This is a very convoluted family with multiple men of the time, spanning several generations, all having the name "Van Swearingen" - that being the first name VAN and the surname Swearingen.
Also, at the same time there is a family line in the same east coast region that carries the singular surname of "van Swearingen".
There are multiple accounts, and it is unclear if "Van" just dropped his first name, and adopted the surname as a first/last combination - or if they are all separate.
You will need to read multiple accounts to ferret out this family properly, keeping in mind that even the writers, and the persons they collected information on at the time, may not have had their facts straight.
I have a possible connected family member, who is reported to be the first wife of Van Swearingen, according to an association newsletter. It is unclear as to how this person was ever connected to Van. The name is Catarina or Catrina Linder. It has been established that she arrived in this country with her family, and resided very close to the Swearingens in Berkeley county. I have seen no mention of her other than the facts (traceable) mentioned in the Linder Quarterly.
There is a publication written for the NCTC (National Conservation Training Center) in 2008 by Dan Everson, which can be located and downloaded on the web, which gives a decent history of that property and mentions the Swearingen line that resided there, and some of the tombstone inscriptions. Still no mention of Catrina Linder. The booklet is a good read though.
