BIOGRAPHIES: Capt. P. H. SWIFT, Rice Lake, Barron County, WI

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**Posted for informational purposes only - poster is not related to the 
subject of this biography and has no further information.

Capt. P. H. Swift, editor and proprietor of the Barron county "Chronotype," 
Rice Lake, was born in Orange county, Vt., December 28, 1843, and is the 
third of fourteen children born to Henry S. and Diana C. Swift. His father's 
ancestors came from Ireland and located in Massachusetts in the sixteenth 
century. His paternal grandfather commanded a Vermont troop in the War of 
1812. General Swift of the regular army and the United States senator from 
Vermont are relatives of the family. His mother's ancestors were English 
people who located in Rhode Island in the seventeenth century, and engaged 
in farming and manufacturing. His paternal grandmother was a member of the 
Dearborn family, who were distinguished in the Revolutionary war as well as 
in civil life. In 1853 Henry S. Swift and family came to Wisconsin and 
located where Edgerton now stands, and platted the town, which at that time 
was a comparative wilderness. He engaged in the mercantile business until his 
removal to Springfield, Mo., in 1872, at which place he died in 1876; his 
widow resides with a daughter in Minneapolis, Minn.

Our subject attended the common schools of Edgerton until 1857, when he 
entered the Albion academy and teachers' seminary, where he remained until 
June, 1861, leaving the junior year. In June, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 
Eleventh Wisconsin volunteer infantry, and was subsequently promoted to 
sergeant. He remained in Company C, until August 30, 1862, when he was 
promoted to second lieutenant in Company E, Thirty-third Wisconsin volunteer 
infantry upon recommendation of the field officer "for merit." He was 
promoted to first lieutenant June 24, 1864, in the same company and to captain, 
August 29, 1864; both promotions were received at the siege of Vicksburg. He 
was wounded at Tupelo, Miss., July 15, 1864, by a fragment of a shell, and 
resigned September 27, 1864, at Little Rock, Ark. Of his five brothers who 
engaged in the war, two were killed in battle, two were wounded, and one 
crippled for life. After his resignation Capt. Swift returned to Edgerton, Wis., 
and soon after entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to the Rock 
county bar in June, 1867. He located at Beaver Falls, Minn., and engaged in the 
practice of his profession. In 1868 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the 
county and in 1870 was elected to a seat in the Minnesota legislature. While 
there he was chairman of the committee on federal relations, and a member of 
the committees on judiciary and towns and counties. In 1872 he removed to 
Wisconsin and engaged in journalism, publishing papers at Clinton and Oconto. 
For six years he was editor and publisher of the Oconto County "Reporter." In 
January, 1885, he came to Rice Lake to take charge of the Barron County 
"Chronotype," which he subsequently purchased and now owns. From January, 1886, 
to May, 1888, the subject of this sketch was state timber agent by appointment 
of Gov. J. M. Rusk. Politically, Capt. Swift has always been a republican, but 
of late years has been somewhat independent in his views.

May 25, 1865, he married Mrs. Mary C. Swift, widow of his brother, Henry S. 
Swift, who was killed in battle April 19, 1863. She was the mother of one child, 
Henry S. Jr. To Mr. and Mrs. Swift have been born two sons, Dean B. and Ward L. 
Mr. Swift has been city school superintendent, county supervisor of his ward, 
and is foremost in advancing all causes tending to the upbuilding of his city, 
county and state.

-Transcribed from the "Historical and Biographical Album of the Chippewa 
Valley Wisconsin, 1891-2", page 468 & 471.