Elizabeth Gilmore Swann

Elizabeth Gilmore Swann (maiden name: Sherlock) was born on June 9, 1813, in Baltimore, Maryland, to John Sherlock and Elizabeth Gilmore. Her father, an “English gentleman,” died in December 1813. Elizabeth married Thomas Swann in Baltimore on May 19, 1834, and they had five children together: Thomas, born around 1835: Louisa Sherlock, born around 1838; Jane Byrd, born around 1840; Elizabeth Gilmore, born around 1843; and Mary Mercer, born around 1845.

Her husband Thomas was a wealthy railroad executive who became mayor of Baltimore in 1856. Elizabeth, meanwhile, devoted her time to philanthropic work. She served on the “ladies’ committee” for Baltimore’s House of Refuge and supported the city’s “Aged Women’s Home” and “Aged Men’s Home.” In the late 1860s, she became a director of the Maryland Industrial School for Girls and a vice president of the “Maryland Inebriate Asylum.” Elizabeth died in Baltimore of acute bronchitis on April 25, 1876, and was buried in the city’s Greenmount Cemetery. A local writer eulogized her as a “lady of the most exemplary Christian virtues, [who] spent her life in acts of charity to the poor and suffering.”

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DATABASE CONTENT
Name:Swann, Elizabeth Gilmore
Alternative names:
  • Sherlock, Elizabeth Gilmore (maiden name)
Roles:
  • UVA (Union)
  • Spouse
Gender:Female
Race:White
Branch of service:
Residence at UVA:
UVA Begin Year:
UVA End Year:
Residence at enlistment:
Rank In:
Rank Out:
Highest rank achieved:
Birth date:1813-06-09
Birth date certainty:Certain
Birth place:Baltimore, MD
Death date:1876-04-25
Death place:Baltimore, MD
Causes of death:disease: bronchitis
Occupations:
Relationships:
Person 1Relation TypePerson 2
Swann, Elizabeth Gilmoreparent ofSwann III, Thomas
Swann, Elizabeth Gilmoreparent ofSwann, Louisa Sherlock
Swann, Elizabeth Gilmoreparent ofSwann, Jane Byrd
Swann, Elizabeth Gilmoreparent ofSwann II, Elizabeth Gilmore
Swann, Elizabeth Gilmoreparent ofSwann, Mary Mercer
Swann, Elizabeth Gilmorewife ofSwann, Thomas
SOURCES

1850, 1860, and 1870 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Maryland, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1662-1911, available from Ancestry.com;The Baltimore Sun, 7 February 1857, 11 September 1869; The (Baltimore) Daily Exchange, 5 September 1860; The Aegis & Intelligencer, 28 April 1876.