Parton Swift (July 14, 1876 in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Allegany County, New York Allegany County is a County (United States), county in the Southern Tier of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont, New York, Belmont. ...

– April 17, 1952 in Buffalo, Erie County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from

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

Life

He was the son of Capt. Harlan J. Swift (born 1843) and Martha A. (Higgins) Swift (died 1891). Harlan J. Swift was Judge of Allegany County in 1882, and removed with his family to Buffalo in 1883. Parton Swift graduated

Ph.B. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1898. Then he studied law in his father's office, was admitted to the bar in 1900, and practiced law in Buffalo. On January 14, 1908, he married Nanette Paschall, and they had four sons. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he fought as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of the field artillery. Nanette was the sister of Nathaniel Paschall who was the first husband of Bertha Cranston Potter whose second husband was William Boeing Swift was elected on February 3, 1920, to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(48th D.) to fill the vacancy in the

143rd New York State Legislature The 143rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to September 1920, during the second year of Al Smith's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisions ...

caused by the resignation of

Ross Graves Ross Graves (August 27, 1874 in Albany, New York – April 1, 1940 in Dunkirk, New York) was an American businessman and politician from New York. Life Graves was the son of John J. Graves (1840–1921) and Sarah (Seath) Graves (1844–1917). The ...

. Swift was re-elected twice, and was a member of the State Senate until 1924, sitting in the 144th, 145th, 146th and

147th New York State Legislature The 147th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 11, 1924, during the second year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany. Bac ...

s. He was Permanent Chairman of the Republican state convention in April 1924. He was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

from 1934 to 1946 when he reached the constitutional age limit. He was an Official Referee (i.e. a senior judge, up to the age of 75, on an additional seat) of the Supreme Court from 1947 to 1950. He died on April 17, 1952, in Veterans Hospital in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, of a heart ailment; and was buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery there.

Sources

Bio of Harlan J. Swift
transcribed from ''Our County and Its People: a Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York'' by Truman C. White (1898)
''Elect Republican State Senator''
in NYT on February 4, 1920
''New York Red Book''
(1922; pg. 82)

in NYT on April 17, 1924 (subscription required)

in NYT on April 18, 1952 (subscription required)
''Parton Swift, a Native of Cuba, Dies in Buffalo''
in ''The Patriot and Free Press'', of Cuba, New York, on April 24, 1952 {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Parton 1876 births 1952 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators Lawyers from Buffalo, New York New York Supreme Court Justices People from Cuba, New York Cornell University alumni Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) Politicians from Buffalo, New York