{{Short description|American businessman (1831–1905)}} {{Infobox person | name = Alexander Hamilton Swan | image = Alexander H. Swan, photographic headshot portrait.jpg | alt = Swan, photographic headshot portrait | caption = Portrait photograph of Swan | birth_date = {{Birth date |1831|11|24}} | birth_place = Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|1905|08|09|1831|11|24}} | death_place = Utah | occupation = Businessman, politician | years_active = | known_for = Founding the Wyoming-based Swan Land and Cattle Company | notable_works = | spouse = Ann McCollough | children = 2 | module = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | party = Republican | office = 2nd President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association | term_start = 1876 | term_end = 1882 | predecessor = M. V. Boughton | successor = | office1 = Member of the Wyoming Territory Legislative Council | term1 = 1878 | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | office2 = Member of the Iowa House of Representatives<br>from the 22nd district | term_start2 = January 10, 1870 | term_end2 = January 7, 1872 | predecessor2 = | successor2 = }} }}
'''Alexander Hamilton Swan''' (November 24, 1831 – 1905) was an American businessman and politician who served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1870 to 1872 and founded the Wyoming-based Swan Land and Cattle Company among other Wyoming livestock-related companies. He served as a Republican member of the legislative assembly of the Wyoming Territory. After having amassed vast wealth through his ventures in Wyoming, Swan lost his fortune in 1887. He relocated to Odgen, Utah, and died in 1905.
== Early life == Swan was born on November 24, 1831, in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, in Greene County near Pittsburgh.<ref name="Legis1"/><ref name=wyo1/> His family was not wealthy during his childhood.<ref name=wyo1/> He was a member of the Presbyterian Church.<ref name="Legis1"/>
== Life and career in Iowa == In 1862, Swan settled near Indianola,<ref name=wyo1/> in Warren County, Iowa. From January 10, 1870, to January 7, 1872, Swan served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing the 22nd district. His district represented Warren County.<ref name="Legis1">{{cite web |title=Alexander Hamilton Swan |url=http://legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator/legislatorAllYears?personID=5098 |website=legis.iowa.gov |publisher=Iowa State Legislature |language=en}}</ref>
In Iowa, he met and married Ann McCollough.<ref name="Legis1"/><ref name=wyo1/> While living in Indianolo, they expanded their family by having two children: William R. and Louise.<ref name=wyo1/>
== Life and career in the Wyoming Territory == Swan left Iowa and moved to the Wyoming Territory.<ref name="Legis1"/> in the 1870s.<ref name="castle2020">{{cite web |last1=Jaspersen |first1=Andi |title=Cheyenne's Forgotten Castle and Villain |url=https://www.cheyenne.org/blog/post/cheyennes-forgotten-castle/ |website=Cheyenne.org |access-date=November 26, 2025 |language=en-us |date=December 3, 2020}}</ref> Swan amassed a significant fortune in Wyoming, but ultimately squandered it.<ref name="castle2020"/>
In 1873, he and other family members founded the Swan Brothers Cattle Company, one of the largest cattle companies in the Western United States. Alexander managed the business, which began with a 3,000 head cattle herd on land along Chugwater Creek in Southeastern Wyoming (where he developed the Two Bar Ranch).<ref name="UNL1">{{cite web |last=Elliott |first=Mark |title=Swan, Alexander (1831-1905) |url=https://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.068.html |website=PlainsHumanities.UNL.edu (University of Nebraska Lincoln) |publisher=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains |access-date=November 28, 2025 |date=2011}}</ref> His main partners were his brothers (Henry, William, and Thomas “Black Tom”).<ref name=wyo1>{{cite web |last1=Hein |first1=Rebecca |title=Inland Empire: The Swan Land and Cattle Company Ltd. |url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/inland-empire-swan-land-and-cattle-company-ltd |website=WyoHistory.org |access-date=28 November 2025 |date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> By the year 1882, the herd he managed for the company numbered 33,000.<ref name="UNL1"/> Swan was involved in the construction of the Union Stockyards in Omaha, Nebraska.<ref name="UNL1"/>
In 1876, Swan was elected as the second-ever president of the Laramie County Stock Association, the precursor organization to the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. He served as president of the org and the successor Wyoming Stock Growers Association until 1882.<ref name=wyo1/><ref>{{cite web |title=Alexander Swan papers |url=https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv540351 |website=Archives West Orbis Cascade Alliance |access-date=November 28, 2025}}</ref>
In 1877, Swan was elected as a Republican to the council in the fifth Wyoming legislative assembly.<ref name="UNL1"/> He served a one-year term.<ref name=wyo1/> In 1880, Swan unsuccessfully ran as the Republican nominee for the Wyoming Territory's non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives.<ref name="UNL1"/> In 1880. Swan became a member of the Cheyenne Club.<ref name=wyo1/>
In 1883, Swan incorporated the Swan Land and Cattle Company,<ref name="Legis1"/> with operations based in Chugwater, Wyoming.<ref name="castle2020"/> He sold the corporation to Scottish investors for $2,550,825, but remained manager of the corporation.<ref name="UNL1"/> In the 1880s, the company cattle ranch was estimated to have 100,000 cattle on its millions of acres.<ref name="castle2020"/><ref name="UNL1"/>
