Gustavus Franklin Swift was born on June 24, 1839. He was the ninth of twelve children and his parents William Swift and Sally Crowell were descendants of British settlers who went to New England in the 17th century. The family lived and worked on a farm in the Cape Cod town of West Sandwich, Massachusetts. There they raised and slaughtered cattle, sheep, and hogs. This is where he got his idea of packing meat. As a young boy he never really was interested in his school studies and decided to leave after only eight years. During that time he was employed in a good amount of jobs, finally landing a full-time job working in his elder brother Noble’s butcher shop at the age of fourteen. In 1855, two years later, with a little help from one of
