David L. Swain

David Lowry Swain was born in the Beaverdam area near Asheville, N.C. on January 4^th, 1801.  His father was George Swain, a Massachusetts man who had lived in the Georgia frontier and served in the government there until he moved to North Carolina for his health.  His mother was Caroline Swain, daughter of Jesse Lane, member of a well known N.C. family.  Lane had moved to Georgia and then farther west.  Carolina had married a man named David Lowry and had four children with him before he died in an Indian raid in Georgia.  She and her second husband had seven children, David being the youngest of them.  George Swain had been a farmer before moving to Asheville to become the town postmaster, hat maker, town commissioner, justice of the peace, and self-educated doctor.  George taught his son until he entered the Newton Academy, a local school run by Presbyterian ministers. 

After Swain had graduated he remained at the Academy for a while as a Latin teacher.  Swain’s father encouraged his desire to become a lawyer and in 1822 Swain left home to study for the bar.  He was examined by the faculty of the University of N.C. and was entered into the junior class.  Swain was older than many of the students and, reluctant to waste his families resources, withdrew after one week to study law in Chief Justice John Louis Taylor’s school in Raleigh.  In 1823 Swain returned to Asheville with a law license and began a lucrative practice.  He was politically active in the campaigns of his half-brother James Lowry who went into the state legislature and Dr. Robert Brank Vance who won a seat in Congress.

In 1824 he ran for a seat in the legislature and won, being reelected five times from 1824 to 1829.  Swain was unable to run for legislature in 1827 due to being the solicitor of the northeastern circuit.  In 1828 he was forced to return home due his father’s illness and went back into the legislature.  After 1829 Swain refused to run for legislature again. 

In the February of 1826 Swain married Eleanor White.  White’s parents were William White, the former Secretary of State, and Anna Caswell, whose father was the Revolutionary governor Richard Caswell.  This marriage brought political connections to eastern and central North Carolina.  White was unhappy in Asheville and when Swain was superior court bench in 1830, making rotating circuits, she went to live with her sisters and mother in Raleigh.

  In 1831 he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of N.C.  In 1832 Swain was chosen by the General Assembly to be Governor of N.C. for one year.  This election was a surprise, as no one had talked of him being Governor before, but he had been chosen by a group of westerners, National Republicans, and state’s rights advocates.  These people only wanted his to run so that the other candidate would not win.  Swain won the election and was highly effective as Governor.  He led a popular campaign to aid railroad construction in the state and suggested many reforms that the state legislature approved.  Swain was reelected the next year and pushed for railroads and constitutional revision.  In 1835 Swain was once more reelected, but this time almost lost to a popular Democrat.  This year Swain did succeed in pushing for constitutional reform.  His main goals at the convention for the reform were to push for as much western representation as possible and to remove religious requirements for office holding.  He won his first goal but was not able to remove religious disqualifications except for Roman Catholics.  At the end of his term Swain lost his reelection to the Democrat he had defeated in 1832.

In 1831 the General Assembly had elected Swain as a member of the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina, a position that he could hold for the rest of his life if he remained active in it.  Swain worked hard at this position and worked with the rest of the board to improve the unpopular and small school.  The board organized itself more efficiently, sold some university owned land in Tennessee to provide money for the school, and raised the standards for admission to the school.  When Joseph Caldwell, the university president, died in 1835 Swain sought to gain his position.  Though Swain was not viewed as a scholarly man he had the management qualities that the trustees of the school decided were more necessary.  In January 1836 Swain moved to Chapel Hill and withdrew from politics so that he could more effectively run the school.  Though he was occasionally asked to run for governmental positions Swain would remain at the University for the rest of his life, becoming the longest serving university president.

            The faculty of the school were at first not happy that their leader was not a scholar but eventually adjusted.  The university was too small for a president who did not teach, so Swain became a lecturer on politics and law.  Some complaints of his time at the university were that the library was too small, the studies too old-fashioned, and the lab sciences were not paid enough attention too.  Still, his work at the school did improve the size and popularity of the institution.  The campus was improved, new buildings put up, the teachers and subjects of study expanded, and by the beginning of the Civil War the University of North Carolina was the largest University in the south with a student body of nearly 500. 

