The Deaton Family

Walter Dawson Swayney was the illegitimate son of Callie Swayney. He came with Callie when she married Reuben Deaton. Walter was a key figure in identifying Reuben as the one who struck his mother, Callie, over the head with a shotgun during an argument. The Deaton Family Book mentions the fact that "Reuben was bad to drink" so it is assumed that it was an alcohol related argument in which domestic violence occurred with Reuben striking Callie with a shotgun and fracturing her skull.

Walter served in the US Army during WWII. He never married and died of cancer in 1991.