Swigart, George W., farmer; P.O. Hastings. Was born in Richland Co, A.D. 1820; his father, John Swigart, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania., A.D. 1793; when he arrived at the age of 13 years, his father, John Swigart, Sr., removed to Ohio and settled two miles north of Canton, in Stark County; he remained with his father till the beginning of the war of 1812, when he enlisted in the service of the United States, and served his country faithfully during the war; after the close of the war, he came to Orange Township, in Richland Co, and taught a three-months' term of school. At the close of his school, he married Miss Barbary Young; Miss Young was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania., in 1797, and removed with her father, Jacob Young, to Richland Co. in 1814; she was a member of a family of twelve children. Mr. Swigart removed to Monroe Township in 1821, and settled on the southwest quarter of Sec. 11; he moved in the morning in the woods, without any shelter but the trees, and in the evening he had a cabin 16x16 feet erected and one-half of the roof on; he moved his family into this cabin the same evening; again, in 1832, he removed into the woods, on the farm now owned and occupied by his son, George W., it being a part of Sec. 20 in this township; he continued to reside on this farm, cultivating and improving it, till within a few years of his death, when he removed to Lucas; he was of German and his wife of German and English descent. In his political faith, he was a Democrat of the "Old Hickory" persuasion; he held some offices of honor and trust in the township; he raised a large family of sons and daughters, several of whom still reside in the county, and are wealthy and enterprising citizens; Mr Swigart died in 1872; his wife is yet living.
George W. Swigart was reared in the woods, and inured to hardships and toil from his boyhood; he aquired such education as was to be obtained in the common schools of that day; he found but little time, however, for literary pursuits, but the time alotted him for that purpose was carefully improved, so that he acquired what may be termed a fair common-school education; being possessed of a well-balanced brain, and very retentive memory, and extremely fond of reading useful books, he has succeeded in storing his mind with a large fund of useful information.
Mr. Swigart married Miss Margaret Rider, daughter of Henry Rider, and early settler of this Township; Miss Rider was born in 1824; they are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters; Mr. Swigart has worked some at stone masoning and carpentering, but the greater part of his life has been devoted to the peaceful pursuits of the husbandman, in which business he has succeeded admirably will; of late years he has paid considerable attention to politics; he, like his father is a Democrat of the Jacksonian school, "Retrenchment and Reform" are his favorite themes; he says, "that for thirty years he has advocated measures, that if adopted would greatly decrease the burden of taxation, and afford a much greater protection to society." For the benefit of future generations, he desires that his theory of plan be inserted in his biography. In the first place, he would reduce the number of the members in the legislature one-half. He claims that when this is done, we would have a better class of legislators, as political tricksters could not, under such circumstances, afford to buy an office for which they were in nowise qualified. He claims that we now have too much legislation; and that too much is more injurious to society than not enough. In the second place he would make some improvement in county affairs. He would dispense with the office of Probate Judge, as also of a grand jury. He would have the clerk of the court attend to civil duties that are now performed by the probate judge. He would have Justices of the Peace and Mayors of cities and incorporate villages, to perform the duties now assigned to grand jurors, and would also give them exclusive jurisdiction in minor criminal cases. Lastly, he recommends sure and severe punishment to criminals.
Mr. Swigart has in his possession a cast-iron kettle that hold twenty gallons, that his grandfather bought in Steubenville in 1808, which has remained in the family ever since that period. Mr. Swigart says in regard to road-making in his township: "Our first roads were made by cutting paths through the forest, and piling logs and brush in the muddy places. In the course of time, the plow and scraper began to be used. Now we use in addition to these the cart and wagon to haul gravel." At the instigation and through the influence and assistance of Mr. Swigart and other enterprising men of Monroe Township, many valuable and lasting public improvements have been made in the township within the last five years, more especially in roads and schoolhouses. [1]
[1] A. A. Graham, History of Richland County, Ohio (1880), 852, [GoogleBooks].