George Sweeney (Dickinson Chronicles)
Scholarship
George Sweeney was born on November 1, 1796 near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, twenty five miles to the north, and graduated with the class of 1815. Following his graduation, he studied law in Gettysburg and was admitted to the bar there in 1820.
For ten years Sweeney practiced law in Gettysburg and then moved west to Bucyrus in Crawford County, Ohio in 1830. He was named as the prosecutor of Crawford in 1837 and then was elected in the fall of 1838 as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth Congress from his district, the 14th of Ohio. Although Sweeney was re-elected to the Twenty-seventh Congress in 1840, he was not a candidate in 1842. He moved for a time to Geneseo, Illinois to practice law in 1853, but returned to Bucyrus in 1856. Sweeney was once again elected as district attorney for Crawford County before he retired.
Sweeney gave up his profession in later years to concentrate on the literary and scientific pursuits that had interested him his whole life. On October 10, 1877, George Sweeney died in Bucyrus, Ohio and was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery there. He was eighty years old.
For ten years Sweeney practiced law in Gettysburg and then moved west to Bucyrus in Crawford County, Ohio in 1830. He was named as the prosecutor of Crawford in 1837 and then was elected in the fall of 1838 as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth Congress from his district, the 14th of Ohio. Although Sweeney was re-elected to the Twenty-seventh Congress in 1840, he was not a candidate in 1842. He moved for a time to Geneseo, Illinois to practice law in 1853, but returned to Bucyrus in 1856. Sweeney was once again elected as district attorney for Crawford County before he retired.
Sweeney gave up his profession in later years to concentrate on the literary and scientific pursuits that had interested him his whole life. On October 10, 1877, George Sweeney died in Bucyrus, Ohio and was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery there. He was eighty years old.
John Osborne and James W. Gerencser, eds., “George Sweeney,” Dickinson Chronicles, http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/s/ed_sweeneyG.htm.
George Sweeny (Congressional Biographical Directory)
Reference
SWEENY, George, a Representative from Ohio; born near Gettysburg, Pa., February 22, 1796; pursued academic studies and was graduated from Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Gettysburg in 1820; moved to Bucyrus, Crawford County, Ohio, in 1830; prosecuting attorney of Crawford County in 1838; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1843); was not a candidate for renomination in 1842; resumed the practice of his profession; moved to Geneseo, Henry County, Ill., in 1853, and continued the practice of law; returned to Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1856; was again elected prosecuting attorney of Crawford County; retired from the practice of his profession and engaged in literary and scientific pursuits; died in Bucyrus, Ohio, October 10, 1877; interment in Oakwood Cemetery.
"Sweeny, George," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S001105.