Home | Organization History | Officers | Constitution | Merchandise | Settlement, Settlers, Resosurces | Kingston Church |Cemeteries | In Memoriam | Reunions & Photos  

Organization History of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers  

    The crest was adopted in April 1989, at the 50th reunion of The Descendants of the Jersey Settlers. At the time, the Executive Vice-President of the organization was the Principal of a school in Louisiana.  She asked the art teacher of her school to produce the design.

    At the top of the emblem is the date of the organization’s founding, with the name of the organization at the bottom.  The scroll work is divided into four quadrants, centered by a small shield bearing a family tree, half in darkness and half in light, representing the dead and the living.  In the upper left quadrant is a magnolia blossom, the State Tree of Mississippi.  In the upper right quadrant is a church and in the lower left quadrant is a Christian Cross and a Holy Bible, symbols of the strong religious faith of the Founders.  In the lower right quadrant are wheat shafts to represent the Settlers’ occupation as yeoman farmers.
 patchmed
     
         The first meeting of the DJS was held Sunday, April 1, 1940, at the old Kingston United Methodist Church. Henry Blackburn Eaton of Wood River, Illinois, instigated the meeting, contacting his cousin, Daniel S. Farrar of Lake Village, Arkansas, to assist him in rounding up all known descendants of the Jersey Settlers in the area to notify them of the meeting. A small but representative group of forty-eight descendants along with a number of guests were on hand for the founding meeting. The name selected for the group was The King, Swayze, Farrar, Eaton Family Association.

         This founding meeting resolved to perpetuate the association, including the election of officers. Mr. Blackburn was nominated for president but declined, stating his opinion that the president should be someone more local to Adams County. Mr. Farrar was then unanimously elected president, serving that office from 1940 through 1964. Mr. Eaton was elected secretary, along with Mr. E. E. King of St. Louis, treasurer, and Mrs. Bessie V. Netterville of Newellton, Louisiana, vice president.

         At the second annual meeting, billed the "Reunion of the King-Swayze-Farrar-Eaton Family Association," Mr. Eaton outlined his plan to write a book detailing the history of the families. For the next decade until his death, Mr. Eaton conducted extensive research and collected family data. His book, The Descendants of the Jersey Settlers, was published posthumously by his family in paperback, and became the basic genealogical reference for the organization until publication of Volumes I and II. Data from the book has been accepted by the Order of the First Families of Mississippi and the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century. This book was the inspiration as well as the foundation for the organization's United States bicentennial project, the writing and publishing of The History of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers of Adams County, Mississippi, Volumes I & II.

         In a letter sent to all members on July 24, 1945, following the sixth annual meeting and signed by Daniel S. Farrar as president, A. K. Farrar as treasurer, and Henry B. Blackburn as secretary, it was announced that the organization had changed its name to a "more generally representative and comprehensive title, viz.: 'Descendants of the Jersey Settlers of Ogden's Mandamus, Kingston, Adams County, Mississippi'" and had established a permanent cemetery fund for the maintenance of the King - Farrar and Kingston Cemeteries. Perhaps most importantly, this letter set out for the first time the objectives of the organization. These are, in the wording of the Constitution and By-Laws taken almost verbatim from this letter:

  • To pay homage and respect to and perpetuate the memory of our gallant and brave ancestors, who were pioneers of this North American settlement;
  • To maintain the burying grounds of the original settlers in the vicinity of the Kingston Church, Adams County, Mississippi;
  • To encourage historical and genealogical research in relation to the Jersey Settlers; and
  • To meet annually to renew the ties of known descendants, to welcome newly discovered descendants, and to teach the younger descendants of their noble heritage.

         Early on, the tradition of never levying dues or fees for membership was established. The organization has always supported itself by voluntary contributions and donations from its membership.

         In 1977, the United States Internal Revenue Service officially recognized the organization as a non-profit, tax-free entity, in the process naming the organization "The Descendants of the Jersey Settlers, Adams County, Mississippi," the ex officio name until formally adopted with its constitution in 1987. Also in 1977, The Hereditary Register of the United States of America officially recognized the organization as a lineage organization.

         As the organization has grown, so has the structure of the organization. Today, the DJS has nine officers, three Cemetery Trustees, and numerous committees. The annual meeting has grown from a simple meeting at the church followed by lunch on the grounds to a three-day affair in Natchez with almost constant activities. There are now some 1,500 members throughout North America and much of the world.

