Career
He was the mayor and newspaper editor in Marquette, Michigan. President Grover Cleveland appointed Swineford as Governor of the District of Alaska, where he served from 1885 to 1889. In 1906, he was a candidate to be the first Delegate to the United States Congress from the District of Alaska, losing in an election on August 14, 1906 to Democrat Frank Hinman Waskey.
Swineford was born in Ashland, Ohio and died in Juneau, Alaska on October 26, 1909.
He is buried in Juneau at Evergreen Cemetery.