Home > United States of America > Maryland > Montgomery County > Potomac > Saint Gabriel Cemetery > Jessie Anderson Swain

Jessie Anderson Swain

View larger map

1 / 3

2 / 3

3 / 3

❮ ❯

Jessie Anderson Swain

Birth	:	22 Aug 1869
Death	:	8 May 1939
Burial	:	Saint Gabriel Cemetery, Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate	:	39.0066986, -77.2257996
Description	:	Obituary of his Grandson Frederick The Gazette - March 28, 2001 Potomac lost another link to its rural past last week with the death of Frederick O. Swain. The lifelong resident of Swain's Lock, a section of the C&O Canal named for his family that is today a part of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, died March 19. He was 63. The cause of death remains undetermined pending completion of a report from the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore. A funeral service was held Friday at DeVol Funeral Home in Gaithersburg with burial at Monocacy Cemetery in Beallsville. Those who knew Swain say his... Read More	Obituary of his Grandson Frederick The Gazette - March 28, 2001 Potomac lost another link to its rural past last week with the death of Frederick O. Swain. The lifelong resident of Swain's Lock, a section of the C&O Canal named for his family that is today a part of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, died March 19. He was 63. The cause of death remains undetermined pending completion of a report from the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore. A funeral service was held Friday at DeVol Funeral Home in Gaithersburg with burial at Monocacy Cemetery in Beallsville. Those who knew Swain say his death leaves a void. "He was a very kind and gentle person," said Elie Pisarra, a Potomac fixture herself who was a classmate of Swain's at Potomac Elementary School. "He ran an old-fashioned wonderful business. He was always there to greet you. We'll all miss him." Swain's involvement with the lock, where he ran a concession stand, was the latest incarnation of a family tie to the C&O Canal that extends back five generations. It coincides with the inception of what would eventually be 184.5 miles of artificial waterway linking Washington, D.C. to Cumberland via the Potomac River. The canal ceased operation in 1924, and reopened as a park in 1939. Swain's family plans to maintain its continuous connection to the lock. "The family is committed to keeping the lock in the Swain family, but a lot of things need to be worked out," said Bert Swain, Fred's brother. "We're five or six years from being there 100 years. I want to see that happen." One of those details is implementing new concession guidelines that would be in place this summer, said Douglas Faris, superintendent of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. "We need to meet with the family and discuss this," Faris said. "Fred was an institution on the canal [but] he was unsure about what he wanted to do." During an interview with The Gazette in July, Swain said his ancestors were among the thousands of European laborers brought to the United States by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company to carve out what was to be a reliable coal-hauling route from Western Maryland to Georgetown. With the waterway's completion, the Swain relationship evolved with employment in canal maintenance and running boats, and in 1907, Jesse Swain's appointment as tender of the lock off River Road that bears the family's name. When the canal was dedicated as a national park in 1939, the Swain connection remained. Family members, including Fred, who was one of Jesse's grandsons, continued to live in the six-room 1830 lock house leased from the National Park Service. A concession stand was built beside the lock, and seven days a week from March through November, a Swain relation -- in recent years, usually Fred -- could be found selling bait and refreshments and renting out canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and bikes. While two of his brothers and sister moved away, the beauty and tranquility of the lock maintained a stronger hold on Fred, a retired maintenance foreman at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. "Potomac has changed dramatically, but the lock always stayed the same. When you turn off River Road, it's a step back in time. It's a beautiful spot and Bubba was always there. It was a major part of him," said Bert Swain, a CPA in Rockville, referring to his brother with the nickname used by "those who really, really knew him." But last summer during a lull in his business, Fred Swain was questioning how much longer he could continue. Required to carry $1 million in liability insurance, Swain had started selling his fleet of canoes to help cover the $10,000 a year premium. "You can't make a living doing this," he said last year. Bert Swain doesn't think his brother ever would have left. "It was his thing. People look at it as a business, but that's a fallacy for my brother. It was his pride, his purpose. It was everything to him," Bert Swain said. "I think if the insurance premiums were twice that, my brother would still be there." Fred Swain is survived by his wife, Beverly; daughter Deborah Lynn Sheckles; stepchildren Alice and Wanda Kasmarzyk; brothers Robert Jr. and Bert; sister Barbara Swain Raver; and three grandchildren. Swain's first wife, Patricia Ann, predeceased him.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Jessie Anderson Swain's memorial?
Jessie Anderson Swain's memorial is located at: Saint Gabriel Cemetery, Potomac, Montgomery County, USA.
When did Jessie Anderson Swain death?
Jessie Anderson Swain death on 8 May 1939 in
Where are the coordinates of the Jessie Anderson Swain's memorial?
Latitude: 39.0066986
Longitude: -77.2257996

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Mary Virginia McCutcheon Swain

(1874 - 1916)

Siblings

Elizabeth Ann Swain Cramer

(1851 - 1942)

Children

Robert Lee Swain

(1905 - 1967)

Ada May Swain Getson

(1912 - 1962)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Gabriel Cemetery
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0066986, -77.2257996

2. Rayner Cemetery
Great Falls, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0017400, -77.2466500

3. Saint Francis Episcopal Church Columbarium
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0174300, -77.2073500

4. Offutt-Bradley Family Cemetery
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0048280, -77.1956720

5. Potomac United Methodist Church Cemetery
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0266900, -77.2052700

6. Wesley Union Methodist Church Cemetery
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0503260, -77.2329670

7. Hermon Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Bethesda, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9880850, -77.1741270

8. Great Falls United Methodist Church Cemetery
Great Falls, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9989014, -77.2930984

9. Bethel Regular Baptist Church Cemetery
Great Falls, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9605865, -77.2609787

10. Arnon Chapel Cemetery
Great Falls, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0028000, -77.2949982

11. Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Moses Cemetery
Cabin John, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9826143, -77.1628239

12. Iden Family Cemetery
Great Falls, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9576000, -77.2611000

13. Scotland AME Zion Church Cemetery
Potomac Falls, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0333351, -77.1609018

14. Merry Go Round Farm
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0530100, -77.2736300

15. Hunt Ridge Cemetery
Potomac, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0612090, -77.2586880

16. Jackson Family Cemetery
McLean, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9450190, -77.2126670

17. Burgess Family Cemetery
Cabin John, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9747200, -77.1540800

18. Walker Family Cemetery
Great Falls, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0344900, -77.3022400

19. Concord Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
Bethesda, Montgomery County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9864100, -77.1453600

20. Saint John's Episcopal Church Memorial Garden
McLean, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9494790, -77.1761880

21. Pleasant Grove Cemetery
McLean, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9393997, -77.2455978

22. Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery
McLean, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9367426, -77.2311046

23. Browns Memorial Cemetery
Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9752808, -77.3065109

24. Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery Old Section
McLean, Fairfax County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9364510, -77.2275467