- Birth: November 18, 1869
- Marriage: Henry H. Swisher – February 14, 1886
- Death: April 28, 1950
Early Life
Anna Christenot was born on November 18, 1869, near Alder Gulch, Montana. She was the second child of Charles and Martha (Craig) Wilton Christenot, who traversed the Bozeman Trail and arrived in October, 1866. Her half-sister, Alice May Wilton (1863-1889), the only child of Martha and Henry Wilton, was six years old when Anna was born.
Anna’s father, Charles, worked at the Christenot Mill, at Union City, then settled his family near Puller Springs, Montana on the Ruby River. He served as a constable and worked in construction. The heat stroke that Charles suffered during the Civil War left him with epileptic seizures that grew worse with age. He died on May 23, 1886, at the Insane Asylum at Warm Springs, Montana. Anna was 17 years old. Her mother, Martha, was 40 years old and without financial support, other than some Civil War pensions.
Children of Charles and Martha Christenot, Siblings of Anna Christenot
- Hattie (Christenot) Kyle (1867-1936)
- Anna (Christenot) Swisher (1869-1950)
- Mary (Christenot) Patrick (1872-1919)
- Charles Christenot (1874-1875)
- Amelia “Mae” (Christenot) Pendarvis Jordan (1876-1959)
- George Christenot (1878-1934)
- Frank Christenot (1880-1956)
- Fred Christenot (1883-1961)
- Clemma (Christenot) Newton Briscoe (1885-1970)
Marriage to Henry Swisher
Anna Christenot and Henry H. Swisher (1861-1933) were married on February 14, 1886. The ceremoney was performed at the home of Anna’s parents, Charles and Martha Christenot, in the Upper Ruby Valley, Montana. She was 16 and he was 25 years old.
Henry H. Swisher was born in Canton, Ohio, on February 6, 1861. When he was about two years old, the family moved to Auburn, Indiana, where he grew up. In 1882, when he was 21, he decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the big towns and go to the wide open spaces of Montana. He did know someone in or near Virginia City, a family by the name of Goetchius, and that is why he picked that area.
Anna and Henry Swisher had seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood. Their children were Cora, Vera, Bertha, Estella, Oscar, Archie, and Vinal. Vinal died of pneumonia as a baby.
Children of Anna and Henry Swisher
- Cora Ellen (Swisher) Ferguson Shults (1887-1988)
- Vera Mable (Swisher) Landford Florer (1891-1930)
- Bertha Madge (Swisher) Smith Splidsboel (1894-1981)
- Estella May (Swisher) Roberts Abbey (1897-1988)
- Oscar Holmes Swisher (1900-1957)
- Archie Henry Swisher (1903-1947)
- Vinal Ferris Swisher (1907-1908)
Life in Madison County, Montana
Anna and Henry Swisher lived in Ruby Valley, where their first four children were born. In 1897, they moved to Pony, Montana, when Estella was a few months old. They lived on a farm or small ranch owned by a man named George Barker. Anna was very apt at taking care of people. She worked with a Dr. Smith, who was the local Pony doctor for years. Anna was the nurse who brought many babies into the world. In 1912, they moved to Harrison where Henry was the ranch foreman for the Isdell Ranch. Their entire life together was spent in Madison County.
Deaths of Mother and Second Daughter
Anna’s mother, Martha (Craig) Wilton Christenot, died on June 29, 1923, in Whitehall, Montana, at age 77, at the home of Hattie and John Kyle. Hattie was Martha’s eldest daughter.
Anna and Henry’s second daughter, Vera (Swisher) Landford Florer died age 39, on March 28, 1930, in Bozeman. She left behind her son, Wallace Landford, and second husband, George Florer, whom she had married in September 4, 1927.
Later Life
Henry Swisher died at home in Harrison, Montana, on April 19, 1933, after an illness of five weeks. He was 72 years old. He was buried at Hill Crest Cemetery in Harrison.
Anna lived in her little home in Harrison in the summertime and spent winters with one of her children.
In 1946, she went to California to live with daughters Cora and Estella. Anna (Christenot) Swisher died in Los Angeles, California, on April 28, 1950. She was buried in the Harrison, Montana, cemetery.
Sources
Abbey, E. (2019). Stories by Stella (1987). In N. Shrauger, Christenot Family History: A Compilation of Stories by Family Members (pp. 66–85).
Roberts, J., Abbey, E., & Splidsboel, B. (1976). In Pioneer Trails and Trials, Madison County 1863-1920. Madison County History Association.
Shrauger, N. (2019). Christenot Family History Chronology.
Research
More information, photographs, and documents about Anna (Christenot) Swisher are available and will be added over time. Our research is based on the sources listed and the primary documents found on the Christenot Family Tree at Ancestry.com.
Please contact us with additions, questions or corrections. Last updated March 2022.
Quick Links
Ivory is the color of the name badge that Anna’s descendants wear at Christenot Family Reunions to help distinguish their family line.