swearengen (sometimes spelled "swearingen", swearengin, swearngir etc.) and his twin brother, lemuel, were the eldest two of eight children of dutch american farmer daniel j. swearingen (1817–1886) and keziah "katie" montgomery (1818–1879) of oskaloosa, iowa. swearengen remained at home well into his adult years and only arrived in deadwood in may 1876, with his wife, nettie swearengen. nettie later divorced him on the grounds of spousal abuse. swearengen married two more times; both subsequent marriages also ended in divorce.