Theodore P. Swats was born on April 1, 1888, in Virginia. He was the son of Charles Lewis Swats, who was born in April 1863 in Virginia, and Margaret J. (Guin) Swats, who was born on May 1, 1868, in Highland County, Virginia. The couple married on October 21, 1886, in Virginia.
By 1890, the Swats family was living in Virginia, where Charles worked as a blacksmith. They were the parents of Theodore, born in 1888, followed by Gabriel Augustus in 1890. By 1900, the family was still living in Virginia, and Charles continued to work as a blacksmith. The family had grown with the addition of Charles, born in 1893; Arthur, 1895; Cecil, 1897; and Boyd, 1899.
On February 1, 1906, Charles was murdered. He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery in Augusta County, Virginia. The two men responsible for his death were found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to serve five years in the state penitentiary…