            Swain tried to keep the school free of political sentiment and with the support of the board of trustees he ordered that both students and teachers keep private their opinions on politics.  Swain was against the succession of North Carolina from the Union and in 1861 he led a group to talk to the rebellious states in Alabama, but by the time they arrived the Confederacy had been formed.  The group went back home to report failure.  Swain remained loyal to his state even though he did not agree with what had happened and acted as an advisor to his friend Zebulon B. Vance.  Despite this Swain stayed largely out of politics and devoted himself to keeping the university open.  He tried to keep students from being conscripted and remained with the few old professors left behind by the war to teach.  They managed to keep the school open and had commencement exercises every year of the war, teaching those students too young or too ill or injured to fight in the war.  When Gen. William Sherman’s army invaded North Carolina it was Swain and William Graham who were sent by Governor Vance to talk with the general.  Sherman was sympathetic to the two men and agreed to not destroy Raleigh or the university. 

            After the war Swain hoped for a peaceful reunification and advised President Andrew Johnson on the Reconstruction.  He did not approve on Johnson’s plans to remove the elected Governor Vance and replace him with William Holden, a former Democrat who had reversed his position right before the start of the war.  After the war the university had political difficulties, with the school board being mostly Unionist and the students being sympathetic to the Southern cause.  Republicans thought that the University of North Carolina was a group of secessionists while North Carolinians thought that Swains readiness for peace, his gift of a horse from Gen. Sherman, the marriage of his daughter to the man who led the troops occupying Chapel Hill, and his invitation of Andrew Johnson to the commencement of 1867 to be signs that he had betrayed the South.  The college found itself without funding, few students, and aging professors.  The board of trustees tried to save the school by using a new system modeled after other schools, and Swain and other professors gave their resignations to help the new plan.  The board asked them to stay until they could be replaced or re-chosen.  In the middle of this a new constitution was adopted under the Reconstruction that determined that the board would be replaced by one chosen by the Board of Education.  The new board removed the faculty as soon as they came into power in 1868.  Swain was shocked by this outcome and protested, but in August had a buggy accident and was confined to his bed.  He died on September 3^rd, 1868.

 Throughout his time at the university Swain wrote and published “British Invasion of North Carolina in 1776,” in eight volumes in 1853.  He also contributed many articles of the history of N.C. to the University Magazine.  Both Princeton and Yale awarded him the honorary degree of LL. D in 1841 and 1842 respectively.  Swain’s wife and two of his children, Eleanor Atkins and Richard Swain, remained after his death.  Two babies and his oldest child, Anna, had died before him, Anna in 1867.  He left his widow a well organized estate of about $60,000, a large amount at the time.  Two paintings of Swain hang in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"David Lowry Swain... would have been known as a jurist and as a statesman were it not that his eminent services to the State as president of the University gave him a higher title to the remembrance of posterity" (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 448.)

 David Swain was born on July 4, 1801 near Asheville.  He was the second son of George and Caroline Swain. The Swains were one of the earliest families in Buncombe County, moving there in 1795 from Georgia. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 448.)

Swain was taught at home until age 15, when he went to Newton Academy, near Asheville where he was instructed by Rev. George Newton, a Presbyterian clergyman. Among his classmates were "B. F. Perry, afterward governor of South Carolina; Waddy Thompson, still more distinguished in public life; M. Patton, R. B. Vance, James Erwin and other classmates who attained prominence in their generation." Swain" was a good scholar, and was so proficient that he was employed for some time in teaching Latin at that school." (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 448.)

In 1821, David Swain entered the University of North Carolina [Chapel Hill] as a junior. He had been there for only four months when he left in order to study law under Chief Justice Taylor in Raleigh. He received his license to practice law in December, 1822. (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 448.)

On January 12, 1823, Swain married Miss Eleanor H. White and left Raleigh. "Carrying his bride to his mountain home, he entered immediately upon a lucrative practice; and two years later he began a distinguished public career as a member of the House of Commons from Buncombe, in which position he was continued by his constituents until he was elected judge of the Superior Court of the Edenton district in 1830. ....He was prominent in securing the passage of the bill for the construction of the French Broad Turnpike, which brought an immense stream of emigration, travel and trade through Western North Carolina, and otherwise he contributed to the material improvement of the State. (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 448.)

