Edward Swann (March 10, 1862 – September 19, 1945) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. From November 4, 1902, to March 3, 1903, he served part of one term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Life

He was born on March 10, 1862, in Madison, Florida. Swann graduated from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1886, was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He entered politics as a member of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

Congress

Swann was elected as a Democrat to the

57th United States Congress The 57th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1901, to ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Amos J. Cummings and served from December 1, 1902, to March 3, 1903.

Career after Congress

Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in New York City. In November 1904, Swann ran again for Congress, this time in the 13th District, but was defeated by Republican Herbert Parsons. In November 1907, Swann was elected a judge of the Court of General Sessions, and took office on January 1, 1908. He was

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal l ...

from 1916 to 1921, elected in a special election in November 1915 defeating the incumbent Charles A. Perkins, and re-elected in November 1917 to a full term. Swann was accused several times by reform organizations of misconduct and malfeasance in office, urging his removal. Since the precedent of 1900, when Asa Bird Gardiner was removed by Gov.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, this had become a constant move in New York City politics, but neither Republican Charles S. Whitman nor Democrat

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

saw reason enough to act. In November 1920, Swann ran for the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

(1st D.), nominated by the Tammany bosses to get rid of him in the D.A.'s office. After his defeat, Tammany insisted in trying to get him appointed to a vacancy in the New York Court of General Sessions, but Governor

did not yield. However, for most of the year 1921, Swann remained out-of-state, partly in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, partly in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and left the office in the hands of his chief assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, Joab H. Banton. On May 21, 1921, Swann married in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Chariton County, Missouri Chariton County is a County (United States), county located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,408. Its county seat is Keytesville, Missouri, Keytes ...

, Margaret W. Geisinger, a great-niece of Commodore David Geisinger.

Death

He died on September 19, 1945, in Sewall's Point, Florida. Swann was buried at the St. Peter's Episcopal Cemetery in Fernandina Beach,

Nassau County, Florida Nassau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the northeasternmost county in the state. The county seat is Fernandina Beach. The population was 90,352 at the 2020 census. Nassau County is a constituent of the Jackso ...

References

Sources

''OLD 10th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CONVENTIONS''
in NYT on October 4, 1902
''FOUR NEW NAMES ON THE CONGRESS TICKET''
in NYT on October 4, 1904
''TAMMANY WINS''
in NYT on November 6, 1907
''JUDGE DELEHANTY ACCUSES SWANN OF FRAUD ON COURT''
in NYT on December 31, 1916
''CITY CLUB RENEWS ATTACKS ON SWANN''
in NYT on April 5, 1917
''TAMMANY FINISHES SLATE FOR THIS FALL''
in NYT on August 17, 1917
''TAMMANY PICKS SWANN FOR BENCH''
in NYT on August 10, 1920
''TAMMANY WANTS SWANN ON BENCH''
in NYT on December 24, 1920
''EDWARD SWANN WEDS IN MISSOURI''
in NYT on May 22, 1921

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swann, Edward 1862 births 1945 deaths New York County district attorneys People from Madison, Florida People from Sewall's Point, Florida New York state court judges Columbia Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives