James Swan (1754 – 31 July 1830) was an early American patriot and financier based in Boston in the 18th and 19th centuries. He was a member of the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

and participated in the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...

. Swan was twice wounded at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

, he next became secretary of the Massachusetts

Board of War The Board of War, also known as the Board of War and Ordinance, was created by the Second Continental Congress as a special standing committee to oversee the American Continental Army's administration and to make recommendations regarding the ar ...

and the legislature. During the time he held that office, he drew heavily on his private funds to aid the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, which was then in dire need of funds to arm and equip the soldiers who were arriving in Boston from all parts of New England. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Swan privately assumed the entire United States French debts at a slightly higher interest rate. Swan then resold these debts at a profit on domestic U.S. markets. On July 9, 1795, the entire debt of $2,024,899 was paid in full. The United States no longer owed money to foreign governments, although it continued to owe money to private investors both in the United States and in Europe. This allowed the young United States to place itself on a sound financial footing. On principles of loyalty, he spent 22 years—more than a quarter of his life—in the Paris

Sainte-Pélagie Prison Sainte-Pélagie was a prison in Paris, in active use from 1790 to 1899. It was founded earlier than that, however, in 1662, as place for "repentant girls" and later "debauched women and girls." The former Parisian prison was located between the ...

Biography

Boston, 1765–1787

Swan emigrated from

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland to Massachusetts in 1765. He worked at Thaxter & Son in Boston, as an apprentice where he became friends with

Benjamin Thompson Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolu ...

, later knighted

Count Rumford Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolut ...

to the King of Bavaria, and

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

, a lifelong friend later a general in the

. He was a member of the

, participated in the

, and served in the

in 1775. Friends and associates included

Perez Morton Perez Morton (November 13, 1751 – October 14, 1837) was a lawyer and revolutionary patriot in Boston, Massachusetts. Life and career Morton was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1751, and raised in Boston. His father, Joseph Morton, worke ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

Joseph Warren Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775), a Founding Father of the United States, was an American physician who was one of the most important figures in the Patriot movement in Boston during the early days of the American Revolution, ...

James Otis, Jr. James Otis Jr. (February 5, 1725 – May 23, 1783) was an American lawyer, political activist, colonial legislator, and early supporter of patriotic causes in Massachusetts at the beginning of the Revolutionary Era. Otis was a fervent opponent ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

Paul Dudley Sargent Paul Dudley Sargent (Baptized June 23, 1745, Salem, Massachusetts – September 28, 1828 Sullivan, Maine) was a privateer and soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Early life Sargent was born in 1745 and baptized ...

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

, Henry Jackson, James Sullivan,

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

, and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

has several items by James Swan including those in Thomas Jefferson's collection. In 1776 he married Hepzibah Clarke; they had four children: Hepzibah (Hepsy), born c. 1777; Christiana (Kitty), born c. 1778; Sarah (Sally), born c. 1782; James Keadie, born c. 1783. Around this time Swan resided in the vicinity of

Tremont Street Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts. Tremont Street begins at Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly so ...

in the former house of Stephen Greenleaf. "On the site of Temple Place a colonial house surrounded by a brick wall and a grove of trees was built in 1684, and here dwelt General James Swan. The house ... staged many a thrilling scene during the struggle for independence. The Swan estate comprised over an acre, extending from St. Paul's Church to and along West Street." (The estate became Washington Gardens after 1815). He held several posts in the Massachusetts government, c. 1777–1778, including the Massachusetts Board of War and the legislature. He belonged to the

Scots Charitable Society of Boston The Scots Charitable Society (est.1657) of Boston, Massachusetts, was established to provide relief for local, "needy Scot people, after proper investigation." It "enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Scots society in America." It "became the ...

. Swan was active in privateer enterprises during the Revolution. He bonded or owned numerous vessels with his Boston associates such as

Mungo Mackay Mungo Mackay (April 1, 1740 – March 29, 1811) was a Scottish people, Scottish seafarer from the Orkney Islands who made a fortune in the Boston shipping trades in Massachusetts. Mungo was a highly regarded ship master, successful privateer own ...

, Elias Parkman,

, Thomas Adams. In 1786 Swan purchased islands on the Maine coast, including Swan Island.

France, 1787–1830

After various ventures in finance and real estate, and years of living in high style, in 1787 or 1788 the indebted Swan moved to France. En route, he stayed at Mt. Vernon as a guest of George Washington. In France his social circle included

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. Swan was successful in his business activities related to the millions of dollars owed by the United States to France. While in France, Swan acquired furniture, now held in the collection of the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

. Swan returned to the U.S. in 1794 or 1795. He travelled to Philadelphia and while there posed for portraitist

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...

; the finished painting is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Around 1796 he built a summer home in Dorchester, possibly designed by Charles Bulfinch. He again went to France in 1798. He was imprisoned in Paris for debt in 1808, and released c. 1830. He died in Paris in 1830.

Writings

* ''A dissuasion to Great-Britain and the colonies, from the slave trade to Africa'' (1773) * ''National arithmetick or, Observations on the finances of the commonwealth of Massachusetts: with some hints respecting financiering and future taxation in this state: tending to render the publick contributions more easy to the people'' (1786) * ''Causes qui se sont opposeés aux progrès du commerce entre la France, et les États-Unis de l'Amérique'' (1790) * ''An Address to the President, Senate and House of Representatives, of the United States, on The means of Creating a National Paper by Loan Offices, which shall replace that of the discredited Banks, and icthe use of Gold and Silver Coin'' (1819)

References

External links