Joseph Henry Sweney was a one-term Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Iowa's 4th congressional district

Iowa's 4th congressional district

Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of the north-central part of the state....

 in northeastern Iowa.

Born in Warren County, Pennsylvania

Warren County, Pennsylvania

Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 41,815. It was formed in 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming counties; attached to Crawford County until 1805 and then to Venango County until Warren was formally organized in 1819. Its county...

, Sweney attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and Iowa.
During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 enlisted in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 and served as a sergeant in Company K, 27th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment

27th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 27th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 27th Iowa Infantry was organized at Dubuque, Iowa and mustered in for three years of Federal service on October 3, 1862.The regiment was mustered out on...

.
After the war, he served as colonel of the Sixth Regiment of the Iowa National Guard

Iowa National Guard

The Iowa National Guard consists of the:*Iowa Army National Guard and the*Iowa Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History*...

 for four years and brigadier and inspector general of the State.

He was graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law

University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...

 in 1880. He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 the same year and commenced practice in Osage, Iowa

Osage, Iowa

Osage is a city in Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,451 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mitchell County.-Geography:Osage is located at ....

. He also engaged in banking and agricultural pursuits.

He was twice elected to the Iowa Senate

Iowa Senate

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...

, serving as president pro tempore in 1886. He was elected to two four-year terms (beginning in 1883 and 1887), but left the Senate in 1889 following his election to Congress.

In 1888, Sweney was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-first

51st United States Congress

The Fifty-first United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...

 Congress, following the decision of incumbent Republican William E. Fuller

William E. Fuller

William Elijah Fuller , was an attorney, and a two-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district in northeastern Iowa during the 1880s....

 not to seek a third term. However, his re-election bid was thwarted when he was upset by Democrat Walter Halben Butler

Walter Halben Butler

Walter Halben Butler was a lawyer, teacher, newspaper publisher, and one-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district, then located in northeastern Iowa....

 as part of a Democratic landslide in 1890. He served in Congress from March 4, 1889 to March 3, 1891.

After leaving Congress, he resumed the practice of law in Osage.
He died while on a visit in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, on November 11, 1918.
He was interred in Osage Cemetery.