         Recognizing the need for a written Constitution, the organization appointed a constitution committee in 1986, consisting of Frances Preston Mills, Annis Bell Laird, and Roland Dudley Marble. On April 26, 1987, the organization in General Assembly adopted the Constitution and By-Laws of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers of Adams County, Mississippi, memorializing the concepts of our founders and prescribing the course for generations to come.
Past Presidents          
2008-2009, James Lee  Heath, III
jimheath
 James Lee Heath, III (1939-2009), served as President in 2008-2009, his term sadly cut short by his death while on vacation in Peru with his wife, Mary.  The son of James Lee Heath, Jr., and Alodi Blank Heath, he was a native of Monroe, Louisiana, and resided in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  He was a descendant of both Richard Swayze and the Reverend Samuel Swayze.  Jim graduated from LSU with bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D. He was a professor at the University of Maryland from 1970 to 1998.  He was a research professor and directed graduate students.  Jim was listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World, and was a member of Sigma Xi and Alpha Zeta.  He served honorably in the Army, attaining the rank of Captain in 1967.  Jim is buried at Port Hudson National Cemetery, Louisiana. 
2006-2008, Robert Whitney
robtwhitney
2000-2006, James  Morgan Swayze
jimswayze		 Jim, born in Amarillo, Texas, makes his home in Utopia, Texas, formerly in Dallas where he directed his engineering firm. Jim only discovered his roots to the DJS in 1987, but he now thoroughly enjoys the organization. Jim is a descendant of Rev. Samuel Swayze through his son James Swayze's son, Alexander P. Swayze.
1996-1999, Katherine Huff O'Neil
khoneil 		KatherineHuff O'Neil served as president 1995-1999. She lives just across the river from her law offices in Portland, Oregon. Originally from Baton Rouge, Katherine's Huff family have been active in DJS almost from its inception in1940. She is a descendant of both Richard and Rev. Samuel Swayze.
1990-1995, Kenneth Clifton Swayze  
kcswayze		 K.C. Swayze served as our president from 1990 through 1996. A descendant of Rev. Samuel Swayze. K.C. and his wife, Ruth, make their home in Wylie, Texas, near Dallas, where K.C. is in the excavation business with his oldest son, Ken.
1986-1990, Pat Swayze Larsen
patlarsen 		Pat Swayze Larson served as President from 1986-1990. Born in Texas, Pat lived in many States as an Air Force wife. After Gen. Larsen's retirement she worked as Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives and now lives in Virginia where she is active with the DAR currently serving as a State officer. She is the descendant of four Jersey Settlers families-those of Rev. Samuel Swayze, Richard Swayze, David Hopkins, and Job Corey.
1961-1985, William Aubrey Sojourner
wmsoljourner		 William Aubrey Sojourner (1914-1985) served as the president for 26 years. He was born May 10, 1914 at Oakwood Plantation, Adams County, Mississippi, the son of Albert Boyd Sojourner and Katherine Aubrey Bailey. William earned his M.A. from the University of Mississippi. He was a teacher and principal of Kinston Consolidated School and served as Adams county superintendent of education for two terms. William was a Veteran of WWII. He served as the President of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers until his death on September 15, 1985. He is buried in the Natchez City Cemetery, Natchez, Mississippi.
1940-1961, Daniel Smith Farrar  
danielsfarrar		 Daniel Smith Farrar  (1863-1964) was the president of DJS from its inception in 1940 until 1961. He was President Emeritus beginning in 1961. He was born in Kingston, Adams County, on October 26, 1873. At the age of eighteen, he became first lieutenant of Company B, First Regiment, Mississippi National Guard, during the Spanish-American War. After contracting pneumonia, Farrar received a medical discharge and returned to Mississippi in December of 1898. He married Mary Sue Aydelotte of Columbia, Tennessee, on June 27, 1909. She was the daughter of W. C. and Sarah Polk Cherry Aydelotte. The Farrars had one daughter: Sarah Polk (b. 1909). Mary Sue Aydelotte Farrar died in 1933, and Farrar married his second wife, Sallie Muir Stripling, on October 25, 1938. The Farrars resided on a plantation near St. Joseph, Louisiana, in 1952, and they later moved to Shaw, Bolivar County, Mississippi.