and Dorathy Elma Sweet were children of Arthur Charles Sweet, who was born on 14 December 1882 at 195 Park Street, Hartford, Connecticut, married Ellen Marguerite Donaghue, and died circa 1915. * Arthur Charles Sweet, Mary Elma Sweet and Andrew St Clair Sweet were children of William C. Sweet, born circa 1848 in Franklin, and his wife Elizabeth Sullivan Sweet, whom he married on 18 November 1880. In 1882, William C. and Elizabeth Sweet were living at 195 Park Street, Hartford. * The Sweet family of Hartford, Connecticut, was believed to have descended from the John Sweet who emigrated to America in 1630 or 1631, and settled in Massachusetts. We began research by attempting to identify the John Sweet who emigrated from England to America circa 1630. From the indexes of printed and other sundry sources listing emigrants to the New World, we noted that Robert Sweet of Hackney, Middlesex, married Johanna Rainham on 7 May 1578 at Rainham, Essex. These were the parents of John Sweet of London, born circa 1579, who married Mary in 1619, and had a son John, born the following year. John Sweet senior went to Salem, Massachusetts, before 1632. John Sweet senior moved on from Salem to Providence, Rhode Island, where he died in 1637. These was a John Sweet or Swett from Wymondham (pronounced Windham), Norfolk, England, who was in Newbury, Massachusetts, by 1642, and died in June of 1651 or 1652. There was also a Benjamin Sweet from Wymondham. Neither of these Johns appears in the shipping lists, but a Thomas Sweet sailed on the Mary and John from Southampton in 1634. No place of origin or settlement was given for him, but at least seven other passengers settled at Newbury. From there, we turned to the parish registers of Wymondham, Norfolk, which are in the custody of the Norfolk Record Office, in Norwich. The earliest surviving registers begin in 1615, and we searched these dates between 1615 and 1641. There were no Sweet marriages or burials, but we found the baptisms between 1618 and 1624 of four children of John Swett (sic): Dorcas, Stephen, Joseph and Benjamin. Presumably, these were children of John and Mary, as mentioned above. In view of all this uncertainty, we searched the Mormon Computer File Index (C.F.I). This index consists of entries of baptisms and marriages copied from parish registers by members of the Mormon Church. The entries are listed alphabetically and arranged by county. The index is not complete, but it serves as a very useful guide where the parishes of baptism and marriage are not known. In the C.F.I. for Essex, we were able to confirm the marriage of Robert Sweet and Johanna Rainham in 1578, at Rainham. We checked this with the allegation (i.e. information provided) for their marriage license, which stated that the bride-to-be, Johanna Sweete, was a widow of Rainham. The C.F.I. for London and Middlesex contained a very bald entry for the marriage of John Sweet and Mary Periam in 1619, somewhere in London. However, there were numerous entries of Sweet marriages and baptisms from the registers of St John's Church, Hackney, Middlesex. Sweet baptisms in Hackney ranged from that of Thomas in 1556 to that of William in 1606; and Sweet marriages from Margaret in 1590 to another Margaret in 1616. Since these registers cover the period 1549 to 1820, it will be seen that the family's period of residence there was fairly short. Plainly, there was no point in pursuing any of these aspects further until our client's own, more immediate, line of descent had been established. Accordingly, we turned to United States sources. In the U.S. census returns of 1900 for Hartford, Connecticut, we found Elizabeth Sweet, a dressmaker, aged 39, born in Ireland of Irish parents, with her children Arthur C., Mary and Andrew. The children's father was also stated to have been born in Ireland. Since Elizabeth's husband was absent from the 1900 return, we looked for this death certificate. William Sweet died on 29 April 1898, at the age of 55, of epilepsy, in the Police Station of the 7th Ward, Hartford. Although we were fairly certain that William was Elizabeth's husband, we had no immediate proof of this. However, in the Hartford city directories, we found William Sweet listed up to 1897, and Elizabeth at the same address from 1898, which seemed confirmation enough. The father of Arthur Charles Sweet, William Sweet, was said to have been born in Franklin, wherever that was. However, this mystery was solved by the census returns of 1850 for Franklin, New London County, Connecticut. These entered David D. Sweet, farmer, aged 43, with his wife Elma, and their seven children, the youngest of whom was William, born circa 1846. Nevertheless, it was necessary to confirm that this was our William. David Sweet appeared in Lisbon, New London County, in 1840, with his wife and four children. The vital records of Lisbon showed that David D. Sweet of Brooklyn, Connecticut, married Elma S. Freeman of Lisbon on 29 September 1831. Incidentally, the Hartford City Directory of 1880 listed William and Irving A. Sweet as two coachmen living at different addresses in Main Street. David, Elma and all their children were stated to have been born in Connecticut. Unfortunately, the vital records of that state do not commence until 1897, so that there was no easy way of tracing them. However, William's brothers, Charles, James and Edward, would have been of an age to have served in the Civil War, so we hoped that their military records might give details of their family or home background. From service and pension records, we found the details of two Charles Sweets, four Edwards and seven James Sweets, although two of the latter proved to be the same man, entered twice. We were confident that two of our men were Charles H. Sweet, who enlisted as a Private in Company