Zephaniah Swift

Zephaniah Swift (February 27, 1759 – September 27, 1823) was an eighteenth-century American author, judge, lawyer, chief justice, congressman, law professor, diplomat and politician from Windham, Connecticut. He served as a U.S. Representative from Connecticut and State Supreme Court Judge. He wrote the first legal treatise published in America. He was also appointed secretary to Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth by President John Adams at the Treaty of Mortefontaine, in negotiations with King Joseph Bonaparte. Early life and education Swift was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, to Rowland Swift and Mary (Dexter) Swift. He moved with his parents to Lebanon, Connecticut. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from Yale College in 1778. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in Windham, Connecticut. Career He served in the Connecticut General Assembly from 1787 to 1793, serving as speaker in 1792, and clerk of the lower house for four sessions. Swift represented Connecticut in the U.S. House as a Pro-Administration candidate to the Third Congress and as a Federalist candidate to the Fourth Congress. He served in Congress from March 4, 1793, to March 3, 1797. Upon the expiration of his second Congressional term he returned to Connecticut and was elected Speaker of the General Assembly.