Toensing lists his last name as Sweeney. The Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1872 and History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, 1909 lists Sweney. The Minnesota Journal of the House, 1857 lists both Sweney and Sweeney.
Toensing lists his death year as 1883. History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, 1909 lists 1882.
"In politics he was a state's rights Democrat, but no disunionist." (History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, 1909, p. 140)
He was of Scottish, Irish, and French (Piedmontese-Huguenot) ancestry.
He "was the second physician who settled in Minnesota for the purpose of practicing his profession." (History of Goodhue County, Minnesota. Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr. & Co., 1909, p. 140.)
He moved to Fulton County, Illinois when he was 18 years old. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in April 1850. He came to Red Wing, Minnesota in May 1852.
He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, in Red Wing, Minnesota.
Religion provided by History of Goodhue County, Minnesota, 1909.