This was one of the most interesting experiences I have had, with the exception of much serendipity in my family research. There were dozens of clues that led me to this family. The most interesting thing was that in "Swains of Nantucket, Tales and Trails," Robert H. Swain only lists three of Ebenezer and Lydia Ellis Swain's children. It wasn't until I read the William C Folger collection that I realized there were six children and one was a Shubael and his birth date fit mine pretty well. Ebenezer's parents were Ebenezer Swain and Lydia Gyles. When Shubael moved to NYC he was surrounded by Nantucket names. I could write an article about all of the information that led me to the conclusion that this was the right family; but I was trying to prove he was the right one in the wrong way. I was trying to find information that said that he didn't die at sea, and had no luck. I live about and hour away from the SL Family History Library, and of course, I really had to stay at the hotel- it would have worn me out totally to drive up and back every day. What I liked about this conference was that was that you had a choice of 11 subject areas and you did that for the entire week. I signed up for problem solving class, which was set up differently than the other subjects. This was sponsored by the Utah Genealogical Association. We were divided into groups of similar problems and we had two professional genealogists ( all at the conference were well known and top notch) and each day we took turns discussing our problems and got their input as to what we should do. The first day they wanted me to look for Shubael's will, which I had not done, as I had given up on the project, because I knew it was not crucial for the book I am co-authoring for the public about my grandmother's ballet career- which will also change ballet history. He came into NYC in 1803 from Nantucket. When his wife died in 1844, he moved up to Ohio, to be with his other son and died there. So I searched both places and did not find one. We decided that what had most likely happened was that he gave his estate to his family before death, so there was no need for a will. The next day, because there were so many obviously related people living in his area of NYC, I was asked to look at land records. What a nightmare. They moved a lot, but from looking at the city directories I had a definite impression that they owned some of the properties. But after looking through thousands of names, and getting really burned out by microfilm research, I found nothing helpful, with three indirect exceptions- some possible relatives. but not the obvious ones that I wanted. The next day, because someone on another site had sent me an abstract of his father's will, they said "Find his father's will today." When I looked at what was available for Nantucket I was discouraged because there were no indexes and only one source, essentially. The first Liber books did not have indexes in them, and I wanted to see if anything was written when his wife died before him. I found nothing. When I got to his date of death, that book had an index in the front, and it told me which pages to look at, as there were seven that were separated. His family was apparently poor and his father was a shoemaker- quite interesting since after he moved to NYC he and his descendants became quite wealthy, I think this was to his advantage, as I know enough about the family to know that some of the men were out standing in character. Now he and his brother are listed as dying at sea in 1808. The brother is Valentine. In 1813, Ebenezer and Lydia made their will, including everyone of their children and grandchildren who were alive at that time. He was in the will and Valentine wasn't. So there was the proof. On the first day, because we had written up our problem and all corresponding information regarding it, our consultants said that they were sure that I had found the right family and now I needed to prove it. There was the proof. They knew that he was alive and that Valentine was dead. And bye the way, he named one of his son's Valentine- and you can see why. In the book I mentioned, it takes you back to the first Swain that came to America- Richard Swain, so I was able to trace his direct line back to Richard, and everyone else is related in some manner. Of course I was on cloud nine, and spent the rest of the time looking at Quaker info to see if they were Quakers and trying to find more wills. I stayed an extra day, Saturday, but was burned out by then. I can easily go up to SL and do more research now, but you know how it is- I want to get "cozy" with all of these new ancestors now and see what I can learn about them. I felt like, even though the cost was a real sacrifice for me, that what I gained was priceless. A whole new world opened up, and I have always had the feeling that, even though this background ancestral information for the book would not necessitate finding all of this out, I have always had the impression that I was going to learn something of real interest to make the book much more interesting. Because of one thing I need to research more, it may be that my co-author and I are distantly related, which would be really funny. So, I came back feeling wonderful, broke, and thinking that I should take advantage of reading all of the books that I have, because maybe I would have thought more broadly and come to the conclusion myself of how to solve it. But it was worthwhile as I heard their advice to everyone and learned more about solving a brickwall. So that is basically my story. The first day I asked if anyone had ever solved a problem in this class, as some were still working on the same one, but several had. But this time I am the only one who solved the entire problem I was researching. A miracle for sure. So when you look up Shubael Swain, son of Ebenzer and Lydia Ellis Swain, in the Nantucket Vital Record books, you will know that he did not die at sea, he lived to the age of 72, was a ship captain, retired and was elected Deputy Keeper of Bridewell Prison on Blackwell or Roosevelt Island in NYC, and went to Ohio to see his other son and is buried there with no buriel records. The Swain plot in Cleveland looks exactly like the Swain plot in The GreenWood Cemetery in NYC. His son, my gg grandfather, was a prominent lawyer in NYC, Shubael Edgar Swain, with Benjamin M Stilwell, and one fun thing I found out is that Benjamin sold some property to a William H. Maxwell , and I am a Maxwell by birth and marriage. His son , Edgar Swain, was a lawyer and entrepreneur and a millionaire, and he is the father of my grandmother. Of course everyone lost their money in the depression and stock market crash- so I always think that all you can take with you is your character and your family and certainly not your money, when you die. I got 325 emails when I was gone and want to especially read all of the discussions you all had about the Society of Friend's terminology. There was a book there that explained it, but I did not have a chance to read that one. I did do some reading, and found a few Swain quotes, but my general impression was that my Swains were not strong in the Society. There were an increasing number mentioned in a wonderfully specific book on microfilm, but now I have to see how they are related. Everyone in the book I mentioned will be related some how. I did find a handwritten, two volume book, about members, and his grandparents, Ebenzer and Lydia Gyles Swain were in it, but his parents were not in it. I do have a question- does anyone know what other churches existed in Nantucket? I did read about the influence of evangelical revivals on Quakerism, but I came out feeling like I didn't really understand much about your religion. I will read all of your week's discussion and then ask more questions. Thanks for you interest in this project- I really didn't expect to solve it, but it was so simple! Sue Maxwell