916
HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
until July, 1865, when by orders he assumed command of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, which command he retained till Dec. 16, 1865, when he joined his regiment for final muster out at Springfield, Ill., Jan. 12, 1866. That the regiment saw hard service is shown by the fact that 1,824 men, all told, were mustered into its companies, and only 250 men remained to be mustered out. Colonel Swain participated in fifty-one battles, and was wounded at New Hope Church, Ga., June 3, 1864. After the war he made his home in Chicago, where he practiced dentistry until 1898, when he retired, removing to Seneca Falls, N. Y., but in 1902 he again returned to Batavia. As a microscopist and histologist Colonel Swain has been well known throughout the West for many years. He was one of the organizers of the Chicago College of Dentistry, being its first Secretary and Treasurer. In 1885 he became Dean of the reorganized faculty of the Northwestern Dental College, and filled that position about four years. He has filled the positions of President in the following Societies connected with his profession: Chicago Dental Society, Odontological Society of Chicago, and Illinois State Dental Society. Colonel Swain was Commander of the Department of Illinois, G. A. R., for two terms, and served one term as Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief of the National Encampment, G. A. R., and for two terms was Commander of Geo. H. Thomas Post, No. 5, Chicago. His interest in military affairs has continued since the war, and he has served four years six months as Major, Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel of the First Regiment, Illinois National Guard. He is a member of the Loyal Legion, and was appointed by Governor Altgeld a member of the Commission to locate the position of the Illinois regiments on the battlefield of Chattanooga and vicinity. Colonel Swain was married, in 1869, to Miss Clara Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith, an early settler of Chicago.
JOHN W. SWAINE, farmer and stock-dealer, Elburn, Ill., born in Saratoga, N. Y., Dec. 22, 1832; came to Kane County, Ill., in 1844 and in 1861 enlisted in Company I, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, for service in the Union army; discharged on account of disability in August, 1862, when he returned to Kane County, where he has since resided. On Nov. 24, 1868, he was married to Sophia Platt.
JOSEPH E. SWITZER, lumber and coal merchant, St. Charles, Ill., was born in Palatine, Cook County, Ill., Sept. 20, 1857, son of Samuel and Harriet (Towner) Switzer, and was brought by his parents to St. Charles when he was ten years old. His education was obtained in the local schools of Palatine and St. Charles, and Elgin Academy. His first business experience was farming, which he followed for four years in St. Charles Township; from 1885 until 1893, he was engaged in contracting and building in Elgin, and was in the same business in St. Charles from 1893 to 1900. In the latter year he bought an interest in the West Side Lumber Company of St. Charles, of which he is Secretary and Manager. In 1880 he was married to Miss Carrie Seaman, of Cortland Township, Kane County, who died Dec. 17, 1898. Mr. Switzer was married a second time in January, 1900, to Miss Belle Townsend, daughter of W. H. Townsend, of Sycamore.
JOSEPH M. SWITZER (deceased), farmer, Rutland Township, Kane County, Ill., born in Toronto, Canada, May 21, 1822; came with his mother to Kane County in 1838, and in 1844 purchased a 120-acre farm in Rutland Township, where he resided until his death, Feb. 28, 1882; politically a Republican and served as Justice of the Peace twelve years. On Feb. 13, 1851, he married Miss Alice Smith, who, with their three children, is still living.
SAMUEL SWITZER, retired farmer, St. Charles, Ill., was born in Toronto, Canada, May 8, 1829, son of Joseph Switzer, and was educated in the schools of his native city. In 1849 he came to St. Charles, Ill., with his father, who bought a large farm near that place, where the father and son lived together until the former's death in 1853. The son retained his interest in the farm until 1856, when he sold out and removed to Cook County, where he continued farming. In 1868 he returned to Kane County, and bought a farm which he actively cultivated until 1901, when he rented it, though still living there retired. He was married in St. Charles Township, Kane County, on June 16, 1853, to Harriet Turner, daughter of Alexander Turner, of St. Charles Township.
PHILO SYLLA (deceased), inventor and manufacturer, was born in Pembroke, N. H., Oct. 12, 1806; his father was Benjamin Cilley
Dundee Area History
