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David Lowry Swain | |
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| 26th Governor of North Carolina | |
| In office December 6, 1832 – December 10, 1835 | |
| Preceded by | Montfort Stokes |
| Succeeded by | Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr. |
| Member of theNorth Carolina General Assembly | |
| In office 1824–1830 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1801-01-04)January 4, 1801 |
| Died | August 27, 1868(1868-08-27) (aged 67) |
| Political party | Whig |
| Signature | .png) |
David Lowry Swain (January 4, 1801 – August 27, 1868) was the 26thgovernor of the U.S. state ofNorth Carolina, from 1832 to 1835.
He was born inBuncombe County, North Carolina; his father, George Swain, was a farmer and a member of theNorth Carolina General Assembly.[1]
He received his early education atNew Academy nearAsheville and briefly attended theUniversity of North Carolina, where he was a member of theDialectic Society. Swain left his university studies in 1821 after only four months to study law with Chief JusticeJohn Louis Taylor of theNorth Carolina Supreme Court; he was admitted to the bar in 1823.
The citizens of Buncombe County chose Swain as their representative in theNorth Carolina General Assembly from 1824 to 1830; he was appointed to thestate Superior Court as a judge, serving from 1830 to 1832.
Swain resigned as a judge to accept the vote of theNorth Carolina General Assembly to serve as governor; at the time he was the youngest governor in state history, and the first to belong to theWhig Party. As governor, Swain was a promoter ofinternal improvements, including railroads and education, although he received little support from the legislature. In 1835, he was a leading delegate to the state constitutional convention; his last act as governor was to issue the proclamation declaring the ratification of 1835's extensive amendments to theConstitution of North Carolina.
After serving the constitutional limit of three one-year terms, Swain was named president of theUniversity of North Carolina in 1835; he held this post for 33 years and promoted the growth of the institution.
During theAmerican Civil War, Swain was drawn back into North Carolina politics; he represented the state at an 1861Confederate convention, but declined a position in the Confederate Senate in 1863. In 1865, Swain helped negotiate the surrender ofRaleigh to the forces of GeneralWilliam Sherman, and, following the end of the war, advisedU.S. presidentAndrew Johnson onReconstruction policies.
Although Swain had attempted, facing serious challenges, to keep the University of North Carolina open during the course of the war, by 1868, the school was suffering financially, and, at the request of a new board of trustees appointed by the state legislature, he resigned. On August 11, 1868, he was thrown from a buggy pulled by a horse that General Sherman had given him. Though confined to bed due to shock and weakness, Swain appeared to be recovering, but he succumbed to his injuries on August 27.[1] He was buried in the garden of his home in Chapel Hill, but was later reinterred in theHistoric Oakwood Cemetery inRaleigh, N.C.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of North Carolina 1832–1835 | Succeeded by |
