Encyclopedia Dubuque
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SWAN, Chauncey
SWAN, Chauncey (New York, NY, 1799--died at sea, 1849). Swan and his family settled near Dubuque in 1837 and he had some success in MINING. He was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in the first territorial legislature in 1838. In 1839 when the legislature voted to locate a permanent territorial capital in Johnson County, Swan was one of three commissioners chosen to locate the site which became Iowa City.
The three commissioners were directed to meet at the town of Napoleon in Johnson County on May 1, 1839 to choose the capital "at the most eligible point" in that county. On May 1st, Swan was the only commissioner to arrive at the town. The people who had gathered suspected fraud and were alarmed that Johnson County would lose the chance to have the capital. At noon, Swan announced that unless a majority of the commissioners were present by midnight their authority would expire. Following a hasty thirty-five mile ride each way, Philip Clark brought John Reynolds, another commissioner from Louisa County. The two commissioners were administered the oath of office by a justice of the peace and the next day chose a tract of land overlooking the Iowa River. (1)
The rest of Swan's life occurred outside of Dubuque. When contractor John Francis RAGUE left the project of building the capitol, Swan assumed the duties of contractor and supervising day-to-day work. Governor Lucas appointed him Superintendent of Public Buildings, a position he held until February 1842. Swan was an organizer and president of the Iowa City Manufacturing Company and donated money and land to build the First Presbyterian Church which he helped start. (2) He was a founding member of the Iowa City Sons of Temperance and served as Iowa City postmaster.
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Source:
1. Houlette, William. Iowa: The Pioneer Heritage, Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1970, p. 133
2. Find a Grave. "Chauncey Swan," Online: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg-cdi?page=gr&GRid=93531239
Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin and Horton, Loren. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 2008