Swan organized the creation of four other companies.<ref name="UNL1"/> One of these was the Wyoming Hereford Association (founded in 1883), which later became the Wyoming Hereford Ranch near Cheyenne, Wyoming.<ref name="UNL1"/><ref name="recordsHereford1">{{cite web |title=Wyoming Hereford Ranch records - Archives West |url=https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv174505 |website=Archives West Orbis Cascade Alliance |access-date=November 28, 2025}}</ref> He established the aforementioned ranch after being persuaded by his associate George Morgan to import hereford cattle from England.<ref name="HistoryHereford">{{cite web |title=History - Wyoming Hereford Ranch - Cheyenne, WY |url=https://wyomingherefordranch.com/history/ |website=Wyoming Hereford Ranch |access-date=November 28, 2025}}</ref> Swan was the first rancher in the to introduce purebred hereford cattle from England to the United States.<ref name="UNL1"/> Swan was also the founder president of the Swan & Frank Live-Stock Company; the National Cattle Company; and the Swan, Frank & Anthony Cattle Company. His business partners in these were Joseph Frank, James Converse, and Godfrey Syndacker.<ref name="TalesAndTrails1">{{cite web |title=Swan Land & Cattle Co. Photos -- Wyoming Tales and Trails |url=http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/swan3.html |website=WyomingTalesAndTrails.com |access-date=November 26, 2025}}</ref> In 1880, Chicago businessman Frank had become a new business associate of Swan's, which had led to the 1881 establishment of the Swan & Frank Live-Stock Company. Around the same time that Frank began doing business with Swan and his brothers, Joseph Rosenbaum also became involved as a shareholder and associate of their ventures.<ref name=wyo1/> In 1881, Swan also founded the National Cattle Company, with shares being held by Swan and his siblings, the Rosenbaum brothers, Amasa R. Converse, members of the Snydacker family (the Chicago-based family of banker Godfrey Snydacker).<ref name=wyo1/>
By his early 50s, Swan was involved in 20 business ventures with massive amounts of capital between them. While his business primarily involved cattle he was also invested in banks, railways, some city real estate, and miscellaneous small businesses.<ref name=wyo1/>
Swan was known to invest on speculation. The failure of several such investments that he had taken on debt to acquire, as well as a significant loss of his cattle during the winter of 1886–87, led Swan to abruptly lose his vast wealth.<ref name="castle2020"/> Swan lost between 300,000 and 400,000 head of cattle in Wyoming in that period, losses attributed to poor practices on his part (such as overstocking and overgrazing) and to the ravage of severe winter storms. Critics of his accused him of poor management of his hererd, and alleged that he had previously inflated his head count of his herd.<ref name="UNL1"/> He filed for bankruptcy. Swan was fired by the board of directors from his position as president of his namesake Swan Land and Cattle Company, with John Clay being brought in to replace him.<ref name="TalesAndTrails1"/><ref>{{cite web |title=John Clay, Jr. {{!}} Inducted between 1920 and 1936 |url=https://www.saddleandsirloinportraitfoundation.org/post/john-clay-jr-inducted-between-1920-and-1936 |website=Saddle and Sirloin |access-date=November 28, 2025 |language=en |date=June 12, 2019}}</ref> Clay had been among the harsh critics of Swan and Swan's practices as a manager.<ref name="UNL1"/> His hereford operation was purchased by Cheyenne businessmen Henry Altman and Dan McIllvain.<ref name="recordsHereford1"/> Prior to losing his fortune, Swan had begun construction on an elaborate residence in Cheyenne. However, after losing his fortune he left Cheyenne,<ref name="UNL1"/> and the incomplete residence was purchased by David D. Dare, who completed it. The resulting structure was thereafter dubbed "Castle Dare".<ref name="castle2020"/>
== Later life == thumb|Swan's death certificate
Having lost his fortune, Swan left Wyoming in 1888. He settled in Ogden, Utah prior to his death in 1905.<ref name="castle2020"/> Despite his one-time prominence, Swan died in obscurity.<ref name="UNL1"/>
==Legacy== The Swan Land and Cattle Company that Swan founded in 1883 continued to operate until 1926, when it was liquidated and reorganized into the new Swan Company. That company, in turn, operated until being liquidated and dissolved on November 30, 1950.<ref>{{cite web |title=Swan Company Records |url=https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv917840 |website=Archives West Orbis Cascades Alliance |access-date=November 28, 2025}}</ref> The Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters remains standing, having been added in 1964 as a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>{{cite web |title=Swan Land and Cattle Company Headquarters National Historic Landmark |url=https://wyoshpo.wyo.gov/index.php/programs/national-register/wyoming-listings/view-full-list/762-swan-land-and-cattle-company-headquarters-national-historic-landmark |website=wyoshpo.wyo.gov |access-date=November 28, 2025}}</ref>
The hereford ranch that Swan founded continues to operate, and is now the oldest known continuous breed operation in the United States.<ref name="HistoryHereford"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Wyoming Hereford Ranch |url=https://www.wylr.net/2008/08/07/wyoming-hereford-ranch/ |website=Wyoming Livestock Roundup |access-date=November 28, 2025 |date=August 7, 2008}}</ref>
==Further reading== *{{cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Lawrence Milton |title=Alex Swan and the Swan companies |date=2016 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman, Oklahoma |isbn=978-0806154022}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Alexander Hamilton}} Category:1831 births Category:1905 deaths Category:People from Warren County, Iowa Category:Members of the Iowa House of Representatives Category:Wyoming Republicans Category:19th-century members of the Wyoming Legislature Category:Ranchers from Wyoming Category:Businesspeople from Wyoming Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:Politicians from Greene County, Pennsylvania Category:Businesspeople from Ogden, Utah Category:American cattlemen Category:Politicians from Ogden, Utah