- unitid
-
{"value"=>"2935", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b11996382", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 2935", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1809-1862", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1809/1862"}
{"value"=>"1820s-1850s", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1820/1859"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Joseph G. Swift correspondence"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 box", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"0.3 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 microfilm reel", "unit"=>"microfilm reel"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\"> Manuscripts and Archives</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Joseph Gardner Swift (1783-1865) was a civil engineer and officer in the U.S. Army. He was one of two students of the first graduating class in 1802 of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. By the age of twenty-eight he was a colonel and Chief Engineer of the Army. His projects included the completion of Fort Clinton (New York City) and during the War of 1812 the fortifications of western Long Island harbors and New York City. He resigned his commission in 1818 and served as Surveyor of the Port of New York until 1826, then as chief engineer for several railroads, and in 1829 he directed harbor improvements on the Great Lakes. Swift also was involved in a variety of business activities and was a friend and mentor to younger engineers including George Washington Whistler and William Gibbs McNeill (both of them were his brothers-in-law). Collection consists entirely of correspondence of Swift and members of his family. Most of the letters, 1825-1857, were written to Swift from his brother, William Henry Swift, and from his brother-in-law, George Washington Whistler. Whistler's letters include several written from Russia while he was working on construction of the Moscow/St. Petersburg railroad. Also, correspondence of Swift and Whistler, 1809-1862, with various correspondents, and letters exchanged among members of the Swift, Whistler and McNeill families."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Swift, J. G. (Joseph Gardner) (1783-1865)", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p> Joseph Gardner Swift (1783-1865) often considered the father of American civil engineering, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. He entered the army as a 16-year-old cadet in the Artillerists St Engineers stationed in Newport, R. I. When the U. S. Military Academy at West Point opened in 1801 he was sent there and became a member of its first graduating class of two students the following year. His military advancement was so rapid that by the age of 28 he attained the rank of Colonel and Chief Engineer of the army. His projects included the completion of Fort Clinton (New York City) and, during the War of 1812, the fortifications of western Long Island harbors and of New York City. However, Swift's military career ended in frustration when the government installed the Frenchman, Simon Bernard as the director of the army's fortification projects. He resigned his commission in 1818 and turned to a variety of civilian activities. He served as Surveyor of the Port of New York until 1926 and as chief engineer for several railroads for the next three years. In 1829 he directed harbor improvements on the Great Lakes. In addition to his engineering projects. Swift was involved in a variety of business activities including insurance, real estate speculation, and, with Gouverneur Kemble, the creation of an iron foundry in Cold Spring;, New York. Swift exerted great influence as friend and mentor to the younger generation of engineers, most notably, two West Point graduates, George Washington Whistler and William Gibbs McNeill. In fact, the three form a \"first family\" of American engineers. Whistler married Swift's sister Mary in 1821. After her death in 1827 he went on to marry McNeill's sister Anna in 1831.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p> The Swift Papers consists entirely of chronologically arranged correspondence. The vast majority of the letters are written to Swift from his brother, William Henry Swift, 1825-1857, and from his brother-in-law, George Washington Whistler, 1828-1849. Whistler's letters include several written from Russia while he was working on the construction of the Moscow/St. Petersburg railroad. Also included are 15 letters of Swift to various correspondents, 1809-1862; 9 letters from Gouverneur Kemble to Swift, 1830-1858; 4 letters from G. W, Whistler to his son, George, his wife, Anna, and brother-in-law, William G. McNeill; 1 letter to Swift from Anna McNeill Whistler; and several letters exchanged among members of the Swift and McNeill Families.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p> March 12, 1940, Received from Mrs. Grace Bigelow Patten (and by purchase, 1943-1968).</p>"}
- altformavail
-
{"value"=>"<p> Entire collection available on microfilm; New York Public Library; *ZL-299. *ZL-299 also includes letters of J.G. Swift found in the F.R. Hassler correspondence (MssCol 1348).</p>"}
- date_start
-
1809
- keydate
-
1809
- date_end
-
1862
- date_inclusive_start
-
1809
- date_inclusive_end
-
1862
- date_bulk_start
-
1820
- date_bulk_end
-
1859
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Joseph G. Swift correspondence, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library"}