Page:Woman of the Century.djvu/707

doctrines and philosophy. In 1858 they removed to the West and settled in Fort Dodge, Iowa. There she at once organized classes or young ladies in French, higher English, drawing and oil-painting. When the American Association for the Advancement of Science held its meeting in Dubuque, Iowa, Mr. and Mrs. Swain were elected members. In that assembly Mrs. Swain read an able paper, one of the first by a woman before the association. She was an active member of the Iowa State Historical Society and a correspondent of the entomological commission appointed by the government to investigate and report upon the habits of the Colorado grasshoppers. She is a prominent and influential member of the National Woman's Congress and of the State and National Woman Suffrage Associations. In 1883 she was unanimously nominated by the Iowa State convention of the Greenback party for the office of superintendent of public instruction, being one of the first women so named on an Iowa State ticket, and received the full vote of the party. In 1884 she was appointed a delegate and attended the national convention of the same party, held in Indianapolis, Ind., to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President. She was for several years political editor of "The Woman's Tribune." In 1877 her husband died suddenly. Her home is now in Odin, Marion county, Ill.

SWARTHOUT, Mrs. M. French, educator, born in Sangerfield, Oneida county. N. Y. 15th September, 1844. She was educated in the Baptist Seminary in Waterville, N. Y., and afterwards took the course in the State Normal School in Albany, N. Y. After finishing her school work, she removed with her parents to Lake county, Ill. M. FRENCH SWARTHOUT. She soon after went to Chicago, where she has since resided, devoting her time to educational pursuits She has been engaged in the Chicago schools for the last fifteen years. She is the author of a series of arithmetics known as "Sheldon's Graded Examples." These books have been used in the schools of Chicago for the last five years, and quite extensively throughout the West. She was married early, and her family consists of husband, two sons and one daughter. She is vice-president of the Illinois Woman's Press Club and a member of the Authors' Club. Though her educational duties occupy most of her time, she occasionally finds time to devote to writing.

SWEET, Miss Ada Celeste, pension agent, born in Stockbridge, Wis., 23d February, 1853. When the Civil War began, her father, Benjamin J. Sweet, a successful lawyer and State Senator, entered the Union army as Major of the Sixth Wisconsin Infantry. Afterwards, as Colonel of the Twenty-first Infantry, he was wounded at Perryville. Left in broken health, he took command of Camp Douglas in Chicago, Ill., as Colonel of the Eighth United States Veteran Reserve Corps. Ada spent her summers in Wisconsin and her winters in a convent school in Chicago. After the war. General Sweet settled on a farm twenty miles from Chicago and opened a law office in the city. ADA CELESTE SWEET. Ada, the oldest of the four children, aided her father in his business. She was carefully educated and soon developed marked business talents. In 1868 General Sweet received from President Grant the appointment as pension agent in Chicago. Ada entered the office, learned the details of the business, and carried on the work for years. In 1872 General Sweet was made first deputy commissioner of internal revenue, and moved to Washington, D. C. Ada accompanied him as his private secretary. He died on New Year's Day, 1874, and his estate was too small to provide for his family. President Grant then appointed Miss Sweet United States agent for paying pensions in Chicago, the first position as disbursing officer ever given to a woman by the government of the United States. The