Swain then became involved in North Carolina politics, eventually becoming the Governor of North Carolina. "In the Assembly of 1827 a bitter contest sprang up between two candidates for the position of solicitor in the Edenton district, and as the friends of neither would give way, they compromised by agreeing to elect Mr. Swain, although his residence was in the extreme western part of the State.  He served, however, but one term and then resigned and in 1830 he was elected judge of Superior Court over Judge Seawell, an eminent practitioner of the Raleigh bar. After two years service on the bench...he was called to the higher office of chief executive, and was inaugurated as governor of the State on January 1, 1833.  No man had attained these high honors at such an early period of his life, and his career had been most successful.... (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina, Vol. I, pp. 448, 449.)

As a politician, Swain followed Henry Clay and other westerners. "Up to this time parties had not been well defined as organizations, ...for there had been but one party, that known as the Republican; but there were factions led by favorite statesmen, each of whom was aspiring to the Presidency.  Henry Clay, who had long been the most prominent leader of that party, from his advocacy of internal improvements and what he called the American system of tariff protections, was at the head of a faction known as the National Republicans, and he was in violent opposition to Andrew Jackson, the President, who assumed such high prerogatives in removing the deposits from the bank that Clay stigmatized Jackson's followers as Tories, and likened his own position to that of the Whigs in England. These antagonisms resulted in crystallizing two separate parties and...Gov. Swain followed the lead of Henry Clay in regard to national issues." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  pp. 449.)

These issues divided not only the nation but North Carolina as well. "The west[ern part of NC] had long complained of the unequal operation of the constitution of the State, and urged a constitutional convention to remedy the evils under which the people of that section suffered.  The east[ern part of NC] had, however, always been able to defeat every proposition for calling a convention." Western North Carolinians looked to the example of the western portion of Virginia, which had been able to secure a convention and make changes to Virginia's constitution in 1828. They received their opportunity in 1834, when, "by a single vote, a convention was called for North Carolina with limited powers." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 450.)

Governor Swain and most of North Carolina's prominent leaders were involved in the convention. The governor was a strong advocate for the western side of the debates, emphasizing the need for the fair treatment of all sections of the state. " Governor Swain, as reported in the published debates said, 'But be assured, gentlemen, that if by any arrangement of larger counties in both sections of the State, or if, from any cause growing out of the peculiar principle upon which the convention is constituted, injustice shall be done to any large portion of the community, the struggles in which we are involved will not terminate with the existence of this body. The general sense of injury will impel the people to act as one man to rend asunder the cords which bind the body politic and stand forth here in unshorn might and majesty.' As quoted by the venerable Mr. Creecy, Governor Swain said in a closing burst of passionate eloquence: 'Unless our demands are granted, unless our wrongs are righted, we will rise like the strong man in his unshorn might and pull down the pillars of the political temple.'" This was no empty threat, for in recent years there had been talk of the western counties seceding from the rest of the state. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 450.)

"Happily, however, differences in the convention were composed and the issues were determined favorably to western sentiment, and the constitution was reformed to meet western views, as far as the limited powers of the convention permitted.  On the submission of the amendments to the people, the east voted almost solidly against the adoption, while the west voted with equal zeal for the ratification of the proposed amendments, and carried the measure by a majority of 5000 votes." (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina, ...Vol. I, p.450.)

Governor Swain was re-elected and continued in office as governor until January 1836. One of the noteworthy achievements of his time in office was the laying of the foundations for the new Capitol building, which had burnt down on June 21, 1831. He laid the cornerstone of the new Capitol on July 4, 1833. When it was completed, the Capitol was "considered to be the most magnificent structure of the kind in the Union." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I, p. 450-451).

In Jnauary of 1835, Dr. Joseph Caldwell, President of the University of North Carolina, died. Governor Swain suggested to Judge Nash that he would like to take on the position after his term as governor expired, and at the meeting of the Board of Trustees he was appointed President of the University. He remained in that position for "more than a generation." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p.451.)

