Swink History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Swink family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Swink Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Hartman Swink, aged 20, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1739 2
• Peter Swink, aged 49, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 2
• Lawrence Swink, aged 18, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1741 2
• Nicholas Swink, aged 50, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1741 2
• Henry Swink, who arrived in New Jersey in 1762 2

Swink Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Tobias Swink, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1803 2
• J M Swink, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2

• Robert Swink (1918-2000), American three-time Academy Award nominated film editor
• Jim Swink (b. 1936), former All-American halfback at Texas Christian University, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980