Guide to the Archival Collections.pdf - Missouri History Museum

“Memories of ‘Sylvan Retreat’" / manuscript, 1993-1994. 2 folders
Dorothy M. Swaney was the granddaughter of Patrick and Julia Ward Conlon. She was the
daughter of Benjamin F. and Ella Margaret Conlon Swaney.
Collection includes the original and transcript (with name index) of Dorothy M. Swaney's
"Memories of 'Sylvan Retreat' (West St. Louis County)," in which she recounts her experiences
and memories growing up on the farm. Memoirs cover the period late 1800s to the 1920s.
"Sylvan Retreat" was the name given to the acreage (located on Hanna Road, two miles south of
Manchester, Missouri) bought by Dorothy's grandparents Patrick and Julia Ward Conlon. The
house on the grounds had been built by Gen. Frank P. Blair. Includes reproductions of
photographs of family members and of "Sylvan Retreat"; reproduction of a hand-drawn map of
the farm; sketches of wagons, carriages, and household implements used on the farm; recipes;
brief biographical sketches of the children of Patrick and Julia Ward Conlon, and other
genealogical information. Collection also contains copies of Conlon family letters, and
correspondence (dated 1993-1994) of Dorothy Swaney with her cousin Mary Sandler regarding
the writing of her memoirs.
Cite as: Dorothy M. Swaney “Memories of Sylvan Retreat” Manuscript, Missouri History
Museum Archives, St. Louis.
A1593
Swap, Franklin P. (1830-1902).
Papers, 1851-1769; 1941. 5 folders (approximately 200 items)
Franklin P. Swap was born August 19, 1830, in Schenectady, New York. In the late 1850s he
settled in Bedford, Taylor County, Iowa, where he became a dentist. During the Civil War he
rose to the rank of captain in the 2nd Iowa Cavalry. He later served as captain in the 4th Missouri
State Militia Cavalry and as assistant provost marshal in several locations in central Missouri.
Following the war he settled in Boonville, Missouri, where he died September 4, 1902.
Collection contains official papers of Franklin Swap while serving as assistant provost
marshal mostly at Warrensburg, Tipton, and Jefferson City, Missouri, including returns of
contraband and confiscated property; returns of quartermaster’s stores; returns of clothing, camp
and garrison equipage; abstracts of articles received, expended, lost or destroyed; charges and
specifications and records of court martials, mostly for trials of members of the 4th M.S.M.
Cavalry; general orders, dated Department of the Missouri, December 1862, regarding
instructions and regulations for provost marshals; and correspondence regarding affairs in central
Missouri. Collection also contains some personal correspondence of Franklin Swap; a petition of
members of Captain Parke’s Company E, 4th M.S.M. Cavalry, dated April 17, 1862, protesting
the election of officers; and printed copy of President Lincoln’s proclamation of pardon granted
to those who have participated in the rebellion, dated December 8, 1863.
Cite as: Franklin P. Swap Papers, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
A1594
Sweeney Real Estate Company (Saint Louis, Missouri).
Plat books and title abstracts collection. 155 volumes; 1 (6" x 72") roll tube; 1 folder
The Sweeney Real Estate Company is a St. Louis real estate firm that has collected title
abstracts and plat books for St. Louis, St. Louis County, and Jefferson County, Missouri. Many
of these volumes were acquired from other St. Louis and Jefferson County–based title abstract
companies.
This collection includes several sets of St. Louis plat books (1905) and St. Louis County plat
books (1909); numerous title abstracts for St. Louis, St. Louis County, and Jefferson County,