I am not related to any Swopes as far as I know except through Skaggs marriages. However, I know they were a well-known family in Monroe County and wanted to share some data from the WV Archives and interesting details about them. In A History of Monroe County, West Virginia, by Oren Morton, there are several mentions: On page 27, the author writes “. . . [S]ettlers had located on the grant to the Greenbrier Company. Whether any of them except Baughman and Swope were in any portion of the Monroe area outside of Wolf Creek district, we have no positive knowledge.” Beginning on page 33:
Page 37:
Land: Swope Surveys under Botetourt in 1774: “Swope, Joseph-200-Wolf-G-Mar. 11”. Patents under Greenbrier:
Beginning on page 89, Swopes are mentioned in other land records. Beginning on page 212, Swopes are mentioned in relation to road construction. Swopes mentioned as part of militia organizations: George and Jonathan.
Anecdotal records of Skaggs and Swope on Wolf Creek:
Name variations of Swope, page 291: Swobe, Soab, Soap, Soape. In the genealogical section of A History of Monroe County, Swopes are mentioned in several different family lines, so be sure and search those. The Swope surname is addressed as follows, p. 408-409:
MISCELLANEOUS: Soldiers in Greenbrier during Dunmore’s War included John Swope. George Swope is mentioned as a Confederate soldier. He was also mentioned at least three times as an elected justice in Monroe County. Monroe voters in 1800 included Michael Swoope and George Swoope. (I guess these spellings should be added to the list of alternative spellings mentioned above.) Page 479 mentions George Swope/Swobe as a Revolutionary soldier. Some distinctions need to be made as to whether all these George Swobes are the same person. I doubt they are. Monroe residents in 1799 included John, George, Joseph, and Michael (not John, George, Ringo, and Paul) Swobe. A petition in 1852 was signed by George W. Swope.
Now we come to an extensive Swobe family history in Monroe County: