Benjamin Swan (November 12, 1762 – April 11, 1839) was an American merchant, banker and politician. He was an important political figure in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and served as

State Treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

Early life

Swan was born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

on November 12, 1762, the son of William Swan and Lavina (Keyes) Swan. He trained as a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

in Worcester,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

before moving to

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Cha ...

in 1791.

Business career

Swan continued his mercantile career and was also successful as a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

er, including serving on the board of directors of the Vermont State Bank. He was also an owner or partner in several ventures, including a

pearl ash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

factory.

Political career

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

, Swan served in local offices including

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. He served as Justice of the Peace when holders of that office still heard court cases. He was also active in the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, and achieved the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. In 1796 Swan was appointed County

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

, an office in which he served until his death. Swan was elected

Vermont State Treasurer The State Treasurer's Office is responsible for several administrative and service duties, in accordance with Vermont Statutes. These include: investing state funds; issuing state bonds; serving as the central bank for state agencies; managing th ...

in 1800. He served until 1833, and is the state's longest-tenured Treasurer. After years of running virtually unopposed, even after the demise of the Federalist Party, in 1833 Swan narrowly lost his bid for reelection to Augustine Clarke, 19,661 (50.8%) to 19,056 (49.2%). Swan was a Mason, and Clarke was the candidate of the

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest Third party (United States), third party in the United States. Formally a Single-issue politics, single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, ...

, so his win demonstrated the strength of that third party movement.

Death and burial

Swan died in Woodstock on April 11, 1839. He is buried at River Street Cemetery in Woodstock.

House

The Major Benjamin Swan home at 37 Elm St. in Woodstock was constructed in the mid 1790s. It is a local landmark, and is a privately owned residence.

Family

In 1804 Swan married Lucy Gay. Their children included: Benjamin (1805-1852); William (1807-1811); Lucy (1810-1892); William (died 1816); Eleanor (died 1817); and Mary (1813-1867). Swan's brother Timothy Swan was an eccentric composer and poet who lived at

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region, and located in the Connecticut River Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. Swan's sister Lavina married Vermont Lieutenant Governor

Jonathan Hunt Jonathan Hunt may refer to: * Jonathan Hunt (New Zealand politician) (1938–2024), politician from New Zealand * Jonathan Hunt (Vermont congressman) (1787–1832), U.S. Representative from Vermont * Jonathan Hunt (Vermont lieutenant governor) (1738 ...

of the prominent

Hunt family of Vermont This list of Hunt family members of Vermont includes notable members of an American family that was involved in political and fine arts circles in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The family was primarily based in the town of Brattleboro, Ver ...

. Swan's nephew was U.S. Congressman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Benjamin 1762 births 1839 deaths 18th-century American merchants Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts People from Woodstock, Vermont Politicians from Windsor County, Vermont Politicians from Middlebury, Vermont Vermont Federalists American militia officers Vermont state court judges State treasurers of Vermont American bankers Vermont postmasters Military personnel from Massachusetts