C, 22nd Connecticut Infantry, in August 1862, as of Hartford, and was discharged in the following July; and James D. Sweet, Private, who served in Company B, 26th Connecticut Infantry and 1st New Orleans Infantry, as of Franklin, having enlisted in September 1862 and been given dishonourable discharge in January 1866. We could not decide which of the four Edwards ( two each from Canterbury and Plainfield, Connecticut) was William's brother, but found some useful particulars in he pension file for James D. Sweet. The latter served in the Infantry of both Connecticut and New Orleans, and was attached to the Gulf U.S. Volunteers. He enlisted in September 1862 at Franklin, aged 23, married on 5 May 1869 at New Rochelle, New York, and died on 13 May 1901. Also in 1901, his widow, Arminta, was residing in Seymour, New Haven County, Connecticut. In view of the Franklin and Hartford connections, it seemed certain that Charles and James, and probably Edward, were brothers of the William Sweet who was to marry Elizabeth Sullivan. On the other hand, William named his daughter Mary Elma, which suggests that he was a son of David D. and Elma Sweet. In local vital records, we found the death certificate of David Downing Sweet, who died in 1892, aged 84, and was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, the son of James Sweet, born Smithfield, Rhode Island, and Lucy Downing, born Hampton, Connecticut. We also noted the record of a marriage between David D. Sweet and Susan Austin in 1864; obviously this suggested that Elma, David's first wife, had died by then, although we could not confirm this. In 1880, the census showed David D. Sweet, aged 72, living with his brother Albert B. Sweet of Brooklyn, Connecticut; their father was stated to have been a native of Rhode Island. Also, in Brooklyn, Connecticut, we found the death certificates of James Sweet, on 3 July 1857, aged over 73, born at Killingly, Connecticut, and of Lucy Sweet, died 5 February 1863, in her seventies. James Sweet was also in Brooklyn in 1850 (farmer, born Killingly) and in 1810. His will, as of Brooklyn, dated 1 July 1857, and probated on 25 July 1857, mentioned his wife Lucy, and named their children ad David D., Marvin O., William N., Albert B., Edwin S., Asa K., Andrew J. and Hellen M. (Comins). The probate records in the Connecticut State Library included details of the guardianship of Lucy Downing, who was aged about nine in 1801. Since one of the sureties was Asa Kimball, who married Hannah Sweet of Gloucester, this must have been Lucy Downing Sweet (died 1863), wife of James. Our further researches in the various archives of Rhode Island have enabled us to construct a pedigree back to the late sixteenth century with a reasonable degree of certainty. The mass of documentation on which the following is based is included in the appendix. We believe that James Sweet was born circa 1783 at Killingly, Connecticut, the son of James Sweet and Catherine Mann. Deeds show that he was a husbandman of Killingly in 1779 and 1783, and he was recorded in the 1790 census of Glocester, Rhode Island. He married Catherine, of Smithfield, Rhode Island, on 15 August 1773 at Glocester. This James was one of the children of James Sweet and Mary Whipple, who were married at Glocester in 1775, but by 1779 had moved to Killingly, Connecticut. James was probably the son of David Sweet and Ethalanah Carpenter. He was a yeoman of Glocester. His will has note been traced, but Ethalanah's was proved on 27 July 1719; James was then of Cowesett, Rhode Island. We believe that James was the son of John Sweet (died Newport, Rhode Island, 1677) and Elizabeth Jeffreys. John was living at Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1648. Various genealogical works state that he was born circa 1620 in Devon, England. He was the son of John Sweet and Mary. John senior arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1630, then moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he died in 1637. His wife Mary died at Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1681. John and Mary had another child besides John; this was James, born circa 1622 in Devon (?), who married Mary Greene and had numerous descendants in Warwick, Rhode Island. To conclude, it would seem that the migrant ancestors of the Sweet family in question were John Sweet, born in Devon, circa 1595, and his wife Mary, and their two children, John (born circa 1620) and James (born circa 1622), who arrived in America circa 1630. Further attention now needs to be directed towards Devon records in the hope of finding this family group there. End Narrative Genealogical Sources Records searched and examined * Here is what I have from my hire of DeBrett's Ancestry Research located in Winchester, England. * This study occurred in the late 1970's and concluded in 1983. United Kingdom Sources: * Norfolk Record Office, Norwich * Society of Genealogists, London * G.J. Armytage - Allegations for Marriage Licenses, 1520-1610 I (London) United States Sources: * U.S. Census returns, Connecticut and Rhode Island * Vital Records, Connecticut and Rhode Island * Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served in Organizations from the State of Connecticut * Records of Service of Connecticut Men in the Army and Navy of the United States during the Rebellion * General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 * Land Records, Connecticut and Rhode Island * Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, Rhode Island * Connecticut State Library, Hartford * Hartford, Connecticut, City Directory * Daniel Carpenter, The Carpenter Family in America * B.C. MacGunnigle, Rhode Island Freeman, 1747 - 1755 * Elizabeth Perry, History of Glocester, Rhode Island * Published list of Warwick, Rhode Island, births and death