Joshua W. Sweney    

JOSHUA W. SWENEY, farmer and Justice of the Peace, P.O. Crossingville, was born March 29, 1833, in Cussewago Township, this county. His grandfather, Alexander Sweney, is a native of County Donegal, Ireland; came to America when a young man. He married Sarah Harkins, and settled in Cussewago Township, this county, in 1788, having previously come out here and taken up 1,600 acres of land for himself, brother and two brothers-in-law, being one of the first settlers in the northern part of the township. After raising a family of twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity, he departed this life in March, 1845, aged seventy years. His widow died in 1870, aged seventy-six. Their second son, Edward H., married in 1832 Jane McLaughlin, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, and settled on his part of the old homestead. Of their nine children seven are now living, Joshua W. and Mrs. Josephine O’Brien being residents of this locality. Mr. Sweney died April. 23, 1863, aged fifty-six years. His widow died March 4, 1884, aged seventy-four. Their son Thomas G., a soldier of Company B, Eighteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, died in the service of his country January 14, 1864, at Stevensburg, Va. Our subject married, July 31, 1854, Maria Smith, a native of County Cavan, Ireland, and settled where he now resides, and where he has a fine farm of 110 acres of well-improved land. Their children are Thomas A., of Pattersonville, La.; Mrs. Mary Kearney; Kate, the present teacher at Crossingville school; Edward C., and William C. Squire Sweney, consistently, with the principles of his forefathers, is a Democrat; a member of the Catholic Church. He has served his township in the various township offices, being at the present time Justice of the Peace.

History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania: containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc., portraits of early settlers and prominent men, biographies, history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885. View image of this page of the book on line at ancestry.com.  Free access  More Crawford County History Books  Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com

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