"As a legislator he had been intelligent, progressive, efficient and active in promoting not merely the interests of his constituents, but of the state itself.  As a lawyer he had been esteemed for his abilities, learning and capacity to master the details of the most intricate cases.  Indeed, at the age of twenty-seven he was retained as counsel for the State along with Mr. Badger in a complicated mass of litigation, involving more land than was ever sued for under one title in our state...and when the case was finally gained in the supreme Court of the United States, where Mr. Webster was associate counsel, Judge Badger frankly acknowledged that the cause was won mainly by the careful preparation of Mr. Swain.  As a judge he was admirable; not only was he very popular and highly esteemed, but he was so accurate in his ruling that of the eighteen appeals that came up from him while on the bench, in only five did the supreme Court reverse his decisions. As a governor he was patriotic, and his letter-book shows that his time and labors were principally devoted to the questions of constitutional reform, the coast defences [sic] in North Carolina, the claims of the state against the general government, the removal and settlement of the Cherokee Indians, the adjustment of land titles in the West and other matters of domestic concern." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I, p. 451.)

"As interesting and useful as Gov. Swain's public career had been, that on which he now entered as president of the University was still more to the advantage of the State and a still more enduring basis of his fame. Although not distinguished for scholastic learning, and unfamiliar with the methods pursued at the great educational institutions of this country and abroad, yet in many particulars he was excellently fitted for the duties devolving upon him. At that time the number of students at Chapel Hill was only 90, and the faculty was measurably weak and the institution unimportant.  Under his direction and active management the student body yearly increased until at the outbreak of the war there were nearly 500 young men at the institution.  And in equal measure the efficiency of the University in its various departments had been enlarged and strengthened. His influence was felt at every point." (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 452.)

Swain was popular among the students, for he was able to remember who they were, where they came from, and who their ancestors were. He thought of himself as a father figure to the young men at the university, and "His policy was to forbear with the hot blood of youth and seek to develop the better nature of erring students, and many a one could in after years remember a turning point in his career when he was won by the kindness of President Swain to paths of honor, acknowledging the great debt he owed to the wise head of the retired politician, who, having managed men in his younger days, was so adept in managing boys in his maturer years. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina, ...Vol. I, p. 452.)

He was not only popular with his students but was also well liked by nearly everyone who knew him. "He was an excellent financier, and amassed a handsome estate, which permitted him to indulge his taste for hospitality and kindly social intercourse. In conversation he was delightfully interesting and instructive, replete with anecdote, genial humor, historical incidents, and literary quotations." (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 453.)

Swain was a deeply religious man, and he exhibited his deep faith during his presidency at the university. He was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, but "his Christian character was marked by a catholicity of feeling toward all good men of every denomination, and, as he expressed it, 'I love all those who show that they are Christians.' He was a praying man, and introduced the practice of opening the regular meetings of the faculty with prayer. The night before he died he said of the Lord's prayer, 'The oftener I use it, the more precious it is to me; it contains a whole body of divinity.'" (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 452.)

The University underwent many improvements under Swain's leadership. These included "the excellent system of street draining in the village, the planting of elms, the improvement and ornamentation of the grounds; while within doors he founded the State Historical society and established and largely assisted in supporting the University magazine.  He first introduced the study of the Bible in college, and himself taught constitutional and international law, moral science and political economy....The university had had a struggling existence until he became its president, and then it went forward on a glorious career of usefulness." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I, pp. 453, 454.)

The most serious challenge to the University's newfound importance came with the Civil War. During the war, the university was almost deserted, for most of the students and some of the faculty felt it their duty to fight for the Confederacy and therefore abandoned their studies to join Lee. "During the war between the States, Gov. Swain devoted his best efforts to keeping the college alive, for such was the impetuosity with which the call to arms was obeyed that of the 80 members of which the freshman class consisted in 1860, only one remained to pursue his studies, and he continued at the University because his health was too delicate for him to go into the army. Of the senior class, all enlisted as soldiers, and fully one-fourth of them fell in battle.  Seven members of the faculty volunteered, and of them five returned no more.  At the time of Lee's surrender there were about a dozen students at the University.  But even while the University and village were occupied by 4000 Michigan cavalry, the old bell was run daily, prayers were held and the University was kept going." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 454.)

Swain was an ardent student of history and, especially North Carolina history. "During his long career he was without doubt the foremost citizen of the State in rescuing from oblivion historical incidents that had escaped publicity.  His collection of manuscripts was large and important, and he sought to inspire others with the same spirit by which he himself was animated.  He contributed many papers of historical interest to the "University Magazine" and to other publications, and he delivered several addresses of rare value." (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 454).

