John Swartwout

John Swartwout (born probably 1770 ; died September 7, 1823 in New York ) was an American businessman and politician.

Life

Swartwout's exact date of birth is unknown; He was baptized on October 2, 1770 in Poughkeepsie . He was a descendant of the extensive Dutch Swartwout family, which produced numerous well-known traders and politicians in New York in the 18th and 19th centuries. His father Abraham Swartwout distinguished himself as an officer in the Seven Years' War and the War of Independence . In 1787, John Swartwout moved from Dutchess County to New York City, where he began a successful business career. In 1793 he married Mary Smith there, a niece of Melancton Smith . The marriage resulted in eight daughters and four sons. In 1794 he entered into a business partnership with his brother-in-law Peter Dumont and opened a paint and colored wood trade. Later his brother Robert Swartwout also became a partner. In 1815 they embarked on a daring real estate speculation and acquired over 4000 acres of barren salt marshes near Hoboken in order to reclaim them by dike. The first years were promising, but by 1818 they ran out of money to maintain the dykes. After the city of New York refused to subsidize the project, the country soon reverted to its old state. John Swartwout alone lost $ 200,000 in the venture.

Swartwout's political career began in the 1790s, when he and his brothers Robert and Samuel became close confidants of Aaron Burr and, along with Matthew L. Davis and Melancton Smith, were soon among the most prominent "Burrites", as this faction of the Republican Party was called. 1798 and 1800 Swartwout was elected as a member of the party in the lower house of New York State. 1802 challenged Swartwout DeWitt Clinton , next to his uncle George Clinton one of the heads of one of the factions of the Republicans rivaling the "Burrites" in New York, to a duel , because the latter published in the daily newspaper The American Citizen , which he controlled, repeatedly defamatory claims about Burr's character would have. In the duel on July 31 of that year, he was hit twice in the thigh, but none of the duelists was seriously injured. The improper behavior of Clinton's second, Richard Riker, led Swartwout's brother Robert Swartwout to challenge Riker to a follow-up duel.

When Burr became Vice President of the United States in 1801 and tried to provide his faithful with lucrative posts according to the American system of patronage ( spoils system ), he proposed Swartwout as United States Marshal for the district of New York. The appointment was approved by President Thomas Jefferson (unlike Matthew L. Davis'), but no sooner had Burr lost his post after four years than Jefferson removed Swartwout from his post. Like the other Burrites, he saw himself reviled by his own party over the next few years, but after Clinton's influence in the party had waned, he was again able to win a seat in the New York House of Commons in 1821. Swartwout died in New York in 1823.

literature

• Arthur James Weise: The Swartwout Chronicles 1338-1899. Trow, New York 1899.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Joseph A. Scoville: The Old Merchants of New York City. John W. Lovell Co., New York 1889. pp. 248-256.
2. ^ Political career according to: Weise, pp. 271–282.