Relatively Speaking Blog

Cora Mae Swank was my great grand aunt and a sister to my great-grandfather Charles Swank. She was the youngest of nine children born to Henry and Matilda Swisher Swank on April 20, 1874, in Davidson Township, Sullivan County, PA. She spent her entire life in the vicinity of North Mountain PA. Wanting to know more about my ancestor’s sister, I used census and other documents to glean information about her life.

Cora first appeared in the 1880 census with her parents and five of her siblings, namely: Charles, Christa, Caroline, Thomas, and Delia. Cora was 6 and had attended school in the year, likely first grade at a school possibly on the border of Sullivan and Lycoming Counties. Other censuses indicate Cora completed the 6th grade and was able to read and write; her last year of school would have been about 1886, assuming she went each year to school advancing to the next grade.

The next document that is found for Cora is her marriage license in 1896 in Sullivan County. Cora and James Monroe Watts, son of William and Sarah Stackhouse Watts, applied for their license on May 21, 1896. It was issued the next day by her father, Henry, who was a justice of the peace for Sullivan County. The exact date of their marriage is undetermined, but it took place sometime during the following few weeks as the license was returned on June 11. Neither had been married previously.

When James and Cora were enumerated in the 1900 census, they lived beside Cora’s parents. They owned the house mortgage free, but it is probable that either the house belonged to Cora’s parents, or it was given or sold cheaply to the young couple. James was a day laborer, with 1 month out of work during the year. They had one son, Joseph, recorded as born in December 1894, but other documents list December 1896, which seems more credible.

Sometime between 1900 and 1910 James and Cora moved the family across the county line to North Mountain in Lycoming County. A delayed birth certificate for youngest son Leon, states he was born in Sullivan County in 1908, so the family might have moved closer to 1910. In Lycoming County, James bought a farm and owned it free of mortgage by the 1910 census. They would own and live on this property for the remainder of their lives. James’ occupation was farmer, which he would work at until his death. By 1910, their family was complete with four children, their two sons previously mentioned, and two daughters: Alberta and Elizabeth. Joseph, now a teenager, was recorded as a farm laborer, helping his father. Living on a farm, the daughters likely each had their chores as well. The three oldest children attended school.

By the 1920 census, the oldest child, Joseph, had married and moved out of the house. Alberta no longer attended school, but the younger Elizabeth, or Lizzie as she was called, and Leon did. James farmed for his own account. James’ death certificate infers James began seeing a doctor in 1925 due to heart and kidney problems. Several weeks short of his 59th birthday, James died in the fall of 1929. He was buried in Stoneheap cemetery.

1920 census  Franklin Township, Lycoming County, PA
Name	Relationship to head of household	Age	Marital Status	Occupation	Birth Place
James M. Watts	Head	50	married	farmer	PA
Cora M. Watts	wife	45	married		PA
Alberta Watts	daughter	18	single		PA
Suzzie Q. Watts	daughter	17	single		PA
Leon Watts	son	11	single		PA

In the next three censuses, Cora’s son Leon continued to live with her. In the 1930 census Cora was widowed and as head of the household the task of running the farm fell to her. In this census Cora’s occupation was listed as a farmer. Besides her single son Leon, her widowed brother Clinton was in the household; both were laborers on the farm. Her brother Jonas and his wife lived beside them in a rented house.

By 1940, Leon had married. His wife Ethel and daughter Jean enlarged the household. Ethel was a public-school teacher. Clinton, now 86, still resided with his sister Cora; he must have been in good health as he was again listed as a farm laborer along with Leon. Clinton probably remained with her until he fractured his hip and was hospitalized for several days before his death in 1944 at age 90.

1940 census  Franklin Township, Lycoming County, PA
Name	Relationship to head of household	Age	Marital Status	Occupation	Birth Place	Place lived in 1935
Cora Watts	Head	66	widowed	laborer	PA	same house
Leon K. Watts	son	32	married		PA	same house
Ethel Watts	dau-in-law	36	married		PA	same house
Jean Watts	granddaughter	2	single		PA	same house
Clinton Swank	brother	86	widowed	laborer	PA	same house

The household was similar in the 1950 census. Now that Cora’s brother Clinton had passed away, she had taken in a lodger, John Reese age 75. Cora made $900 at her own business, presumably from farming. Leon and his family were still with Cora, and they lived with her almost another decade until tragedy struck in the late winter of 1959.

The temperatures dipped into the teens overnight on March 16, 1959. To keep a water pump in the kitchen from freezing, the family used a 150-watt light bulb to provide some warmth. Grease on the pump caught fire from the bulb, and it spread rapidly due to winds. Firefighters were hampered by a lack of nearby and abundant water. The fire destroyed one wall of the house, rendering the family home unlivable. Some items from the house were retrieved and saved. In the fall a public auction for the real estate and remaining personal effects were made.

In the article about the fire, Cora was mentioned as being an invalid. It was not clear whether this was just the frailty of age or more serious health issues. However, due to Cora’s condition the entire family slept downstairs, which allowed all of them to get out of the burning house. Cora was taken to her daughter’s nearby home where she would live for the next six months until her death on November 15, 1959. She was buried next to her husband James in Stoneheap cemetery.

I can only image what Aunt Cora experienced to have witnessed her home of some fifty years, destroyed so quickly. Besides this event, Cora appeared to have lived a quiet life as a farmer’s wife and then widow. Her obituary was simple and mentioned the basic facts of birth, death, and family members. In addition, it mentioned she was a lifelong resident of the Franklin Township area—as demonstrated by the census—and a member of the Franklin EUB Church. With the resources I found, I am glad I learned more about my great grand aunt’s life.