Swann became involved in the business life of Alexandria and the new federal city across the Potomac River, as well as witnessed many real estate deeds throughout northern Virginia. In 1800, Swann became one of the directors of the Marine Insurance Company in Alexandria.T. Michael Miller, Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria, Virginia 1780-1820, vol.1 (Heritage Books 1991) p. 320 In 1804, Swann published notice that he would file lawsuits against debtors owing the Mutual Assurance Society.Miller, Artisans, vol.1 p. 354 Also in that year, Swann joined several fellow Alexandrians including fellow lawyers Charles Lee and Cuthbert Powell as well as prominent merchants Elisha Janney and William Hartshorne, among others, to form the Bank of Potomac.Miller, Artisans, vol.1 p. 8 Four years later, in 1808, Swann joined again with Powell but now with Edmind J. Lee and others at Gadsby's Tavern to form the Alexandria Turnpike Company, in order to construct a road and bridge to Georgetown on the other side of the Potomac River.Miller, Artisans Vol. 1 p. 21 In 1810 Swann became one of the town's directors for the newly formed Farmers Bank in Alexandria, and in 1817 he became a director of the Franklin Bank in Alexandria.Miller, Artisans, vol.1 pp. 131, 148 In 1817, the Alexandria court appointed Swann, Edmund J. Lee and Colin Auld as trustees of the failed Merchant's Bank, and in 1819 Swann became president of the Mechanics Bank of Alexandria during its reorganization.Miller, Artisans, vol.1, pp. 330, 332 He also was one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in a "friendly" lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court concerning administration of the estate of the late President George Washington, which was filed in 1823 but only settled in 1847 (long after the deaths of all but one of the original executors), following Alexandria's retrocession from the District of Columbia to Virginia mentioned below.Eugene Prussing, The Estate of George Washington, Deceased (Boston: Little, Brown and Company 1927) p. 386 (available at hathitrust.org
