By The Bridge

On June 15 1929 with Dr. John G. Cullinan Reverend Thomas J. Hill and Father Healy by his side William Swanton signed his name for the very last time . I wasn't there of course but I can imagine him raising his pen with an age-spotted quivering hand to the document presented to him on his deathbed. This document would affect the lives of many people for many years to come. William's story however begins 74 years earlier in rural County Cork Ireland. This book chronicles the lives of William Swanton and his wife Anne (O'Neil) Swanton. They were born in neighboring townlands in rural County Cork and immigrated to Boston where they lived until the 1920s. William Swanton was a larger-than-life figure who cut a wide swath as he charged through life. Accounts of rural country life chain migration women's rights upward mobility in a new country venereal disease marital separation and insanity all provide a fascinating glimpse into the past.