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Howard Llewellyn Swisher (September 21, 1870 – August 27, 1945) was an American businessperson, real estate developer, orchardist, editor, writer, and historian. As a prominent businessman, he established several companies responsible for the development of businesses and real estate in Morgantown, West Virginia. Swisher was born in 1870 near Levels, West Virginia. He became a schoolteacher there at the age of 18, then graduated from Fairmont State Normal School (present-day Fairmont State University) and West Virginia University. He then remained in Morgantown, where he established a bookstore and stationery shop. Following the success of his bookstore, Swisher organized the Main Street Building Company, the Howard L. Swisher Company, and the Morgantown Building Association, each of which constructed a large number of residences in the city. He was also the inaugural secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia Real Estate Dealers' Association. Swisher was secretary of the Royalty Oil Company, which owned mining rights for approximately of prospective oil lands throughout the United States. In addition, he also held prominent leadership and management roles in the Valley Wood Working Company, the Monongahela Valley Posting and Distributing Plant, the Federal Savings and Trust Company, and the West Virginia Tri-Products Company. In Hampshire County, Swisher maintained fruit growing interests and served as the president of the South Branch Merchandising Company. He was an active member of the West Virginia Democratic Party and was selected as a delegate from West Virginia to the 1936 Democratic National Convention. In 1897, Swisher co-authored ''History of Hampshire County, West Virginia: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present'' with West Virginia historian Hu Maxwell. The book was the first comprehensive history of Hampshire County ever compiled. He composed a collection of poetry and short stories, ''Briar Blossoms'', in 1899, and was the editor of ''The Ghourki'', a literary journal of poetry, short stories, and aphorisms. In 1908, Swisher published ''Book of Harangues'', a selection of passages from ''The Ghourki''. == Family background == Howard Llewellyn Swisher was born on September 21, 1870 near the unincorporated community of Levels, West Virginia. He was the son of David Warner Swisher and his wife, Mary Katherine Bonnifield Swisher.〔〔 David was born in Augusta County, Virginia on April 29, 1822, and was of Swiss German and French ancestry. David moved to Preston County in present-day West Virginia in 1838, and a few years later, he purchased land near present-day Levels in Hampshire County and relocated there.〔 He then established a farm on this land, known as "The Levels," and remained there for the remainder of his life.〔〔 The Swisher family owned and operated one of the largest orchard operations in the Levels community. In 1846, David married his wife, Mary Katherine Bonnifield,〔 the daughter of Dr. Arnold Bonnifield of St. George, West Virginia.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Howard Llewellyn Swisher」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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