John Sweeny Sr., his wife Ann Fuller Smith, two daughters, and seven sons arrived here in 1833 and settled in a house several yards to the northeast. Shortly after their arrival, a newborn daughter named Freedonia died, and this location was chosen for her burial. John Sweeny Sr. amassed a large amount of land and gave most of it to his children for their own plantations. With Freedonia's burial here, this place became the Sweeny Family Burial Ground. In 1883, the Sweeny community was given the land around the family plot, and the cemetery has been expanding for more than a century. The Sweeny Cemetery Association is the executor of the Sweeny Cemetery.