C. F. SWIFT

C. F. SWIFT, County Superintendent of Schools, Harlan, came to Shelby County in 1882. He is a native of Iowa, born in Davis County, March 16, 1861, and is a son of Washington S. and Louvina Jane (Dunlavy) Swift. The former is a native of Wayne County, Indiana, and is a son of Curren E. Swift, a native of Kentuckey, of English ancestry, who came with his family to Iowa at an early day, and now lives in Wayne County. Louvina Jane Swift, wife of Washington Swift, is a native of Indiana, and a daughter of James D. Dunlavy, a native of Kentucky, and of English descent, who came to Iowa in the early settlement of the country. Washington Swift grew to manhood on a farm and married in Davis County, after his marriage he followed agricultural pursuits, and still resides in Davis County. He and his wife are parents of eight children, three sons and five daughters.

C. F. Swift, our subject, lived on a farm until he was sixteen years old, when he went to the Southern Iowa Normal and Commercial Institute, at Bloomfield; he completed the teacher's course and pursued the scientific course one year, after which he engaged in teaching in Davis County. In March 1882, he came to Shelby County and engaged in teaching, which he followed until his election of county superintendent of schools, in the fall of 1885; he was re-elected in 1887, and is the present incumbent.

Mr. Swift was married in 1886, July 22, to Miss Tina E. Koolbeck, a native of Marion County, Iowa, and a daughter of John Koolbeck of Harlan. By this union two children were born -- Gaillard and Helen. Mr. Swift is a member of the A. F. & A. M. Parian Lodge, No. 321; Olivet Chapter, No. 107, and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Carthage Lodge, No. 65. Mrs. Swift is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party.

Footnote: C. F. stands for Curran Freeman Swift, taken from family researcher on ancestry.com

Source: 1889 Biographical History of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 579. Transcribed and submitted by Craig and Nancy Poole - cpoole@unmc.edu