Samuel Swartwout (1783-1856)
Collector of the Port of New York
He was born at Poughkeepsie, New York. He played an integral role in Aaron Burr's attempt to establish his own breakaway colony and served as Captain of the "Iron Grays" in the War of 1812. After the war he went into business as a land speculator with his brothers and in 1829 he was appointed Collector of Customs for the Port of New York. He was an active supporter of Texas in their fight for independence from Mexico but his tenure is best remembered for his role in the Swartwout-Hoyt Scandal in which he was alleged to have embezzled $1.2-million. He married Alice Cooper and was survived by one daughter (listed) whose two husbands were both Livingstons.
