Samuel Swann was born in Surry County, Virginia on May 11, 1653. Swann held several local offices in Virginia before becoming a member of the North Carolina Council and the surveyor general of the colony in March 1694. Swann moved to Perquimans Precinct, North Carolina in 1695 and remained on the council for the remainder of his life, also serving at various times as a judge and as secretary of the colony. Swann died in Perquimans on September 14, 1707.