The son of a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, Isham attended Williams College and the Harvard School of Law before he was admitted to the bar in 1858. Edward Swift Isham was born on January 15, 1836 in Bennington, Vermont. He was the eldest son of Pierpont Isham, later a justice on the Vermont Supreme Court.
After two years" recovery in South Carolina, Isham returned to Groton, Massachusetts, where he studied at Lawrence Academy. In 1853, he was accepted at Williams College and studied there for four years.
He headed west, establishing a practice in Chicago, Illinois in 1859. The practice evenutally became Isham Lincoln & Beale. Isham also served one term in the Illinois House of Representatives.
He was raised in northwestern Massachusetts.
At the age of sixteen, he had to drop out of school due to illness. The school awarded him a master"s degree in 1860.
He was admitted to the bar in Rutland, Vermont, in 1858. He decided to practice in the west, ostensibly to Saint Paul, Minnesota or Saint Louis, Missouri.
However, he decided to settle instead in Chicago, Illinois.
Isham quickly rose to prominence among Chicago lawyers. In 1864, Isham was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Republican, where he served a two-year term. After his term expired, Isham spent two years in Europe, then returned to his law practice.
The firm retained this name until it dissolved in 1988.
Isham"s most notable cases include the arrangement of the Walter Loomis Newberry library endowment and the 1875 mayoral election controversy between Harvey Doolittle Colvin & Monroe Heath. He received an Doctor of Laws from Williams College in 1893.
Isham was married to Fannie Burch in 1861. Eldest son Pierpont served in the 7th Cavalry Regiment and later became a partner in the law firm.
Eldest daughter Ann Elizabeth died during the sinking of the Rated Maximum Sinusoidal Titanic, one of only four upper-class women to do southern
He died in New York, New York on February 16, 1902.
Edward Swift was a charter member of the Chicago Club and drafted its incorporation papers in 1869.
