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 state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and served as

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

Early life

Swan was born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

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 commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

in Worcester,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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 Chart ...

in 1791.

Business career

Swan continued his mercantile career and was also successful as a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts 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 markets. Because ...

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 called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, 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 A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

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

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and achieved the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In 1796 Swan was appointed County

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

, 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 the ...

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 Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

, and Clarke was the candidate of the

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After ...

, 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 Timothy Swan (1758–1842) was a Yankee tunesmith and hatmaker born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. The son of goldsmith William Swan, Swan lived in small towns along the Connecticut River in Connecticut and Massachusetts for most of his li ...

was an eccentric composer and poet who lived at

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...

. Swan's sister Lavina married Vermont Lieutenant Governor Jonathan Hunt 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, Vermo ...

. Swan's nephew was U.S. Congressman Jonathan Hunt.

References

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