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 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 * '' ...

. 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, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Life

He was born on March 10, 1862, in

Madison, Florida Madison is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Florida, Madison County, on the central northern border of Florida, United States. The population was 2,912 at the 2020 census. History The territory now known as Madison County was ruled ...

. Swann graduated from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1886, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

the same year and commenced practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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 a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

Congress

Swann was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

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 Amos Jay Cummings (May 15, 1841 – May 2, 1902) was an American newspaperman, American Civil War, Civil War veteran, and politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from New York (state), New ...

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 (Manhattan), New York (state), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New ...

from 1916 to 1921, elected in a special election in November 1915 defeating the incumbent

Charles A. Perkins Charles Albert Perkins (January 26, 1869 – January 16, 1930) was an American lawyer and reformer who was New York County District Attorney in 1915. While with the District Attorney's office, Perkins prosecuted many of the city's gang leaders, l ...

, 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 Asa Bird Gardiner (September 30, 1839 – May 24, 1919) was a controversial American soldier, attorney, and district attorney for New York County (a.k.a. the Borough of Manhattan) from 1898 to 1900. He received the Medal of Honor for his service ...

was removed by Gov.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, this had become a constant move in New York City politics, but neither Republican

Charles S. Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to t ...

nor Democrat

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

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 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 ...

(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 state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, partly in

Missouri Missouri 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 is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

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

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

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

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Chariton County, Missouri Chariton County is a county located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,408. Its county seat is Keytesville. The county was organized November 16, 1820, from part of Howard C ...

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

David Geisinger David Geisinger (1790 – 5 March 1860) was an officer of the United States Navy, who served during the War of 1812, and was later Commodore of the East India Squadron. Biography Geisinger was born in Maryland in 1790 and was appointed midshipman ...

Death

He died on September 19, 1945, in

Sewall's Point, Florida Sewall's Point is a town located on the peninsula of the same name in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,991 at the 2020 census. Both the town and the peninsula are named for Capt. Henry Edwin Sewall (August 22, 1848 &n ...

. Swann was buried at the St. Peter's Episcopal Cemetery in

Fernandina Beach Fernandina may refer to: *Fernandina Beach, Florida **Original Town of Fernandina Historic Site *Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands *Fernandina (fruit), a citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae ...

Nassau County, Florida Nassau County is the northeasternmost county of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 90,352. The county seat and the largest incorporated city is Fernandina Beach. Nassau County is ...

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) state court judges Columbia Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)