Beverly, here is some info. about your Eve Swiger from Doddridge County. Her parents were John William Swiger and Mary ?. John William was b. ca. 1730 in Southen West Germany and d. in the 1780's in the Atlantic Ocean. Mary was b. ca. 1749 in Southern West Germany. Their children were:
1. Christopher Columbus b. 1750 d. 6 Apr 1848
2. John Swiger, Sr. b. 25 Apr 1759 d. 26 Jun 1844 m. Elizabeth Tetrick
3. Eve Swiger b. ca. 1761 d. ca. Aug 1852 m. Barnes Allen
4. Elizabeth Swiger b. ca. 1764 d. ca. 1824 m. B. Allen and James Kelly (is B. Allen the same Barnes that Eve m.?)
5. Lovina "Libby" Swiger b. 17 Oct 1770 d. 20 Sep 1856 m. ?
6. Jacob Swiger, Sr. b. ca. 1771 d. ? m.?
7. Mary Swiger b. ca. 1773 d. abt. 1830 m. ? Shinn and Sam McCamie
John William Swiger was born in the state of Bavaria, West Germany, the child of one of the prominant families of the German Empire. He was raised to adulthood in Bavaria. At the age of 19, he married Mary ? in Bavaria, West Germany in abt. 1749.
After their marriage, John William and Mary first settled in Bavaria, where their first child, Christopher Columbus (my 4th great grandfather), was born in 1750. After a few years, John William, Mary, and Christopher set sail for the new land of beauty and opportunity, the USA, in about 1755. After some time at sea, they landed in Virginia and traveled over land to make a home in Loudoun County, Va. Here the remailder of their children were born and raised; they spent about 21 years of married life here.
During the Indian War and the Revolutionary War, two of the sons, Christopher and John Sr. enlisted and served in Yohogania County, District of West Augusta, in the area soon to become Greene and Fayette Counties, Pa. The stories that they brought back home about the beautiful country and farm land, and possibly the atrocities of the Indians of Virginia during this time, influenced John William and his family. In 1777 John William, Mary and their family moved to Fayette County, Pa where they resieded for a few years.
Here in Pennsylvania, John William was engaged in a merchantile business and had a large distillery in neighboring Greene County. And in this way, came into possession of considerable Continental money. (His executors invested this money in a large tract of land in what is now Barbour County, WV, this being the only was in which the government would redeem the money. However, the heirs of this land failed to look after and pay the taxes and the revenues upon it, and the land reverted back to the government.)
Following the Revolutionary War of 1776-1779, John William, finding that his stock of wares for his large merchantile business becoming short and desiring to replenish it, reportedly set said back to his native Germany for that purpose. However, he was never heard from again and was presumed dead at sea. It is supposed that he and his little craft were swallowed up by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
After John William's presumed death at sea, Mary soon remarried to Joshua Allen, a widower, at Fort Pitt (now Pittsburg), Allegheny County, Pa in the 1780's.
After their marriage, Mary and Joshua, along with both of their families, came down the Monongahela and the West Fork Rivers to take up a land grant on the West Fork River near Hepzibah, harrison County, WV before 1790, and here on this farm they spent the remainder of their lives.
John Allen died near Hepzibah in ca. Nov, 1810 at the age of about 82. He apparently died intestate; however, an inventory of his estate is recorded in Harrison County and dated November 23, 1810 (Will book 1, pg. 443).
**Information partly from the History of the Swiger Family pgs. 10-13 and A History of Northern Harrison County, pg. 64.
Hope this is useful to you and perhaps others.
Lisa Thorn