Noah Haynes Swayne
| Noah Swayne | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
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In office January 24, 1862 – January 24, 1881 |
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| Nominated by | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | John McLean |
| Succeeded by | Stanley Matthews |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 7, 1804 Frederick County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 8, 1884 (aged 79) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party |
Democratic (Before 1856) Republican (1856–1890) |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Swayne |
| Religion | Quaker |
Noah Haynes Swayne (December 7, 1804 – June 8, 1884) was an American jurist and politician. He was the first Republican appointed as a justice to the United States Supreme Court.
Swayne was born in Frederick County, Virginia in the uppermost reaches of the Shenandoah Valley, approximately 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Washington D.C. He was the youngest of nine children of Joshua Swayne and Rebecca (Smith) Swayne. He was a descendant of Francis Swayne, who emigrated from England in 1710 and settled near Philadelphia. After his father died in 1809, Noah was educated locally until enrolling in Jacob Mendendhall's Academy in Waterford, Virginia, a respected Quaker school 1817-18. He began to study medicine in Alexandria, Virginia, but abandoned this pursuit after his teacher Dr. George Thornton died in 1819. Despite his family having no money to support his continued education, he read law under John Scott and Francis Brooks in Warrenton, Virginia, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1823. A devout Quaker (and to date the only Quaker to serve on the Supreme Court), Swayne was deeply opposed to slavery, and in 1824 he left Virginia for the free state of Ohio. His abolitionist sentiments caused him to move to Ohio.
He began a private practice in Coshocton and, in 1825, was elected Coshocton County Attorney. Four years later he was elected to the Ohio state legislature. In 1830 he was appointed U.S. Attorney for Ohio by Andrew Jackson, and moved to Columbus to take up the new position.
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