Judge Harrison Swan

Henry Harrison Swan replaced Henry Billings Brown in 1891. Judge Swan appointed Carrie Davison as clerk of the district court, probably the first woman clerk of a federal court. Judge Swan also supported a statute passed by Congress in 1894 that divided the Eastern District into two divisions: the northern division that included 23 counties with Bay City as its place of holding court, and the southern division which included 16 counties with Detroit as its place of holding court.

One of Judge Swan’s notable cases was City of Detroit v. Detroit City Railway Company, a dispute between the City of Detroit and the railroad company which did not end until 1922 when the city brought the company. Judge Swan retired from the court in 1911.