Swiftb (2)
Benjamin Swift Portrait
unknown

Benjamin Swift

Gender:
Male
Born:
April 3, 1781
Died:
November 11, 1847
Home Town:
Amenia, NY
Later Residences:
Bennington, VT
Manchester, VT
St. Albans, VT
Marriage(s):
Rebecca Brown Swift (October 26, 1809)
Biographical Notes:
   Benjamin Swift was born in Amenia, New York on April 3, 1781 to Reverend Job Swift and Mary Sedgwick Swift. At five years old, he moved to Bennington Vermont with his family. Swift completed preparatory studies and attended the Law School in 1801. He was admitted to the bar in 1806 and opened a law practice in Bennington, VT. Swift brought in a lot of business and became a counselor and advocate for the Franklin County Bar. In 1809, Swift moved to Manchester and then to St. Albans. While he practiced law, Swift engaged in banking and agricultural pursuits. The same year, Swift married Rebecca Brown and had nine children together. Three of the nine passed away.

   In 1813, Benjamin Swift served in the Vermont House of Representatives. He served another ...
[more]
Quotes:
"We know not a day will bring forth" -Benjamin Swift last words
Additional Notes:
    Benjamin Smith was a Calvinist and lived a religious life. During his time in Washington, he was one of the first to push for Temperance reform. In his retirement, he dedicated his life to his farm and was a peaceful man.
Education
Years at LLS:
1801
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
1806
Political Party:
Federalist; Whig; Anti-Jacksonian
Federal Posts:
U.S. Representative In Vermont (VT) 1827-1831
U.S. Senator Vermont (VT) 1833-1839
State Posts:
State Representative Saint Albans (VT) 1813, 1825-1826
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Litchfield County Bar Association Records, 1801, Litchfield Historical Society, Helga J. Ingraham Memorial Library.

Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany, and Company, 1849.
Secondary Sources:
Dutcher, L. L., Hiram Rawson Whitney, George B. Tolman, and A. H. Bailey. "Vermont Historical Magazine." The History of St. Albans, Vt.: Civil, Religious, Biographical and Statistical. St. Albans, VT: Stephen E. Royce, 1872. 326-28. Print.
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