English Swayne-Swains

English Swaynes (for the purposes of this discussion) are a specific family of Swayne (or Swain) relatives that lived in England between the mid-1400's and early-1600's.  This particular timeframe is important because the first Swayne COA was granted in 1461, confirmed by a Swayne descendent in 1602, and another grant occurred in 1612.  This timeframe is also important because Swaynes (and Swains) first arrived in America (from England) in the early 1600s.  This 150 year period also happens to be a period where genealogical records for the Swaynes-Swains are less available.  So, the English Swaynes are those Swaynes that were granted the Coat of Arms by The College of Arms in England or were directly related to a Swayne (or Swain) that was.  Any Swayne (or Swain) family that is not tied to this armigerous family are not the English Swaynes (or Swains) that are being discussed here.

Swayne and Swain Immigrants

Here are some of the Swaynes and Swains that emigrated from England to America in the 1600-1700s for your evaluation:

William Swayne:                        Traveled from England to America on the "Elizabeth and Ann" in 1635.
                                                Passenger list:  http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/ships/elizabeth__ann.htm

Richard Swain:                         Traveled from England to America on the "Truelove" in 1635.
                                               Passenger list:  http://english-america.com/spls/635ne018.html

                                                His children were on "The Rebecca" same year.
                                                Passenger list:http://english-america.com/spls/635ne015.html

Jeremiah Swain:                        Traveled from England to America in 1638

Nicholas Swain:                         Traveled from England to America in 1643

Francis Swayne:                        Traveled from England to America in 1711

Abner Swayne:                          Traveled from England to America in the late 1700's

Swaynes-Swains that could very possibly be related to the English Swayne Coat of Arms are William, Francis, Richard and Jeremiah (although none have been officially confirmed by The College of Arms).  Descendents of all of those Swaynes (or Swains) cite William Swayne of Salisbury (COA 1461) from their genealogical records as an ancestor.  All of these families appear to have been prominent and/or wealthy and some were granted land in America.  This is an important point when considering the probable connection between these Swayne immigrants with the English Swaynes (who were also wealthy).  Nicholas and Abner may be connected as well but I haven't found any references to Nicholas or Abner except in the report compiled by the American Media Group (which is discussed later).  If any visitors of this site have information pertaining to Nicholas or Abner genealogies, please contact me.  At the moment, there are no known connections between the immigrants indicated above and additional data may be able to connect these ancestors. 

The following Swayne/Swain genealogies cover the pedigree for the England immigrants indicated above:

1. William Swayne: 'Records of the Swaynes of Wiltshire- 1940' by M. Swayne Edwards. This genealogy is not available online and it is out of print. You may contact the Wiltshire Museum in England to purchase a photocopy of this genealogy.  After photocopy and shipping costs it will probably cost $50-70.  Here is a link to the Wiltshire Museum website contact page:   http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/contact/
2. Jeremiah Swain:   'Swains and Allied Families - 1896' by William C. Swain.  Have not found this genealogy online but it can be ordered online for around $20 at Higginson Books online at: http://www.higginsonbooks.com/stroud-symmesSC5.html.
3. Francis Swayne: 'Chester County Swaynes' 2^ndEdition' by Norman W. Swayne is available online at the following site:  http://www.swayne.0catch.com/.  Also, genealogy message boards are frequented by genealgists for the Francis line of Swaynes which may assist in connecting.
4. Richard Swain: 'Swains of Nantucket' by Robert H. Swain.  I have not found this genealogy online or elsewhere but descendents of Richard can be found on the Swain Country website and there are additional links available at:  http://friends.peoria.lib.il.us/community/swaincountry.html.

Since genealogical records for these Swayne immigrants either end or become broken during the period of the early grants from The College, a confirmation with the Swayne Coat of Arms appears to be unlikely for descendents of these Swaynes-Swains.  Although none of these Swayne (or Swain) ancestors confirmed their right to arms, this document (and associated research) is predicated on the assumption that my line of Swaynes (Francis) is related to the English Swaynes who were granted the COA (whether it can actually be confirmed or not).