Joshua Swain (February 2, 1778 – August 24, 1855) was an American politician and inventor.

Swain was born in 1778, the son of Jacocks Swain.[1] His son Joshua Jr. was born in 1804, and a second son Henry was born in 1806.[2] Swain was named Sheriff of Cape May County in 1809, serving until 1812. In 1811, alongside his father and brother Henry, he patented the centreboard. Swain served in the New Jersey Assembly from 1813 to 1814. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1815 to 1819, from 1823 to 1824, and from 1825 to 1827.[1]

In 1829, Swain was listed as the co-owner of a schooner in the Great Egg Harbor.[3] He voted for a new constitution at the 1844 New Jersey constitutional convention.[1] A resident of Dennis Township,[4] Swain was named as the community's first superintendent of schools.[5] Swain died in 1855.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Stevens, Lewis Townsend (1897). The History of Cape May County, New Jersey: From the Aboriginal Times to the Present Day. Star of the Cape Publishing Co. p. 269.
  2. ↑ Stevens 1897, p. 283
  3. ↑ Ship Registers and Enrollments of New Orleans, Louisiana: 1821-1830. Louisiana State University. 1941. p. 152.
  4. ↑ Journal of the Proceedings of the Senate of the State of New Jersey, p. 31. Accessed March 15, 2022. "The name of Joshua Swain, Jr., of Dennis township, in the county of Cape May, being on nomination as a Commissioner for taking the acknowledgment and proof of Deeds on motion."
  5. ↑ Stevens 1897, p. 282


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