Adeline Morrison Swain

Adeline Morrison Swain (1820-1899) was an American writer, politician and suffragist. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.

Adeline Morrison Swain
Born	(1820-05-25)May 25, 1820 Bath, New Hampshire
Died	February 3, 1899(1899-02-03) (aged 78)
Resting place	Fort Dodge, Iowa
Nationality	American
Spouse	James Swain ​ ​ (m. 1846; died in 1878)​

Life

Swain née Morrison was born on May 25, 1820, in Bath, New Hampshire. After completing her education she took up teaching in Vermont at the age of 16. There, she taught drawing, painting, and modern languages. In 1846 she married James Swain and the couple settled in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in 1858.^[1] In Fort Dodge she organized French, English, music, botany, and art classes specifically for young women.^[2]

Swain's main interests lay in public affairs and social reforms rather than the arts and sciences, with a particular focus on women's rights.^[3] In the early 1870s the couple built a large Victorian house in Fort Dodge. The house was grander than their income allowed and they rented out rooms to boarders and also made the house available for events.

Swain was an advocate for women's right to vote and handed in a ballot for several years despite it not ever being counted.^[4] In 1869, Swain organized the first woman suffrage meeting in Fort Dodge and Martha H. Brinkerhoff of Missouri delivered a lecture to the community.^[5][1] In June 1871, and on two other occasions, Susan B. Anthony arrived in Fort Dodge to advocate for women's rights.^[4] Swain received Anthony as her guest in what was noted in her diary as a "bedbuggy room".^[5] Jane Swisshelm stayed with Swain in 1874. But by 1879 they sold the house to Webb Vincent. In 1977 the Swain-Vincent House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Vincent House.^[6]

Swain was appointed as a correspondent of the Entomological Commission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture which led her, in 1877, to write a report documenting the devastation of crops brought on by the Colorado grasshopper. She subsequently became a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and became the first woman to present a paper at their national convention.^[1]

Swain was active in politics where she was affiliated with the Greenback Party.^[7] In 1883 Swain ran for Iowa Superintendent of Public Instruction. Though she lost, she was the first woman to run for statewide public office in Iowa and gained nearly 27,000 votes.^[8] By 1884, Swain was an accredited delegate of the Indianapolis National Greenback convention.^[4]

Swain died on February 3, 1899, in Illinois and was buried in Fort Dodge.^[1]

Legacy

Swain was included in the 1893 publication A Woman of the Century.^[9] She was memorialized in the "Annals of Iowa, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1899)"^[8] and was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.^[2]

See also

• List of suffragists and suffragettes