Pardon H. Swift (1843-1916) was born in Waits River, Vermont, and died in Madison, Wisconsin. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company C of the 11th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and rose up in the ranks to become captain of Company E of the 33rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After the Civil War, he returned home to Edgerton, Wisconsin, studied law, and was admitted to the Rock County [Wisconsin] Bar Association. He practiced law in Michigan and Minnesota, returning to Wisconsin in 1876. There, he embarked on a career in journalism and became proprietor of the Oconto County Reporter, Rice Lake Leader, and Watertown Republican. He became interested in Christian Science while living in Oconto, Wisconsin, in the mid-1880s, and studied with Elizabeth Webster, a student of Mary Baker Eddy's. Swift joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 3, 1896, and was a member until his passing. He was also an active branch church member, serving as First Reader at two different Wisconsin churches: First Church of Christ, Scientist, Rice Lake (1900-1902), and First Church of Christ Scientist, Watertown (1910-1912).

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