Swain remained involved in politics and social concerns even while he was busy with his duties as President of the University. One of the most notable causes he was involved with was the movement for the more humane treatment of the insane, led by Dorothea Dix. "In particular, at the memorable session of the legislature of 1848, it is narrated that Miss Dix, when urging the erection of the insane asylum, entered the hall of the House of Commons leaning on Gov. Swain's arm, and he was a leading figure when that great effort was made to rescue the State from the slough of despond and start her on a new career of progressive prosperity.  That he exercised a large influence in securing the passage of the bill incorporating the North Carolina Railroad cannot be doubted; and so, from administration to administration, he exerted an influence highly beneficial to the best interests of North Carolina. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  p. 455.)

Not surprisingly, Swain was very friendly with Governor Vance, who was also a native of Buncombe County and had been a student at the University under Swain.  "Governor Vance conferred with him freely during his administration as governor of the State. At the end of the war, when General Sherman was approaching Raleigh, Governor Vance appointed him and Governor Graham and Dr. Edward Warren as intermediaries, and sent them on an embassy to meet the Federal commander and obtain what terms were possible for the surrender of the capital of the State, Governor Swain being particularly solicitous that the university should not be destroyed.  Their mission was substantially successful, and but little devastation was committed by Federal marauders after their visit to General Sherman. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina...Vol.  I., pp. 455, 456.)

After the war, Swain rose to national importance when he was one of the men that President Andrew Johnson asked to advise him on the pending reconstruction of North Carolina.  "President Johnson was by birth a North Carolinian, and desiring the early restoration of North Carolina to the Union, immediately on Johnston's surrender invited Gov. Swain, along with Hon. Moore of Raleigh, and William Eaton of Warren to consult with him in regard 'to the reconstruction of the Union.'  These gentlemen, conformably with the President's request, reached Washington on the 20th of May, 1865 and two days later had a conference with the President at the White House, at which the President mentioned that he proposed to issue an amnesty proclamation and to appoint a military governor of the State, who would call a State convention that could restore the State to the Union. Governor Swain, Mr. Moore, and Mr. Eaton all objected to that course, and on the 25th of May a second conference was held, there being present in addition W. W. Holden, R. P. Dick, Richard Mason, J. Russ, Rev. Skinner, Dr. Robert Powell and Col. Jones. On the President insisting on the plan he had proposed, Governor Swain and his two associates urged that the then speakers of the Assembly should be allowed to call the legislature together, and that the legislature should call a convention of the people. As this would have been a recognition of the Confederate legislature and authorities, the President would not assent to that proposition, and insisting on his course, requested the gentlemen present to nominate some one for military governor, saying that he would appoint whomever they would suggest.  Not being able to approve of that step, Gov. Swain, Mr. Moore and Mr. Eaton withdrew, and the other North Carolinians present....nominated Mr. Holden for governor, and the President made the appointment. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,... Vol. I, p. 456.)

Although Swain and President Johnson did not agree on how to reconstruct North Carolina, the President did appoint Swain to the Board of Visitors of the Military Academy at West Point. He was also granted permission to visit Confederate prisoners like Governor Vance. "On the same day that Governor Swain reached Washington, Governor Vance, who had been arrested in North Carolina, was brought to Washington and incarcerated in the Carroll Prison....President Johnson manifested his high regard for him [Swain] by appointing him a member of the Board of Visitors of the Military Academy at West Point, then about to inspect that institution, and in June 1865, Governor Swain performed that function; and upon his return to Washington, he again sought permission to visit Governor Vance, who was still incarcerated in the Carroll Prison. (1905. Ashe, Samuel.  A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I,  pp. 456, 457.)

After his duties in Washington and West Point ended, Swain returned to his beloved university. He was not there long, however, for "in the summer of 1868 the State passed under the new constitution, and the University fell into the hands of new trustees, whose first action was to request the resignation of the president and faculty." Swain was replaced as President of the University of North Carolina, the position he had held for 32 years, from 1836 to 1868. (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,... Vol. I, p.457.)

