James O'Neil
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James Joseph O'Neil (1845 - 1926)

James Joseph O'Neil
Born in Charleston,South Carolinamap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 10 Sep 1869 in Clarke, Mississippimap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 81 in Meridian, Lauderdale, Mississippimap
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Profile last modified | Created 27 Jul 2015
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Biography

James Joseph O'Neil b. June 26, 1845, Charleston,SC. d. July 29, 1926 Meridian, MS, resident of Quitman, MS
Mr. James Joseph O'Neil was born in Charleston, South Carolina, June 26, 1845. He was of Irish extraction, his father and mother both having been born in Dublin, Ireland. His early life was not as pleasant as that enjoyed by some, for his mother died when he was but three years of age, and his father died when he was twelve years old. He and one sister constituted the sole of spring of their parents.
His parents being Roman Catholics, he was christened in infancy, and as early as he was able, he entered a Catholic Sunday School, and adhered to the Catholic faith till death, though for fifty years, he was denied the privilege of attending a Catholic Church.
He received an elemental education in the Parochial Schools of Charleston, and in youth served an apprenticeship in a Railroad Blacksmith shop owned and operated by Burns and Taylor, which made him self-sustaining quite early in life.
When the War of the Sixties broke out, he was too young to enlist, but fired by the spirit of patriotism, he could be held out of the service only the first two years of the struggle. In January of 1863, he enlisted with Company 27, Haygood's Brigade, of the South Carolina Infantry, and followed the fortunes of the Confederacy till he surrendered with General Johnson, at Wilmington, North Carolina, in April of 1865.
With his discharge in his pocket, and accompanied only by a negro boy, he trudged the rugged roads from Wilmington to Charleston, often hungry and foot-sore, to join with his surviving comrades, in building on smoking heaps of ashes, what was destined to be one of the greatest civilizations known to man.
Being young, ambitious, and possessed of wander lust, he was content in his hometown but a little less than two years. In 1867, he began to roam, and in two years he had traveled through practically every state of the Union East of the Mississippi River.
In the autumn of 1869, he met and married Miss Lucinda Algiers in Clarke County, Mississippi, and settled down to quiet farm life. The first two years of his married life, he farmed with his father-in-law, Mr. T.D. Algiers. He then purchased a farm of his own, ten miles east of Quitman, where he and his wife reared their family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, all of whom except the youngest, Mrs. J.C. Norris, survive him.
April 5, 1910 his wife died. The children having all married and gone away to build homes of their own, he was left alone, but he chose to remain on the old homestead which had become very dear to him, and to live alone the remainder of his days on earth. Having developed blood poison from a minor wound in one of his toes, he was carried to Rush's Infirmary in Meridian, July 1, 1926. There all that medical skill, and scientific nursing could do was done for him, but the fiat of relentless disease had gone forth, and science could but stand aside and look on with awe while the death angel reaped. At eleven o'clock Thursday night, July 29, 1926, he passed from earth to Heaven at the ripe age of eighty one years.
Thus closes the early career of one of the South's noblest sons, and in memory's urn he will be greatly treasured, for many were the beneficiaries of his beneficent and sacrificing spirit. While he labored hard, and economized to build a home, and make it comfortable for his family, he always found time to nurse the sick, comfort the sorrowing, and help those who were in trouble. Now he rests from his labors and his Christly life bespeaks his future abode, but to this is added the testimony of his own words. Before he died, he told his oldest son, Rev. T. J.O'Neil, that he was fully prepared to go and was anxious to go on and join his companion in Heaven. So the loved ones weep not as those who weep without hope, for they know where to find him.
Rev. T.J. O'Neil
Methodist minister in the Mississippi Conference

Family

Parents: Thomas and Mollie (Reid) O'Neill
In-laws: Thomas Dawson and Martha Ann (Barr) Algiers
Children:
1.) Mary Margaret "Mollie" (1870 [twin]-1931) m. John Wesley Hinson
2.) Martha Ann "Mattie" (1870 [twin] - 1959) m. Charles T. Fontaine
3.) Thomas Joseph (Rev.) (1872-1960) m. Rosa Anna Allen
4.) Charlotte Elizabeth "Betty" (1876 - 1957) m. Ira J. Riley
5.) William Dawson (1876-1930) m.
6.) James Frank (1878 - 1955) m.
7.) George Patrick (1880 - ?) m.
8.) Sarah Lougenia "Genie" (1882 - 1919) m. Carlos Norris
Note: Research cannot confirm James O'Neil's early life in Charleston, SC. Orphan records are found in 1860 for a "Mary Ann O'Neill", b. 1849 in NY, with a brother aged 15 years, working as a blacksmith's apprentice and living in a boardinghouse with railroad men. Their mother died when the girl was an infant and the father - an Irishman who worked for the Northeastern Railroad - brought the children to Charleston where he remarried and then disappeared. The step-mother turned the children out into the streets. The girl was "delivered out" of the orphanage in 1863 to Mr. and Mrs. Pierre V. Brandt of Charleston. She then disappears from record.
There is some evidence that James Joseph O'Neils father was a John F ONeil born in Ireland about 1813 [1] More research is needed.


Sources

  1. 1860 US Census, Charleston City, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
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Rejected matches › James McNeill (abt.1846-1868)

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