Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SWAN, Chauncey
SWAN, Chauncey (New York--died at sea, 1852). 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 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. He was a founding member of the Iowa City Sons of Temperance and served as Iowa City postmaster.
---
Source:
Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin and Horton, Loren. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 2008