Governor A. P. Swineford Papers, 1869-1916

Collection

Identifier: MS 232

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Correspondence and documents of Governor A. P. Swineford, 1869-1916. Includes appointment by President Grover Cleveland of A. P. Swineford as Governor Alaska; June 17, 1886.

Dates

1869-1916

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Request for permission to publish or reproduce material from the collection should be discussed with the Librarian.

Biographical

Alfred P. Swineford was born at Ashland, Wisconsin, September 14, 1834. In 1871 he was elected to the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. He served two terms as mayor of Marquette and afterwards was elected to several terms as alderman and supervisor. In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland to be Governor of the District of Alaska and held that office until 1889.

Trained at an early age in the printing trade, Swineford published and edited newspapers in Michigan and Alaska, including the Daily Miner, the Ketchikan Miner, the Ketchikan Mining Journal, the Mining Journal. In 1898 wrote the book, Alaska, Its History, Climate and Natural Resources. In 1893 Swineford was appointed Inspector of Surveyors General and District Land Office, charged with opening Oklahoma’s Cherokee Strip for settlement.

He died in Juneau on October 26, 1909, and is buried there in the Evergreen Cemetery.

Extent

2 Linear Feet : 3 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Swineford papers were donated to the Alaska Historical Collections by Allen Shattuck and Sally Slater and Roger and Terry Shattuck. Box 2, Folder 5 was a gift of Maurine Huang.

Processing Information

The papers are in fair-good condition. Some fragile documents were housed in Mylar for better preservation.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding aid for the Governor A. P. Swineford Papers, 1869-1916
Status: In Progress
Author: Processed by: Ken Nail, Jr. October 2007 ; ArchivesSpace finding aid by: Sandy Johnston
Date: 2019 May
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: Undetermined
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: English