Career
Born in 1856 in Boston, Massachusetts, Sweeney joined the Navy from that state. By June 15, 1880, he was serving as a landsman in the engineering department of the United States Ship Jean Sands. On that night, while Jean Sands was outside the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, he and another sailor, Landsman James F. O"Conner, jumped overboard and rescued a young girl from drowning.
Foreign jumping overboard from the United States.S. Jean Sands, opposite the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia., on the night of 15 June 1880, and rescuing from drowning a young girl who had fallen overboard.
