An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The
Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893

EDWARD F. SWEENEY, Secretary of the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company, is a
native son of the Golden West, born in San Francisco, California, May 10, 1860.
His father, Morgan Sweeney, was a California pioneer of 1850, who made mining
the occupation of his life. He was married in California to Miss Mary Nunan,
whose father was also a pioneer of the State. Edward F. Sweeney was educated at
St. Mary's College in San Francisco. His business career began at the age of
seventeen, in the French Savings Bank, but shortly after be entered the office
of the brewery of M. Nunan and remained two years. He then went to the
Fredricksburg brewery at San Jose and entered practically into the study of the
brewery business. After becoming thoroughly conversant with all details of
manufacture and with methods of conducting such an enterprise, he returned to
San Francisco as superintendent of Mr. Nunan's plant, which turned out about
30,000 barrels of beer per year. In 1882 he came to Seattle, and, forming a
co-partnership with W.J. Rule, built a small brewery south of town for the
manufacture of steam beer. The firm of Rule & Sweeney continued about eighteen
months, when Mr. Rule retired and Mr. Sweeney continued operations alone,
gradually increasing the extent of his plant as the conditions of the trade
demanded. In 1888 he organized a stock company known as the Clausen-Sweeney
Brewing Company, with a capital of $80,000. The brewery was then rebuilt, and
with improved machinery they entered exclusively into the manufacture of lager
beer, with an annual output of 36,000 barrels, which was sold throughout the
Northwest. In May, 1891, Mr. Clausen sold his interest to Mr. George F. Gund,
and the business was continued up to the spring of 1893, when the company
consolidated with the Bay View Brewing Company and the Albert Braun Brewing
Company, incorporating as the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company; capital stock,
$1,000,000. Mr. Sweeney was elected secretary of the new organization, whose
plant has a capacity for an annual output of 150,000 barrels. Mr. Sweeney is
also a stockholder of the King County Bank; a director of the National Bank of
Commerce; owns valuable real-estate interests in Seattle, and mining interests
in the Cascade mountains. Socially, he affiliates with the K. of P., B.P.O.E.,
the Seattle Athletic Club and the Seattle Yacht Club. He is also a member of the
Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the manufacturing committee of that
institution.

Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in January 2004 by Jeffrey L. Elmer

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Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies
Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the
individual featured in the biographies.