Adeline Morrison Swain (1820-1899) was a writer, politician and suffragist. She was inducted into the

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the U.S. state of Iowa, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW). History In 1972, the state of Iow ...

in 2000.

Life

Swain née Morrison was born on May 25, 1820, in

Bath, New Hampshire Bath is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2020 census, unchanged from the 2010 census. Now a tourist destination and commuter town for Littleton, the town is noted for its historic architectu ...

. After completing her education she took up teaching in Vermont at the age of 16. In 1846 she married James Swain and the couple settled in

Fort Dodge, Iowa Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Ce ...

, in 1858. In Fort Dodge she organized French, English, music, botany, and art classes specifically for young women. She went on to organize Fort Dodge's first

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

meeting the following year. In the early 1870s the couple built a large Victorian house in Fort Dodge. The house was grander than their income allowed and they rented out rooms to boarders and also made the house available for events. By 1879 they sold the house to Webb Vincent. In 1977 the Swain-Vincent House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Vincent House. Swain was appointed as a correspondent of the Entomological Commission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture which led her, in 1877, to write a report documenting the devastation of crops brought on by the Colorado grasshopper. She subsequently became a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and became the first woman to present a paper at their national convention. Swain was active in politics where she was affiliated with the Greenback Party. In 1883 Swain ran for Iowa Superintendent of Public Instruction. Though she lost, she was the first woman to run for statewide public office in Iowa. Swain died on February 3, 1899, in Illinois and was buried in Fort Dodge.

Legacy

Swain was included in the 1893 publication ''

A Woman of the Century A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

''. She was memorialized in the "Annals of Iowa, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1899)" and was inducted into the

in 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swain, Adeline Morrison 1820 births 1899 deaths American suffragists People from Bath, New Hampshire Activists from New Hampshire People from Fort Dodge, Iowa Activists from Iowa Iowa Greenbacks Women in Iowa politics 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American women politicians

Life

Legacy

See also

References

External links