History of Clarion County, Pennsylvania, 1887



James Sweny Biography

Honorable James Sweny was born in Fayette county Pennsylvania, near Uniontown, the county seat; June 14, 1811. He is of Irish ancestry, his father, Charles Sweny, and his mother, Mary (Griffen) Sweny being natives of Ireland. He was brought up in the faith of the, Roman Catholic Church and has ever held that faith. When he was six years old, his father moved with his family to Butler county, Pa. At the age of eighteen, James went to Butler town, where he served an apprenticeship at cabinet-making. He continued working at his trade and at carpentering until 1844, when he was elected justice of the peace in Clarion borough, whither he had came three years before. For fifteen successive years, or three consecutive terms, Mr. Sweny served as justice, and, after an interval of ten years, was again elected to the same office, but only served one and one-half years, when he was chosen associate judge of Clarion county. Judge Sweny held his office two full terms, or ten years, and vacated the bench, January 1st, 1882. Since the close of his official career, Mr. Sweny has led a retired life, and, with the exception of three trips across the continent, to Denver, Colorado, he has spent most of his time in the town where had served his neighbors in responsible positions during so many years. Judge Sweny was one of the pioneers in the county seat of Clarion county, and is one of a very small number yet remaining who came here "when the town was in the woods." His integrity and his careful attention to the business of the several public positions which he has filled have won for him the esteem of his fellow citizens.


Source: History of Clarion County; Davis, A. J.; Syracuse, NY; D. Mason and Co., 1887.












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