Wilson, Douglas L., ed; Davis, Rodney O., ed. 'Register of Informants' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln' . Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998. [format: book], [genre: history]. Permission: University of Illinois Press
Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=herndon737.html

A Maine native, Swett briefly attended Waterville (now Colby) College, leaving that institution to read law. After serving in the Mexican War he settled in Bloomington, Illinois, where in 1849 he met AL on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Rising to become one of the most astute and sought-after lawyers in the state, Swett was at the same time a close legal and political associate of AL. He worked hard in 1860 and 1864 on behalf of AL's presidential nomination and renomination, and he also pressed David Davis's case for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Although effective in promoting the political interests of others, Swett was awarded no political office of his own. He moved to Chicago in 1865, where he earned a reputation as a successful criminal lawyer. In 1875 he represented Robert Todd Lincoln in the latter's suit to have his mother declared insane. (ALE; HEI)