Swigart family papers
Swigart family portrait, 1911 (Box 1, Folder 5)
Collection area: Arizona and Southwest
Collection dates: 1912 to 1953
This collection contains a variety of material pertaining to sisters Rhoda McCarthy, Carrie Fraizer and Esther Rothrock. The majority of the collection is correspondence written to Esther Rothrock from her sisters. The letters describe daily life in Elgin, Arizona from 1912 to 1953. In addition, the collection contains a variety of photographs that depict the families’ homesteads and various family members. Also included are a few poems and songs written for and by extended family members of the Rothrock family.
In 1912, Rhoda and Carrie Swigart joined their sister Esther (Rothrock) in Elgin, Arizona. Rhoda and Carrie eventually claimed side by side homesteads, 260 acres each. For the first few years, the sisters lived in tents on their land. Later, Rhoda married John McCarthy and built a house upon her land and Carrie married Jim Frazier and decided to build a house on his land. Both sisters planted and harvested pink beans, raised cattle, and owned horses. Rhoda died in 1946 and Carrie died at the age of 92 in 1973.
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