Swain did not live long after his forced resignation from the university. "On the 11th of August, while driving in the neighborhood of Chapel Hill, Governor Swain was thrown from his buggy and brought home painfully injured, and on the morning of the 27th of August 1868, he suddenly fainted and expired without pain. Hon. Weldon Edward has written: 'I have heard many friends of Gov. Swain state that he became melancholy and began to droop away on the termination of his duties as president of the University, and they believed a broken heart was as much the real cause of his death as the fall from his carriage.'" (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina,...Vol. I  p. 457.)

Another perspective on Governor David Lowry Swain:

"...(son of George) was born in the neighborhood of Asheville on the 4th of January, 1801. He was prepared for college at Newton Academy, entered the junior class in the University [Chapel Hill] in August 1822....he remained only a few weeks." (1858. Bennett, David. Chronology of North Carolina, p.95, 96.)

"He read law under the direction of the late John Taylor, Chief Justice of North Carolina, was licensed to practice in the County Courts in June 1823, and in the Superior Courts in January, 1825." (1858. Bennett, D. K. Chronology of North Carolina, p. 96.)

"He represented Buncombe County  in the House of Commons in 1824, 1825, 1826.  In 1827 he was the Solicitor of the Edenton Circuit.  He resigned the office at the close of the spring circuit, returned to the House of Commons in 1828, and closed his legislative career in 1829.  In 1830 he was a member of the Board of Internal Improvements.  In December of the latter year he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court of Law and Equity, and held this office during the years of 1831 and 1832.  He was Governor of the State in 1833, 1834, 1835.  A few days before the expiration of his last gubernatorial term, he was appointed President of the University [Chapel Hill] of which he had been a trustee since 1832.  He was a delegate to remodel the constitution in 1835. (1858. Bennett, D. K. Chronology of North Carolina, p. 96.)

"He married Miss Eleanor H. White, daughter of the late William White, Secretary of State, and grand-daughter of Richard Caswell, the first governor under the State Constitution on the 12th Jan., 1826." (1858. Bennett, D. K. Chronology of North Carolina, p.96.)

"Governor Swain was always a close student and remarkable for his kindness and courtesy to all; careful and prudent in his walk and conversation, always looking upon the better side of things, and hoping for the best.  In his religious opinions he is a Presbyterian.  In politics he has always exercised a sound discretion, entertaining the greatest respect for the opinions of others; never violent; his political affinities, when actively exercised, were with the Whig party.  For twenty-two years he has kept himself aloof from parties, and confined his time and his studies to the great interests of learning and education, especially as connected with his own State, and the University over which he has presided during this time with so much ability and success.  By a prudent course of conduct he has accumulated a handsome property; showing that a well-spent life, though commenced in obscurity and poverty, seldom goes unrewarded, when in this life, and when it does, it secures in that which is to come an inheritance that is 'undefiled and fadeth not away forever.' The governor is in the enjoyment of good health, has a vigorous constitution and promises yet the hope of great service to his State and country."(1858. Bennett, D. K. Chronology of North Carolina, pp. 96, 97.)

More on David Swain's impact on the University of North Carolina:

"Among the early presidents [of the University of North Carolina] two stand out in pre-eminence, Joseph Caldwell and David L. Swain.... Swain retired from politics to accept the presidency in 1835. He gave the institution greater popularity, emphasized the idea of service to the public by organizing the North Carolina Historical Society in 1843, establishing a department of law in 1845 and a chair of agricultural chemistry in 1854. By 1860 the enrollment of students reached 430 and the faculty numbered 18." (1919. Boyd, William K. History of North Carolina  ...Vol. II.  p. 363).

"During the entire period of the war, the University of North Carolina never closed its doors. Year by year its student body decreased until there remained only a mere handful, all disabled by service or too young to go to the front. With the students went the younger members of the faculty, but the older professors, led by President Swain, continued at their posts, determined that the exercises of the institution, begun in 1795, should not be suspended." (1919. Boyd, William K. History of North Carolina...Vol. III. p. 354). 

Bibliography

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Lanman, Charles.  Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States.  During its first century; from original and official sources.  Washington, DC:  James Anglim, 1876.  Reprint.  Detroit:  Gale Research, 1976.

Powell, William S., ed.  Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume 5.  Chapel Hill, NC:  University of North Carolina Press, 1979.

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