Sarah Adeline (Seale) O'Neill (1845 - 1932)

Born 18 Oct 1845 in Mississippi

Ancestors

Wife of Neal M Smiley — married 26 Aug 1860 (to 8 May 1870) in Gonzales Co, TX

Wife of Henry B O'Neill — married 29 Nov 1873 in Gonzales County, TX

Descendants

Died 13 Sep 1932 at age 86 in Robstown, Nueces Co, TX

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kelly Gottsponer [send private message]

1850 Census - Neshoba, Mississippi - Eli Y Seale (25) b. AL; Mary (20) b. AL; Adeline (5) b. MS; Louisa (3) b. MS

1860 Census - Gonzales, Texas - Eli Seales (34) b. AL; Mary J Seales (31) b. AL; Sarah Seales (25) daughter b. MS; Louisa Seales (11) daughter b. MS; M E Seales (9) daughter b. MS; Wm J Seales (7) son b. MS ; Fanny Seales (4) daughter b. TX; Jno W Seales (2) son b. TX

Eleven months after the death of his wife, Amanda, Henry married a third time to Sarah “Addie” Adeline Seale on November 29, 1873, in Gonzales County, TX. This date is documented at the Gonzales County Courthouse Annex in Gonzales County, however, Addie’s application for a widow’s pension lists their marriage date as December 3, 1873. Their names on the marriage license are Henry O’Neill and Ada Smiley. Smiley is Addie’s previous marriage name to her first husband, Neal M. Smiley who had died May 8, 1870. Henry would have been 44, and Addie 28, when they married; a difference of almost 17 years. Addie was born on October 18, 1845, and it is assumed that she was born in Mississippi. When Henry and Addie married, she had 4 children from her previous marriage: Mary A. (1861), Eli (1865-1866), Mattie (1867), and Neal (abt. 1870); Henry had 5 children, so the household would now have 9 children in all, with the oldest being about 17, and the youngest less than 1 year old. To the union of Henry and Addie, 4 more children were born: Maude b. 1875, Frances “Fannie” b. 1881, Henry Brown b. 1883, and Eva Leah b. 1885, for a total of 12 documented children born to Henry.

The 1880 census of Gonzales Co., TX, lists Henry (53), with wife, Ada (30), and ten children: George N. O’Neill (25), James O’Neill (18), Eli Smiley (15), Lela O’Neill (12), Mattie Smiley (12), Neal Smiley (8), Emma O’Neill (7), Beasley O’Neill (6), Maude O’Neill (4), and Fannie O’Neill (3). The entire 1890 census was destroyed and therefore is not available. The 1900 census of Kerr County, Texas lists Henry O’neill with wife Addie and children: Fannie, Henry B., Eva, John B; step-son Eli J. Smiley; and step-granddaughter, Beulah Smiley. Henry and Addie’s daughter, Eva Leah is said to have been born in Kerrville, Kerr Co., TX, in 1885 so it is assumed that sometime between 1880 and 1885 the O’Neill family moved from Leesville, Gonzales Co., TX, to Kerrville, Kerr Co., TX, although no one knows why.

1900 Census - Kerr, Texas - O'Neill, Henry (71); Sarah A O'Neill - wife (54); Fannie C O'Neill - daughter (22); Hayden B O'Neill - son (16); Eva L O'Neill - daughter (15); Eli J Smiley - stepson (36); Beulah F Smiley step-granddaughter (8)

According to Addie’s application for a widow’s pension, Henry died on November 24, 1901, in Kerr County, TX,

Addie began filing her widow’s application for a pension in November of 1917 in Kenedy, Karnes Co., TX, at the age of 75. It was not completed and filed until 1923, nearly 6 years later. The delay in filing her application was explained in a document that stated she had to locate a Mr. Wade, who was one of the “old soldiers”. It was probably necessary to locate this individual because there was some confusion as to the company that Henry served in during the Civil War. According to Addie’s application, Henry joined the Confederate Army as a private in 1862 and served until the end of the war. He was not on the roll with his brothers, William, John, and Miles. Addie stated that he served in Company B Green’s Brigade. An affidavit filed in February 1918, by a former soldier who served in the same regiment as Henry, but not in the same company, stated that Henry was a member of Company D, 4th Texas Cavalry. Another affidavit filed in July of 1923 by a former soldier who also served in the same regiment, but not in the same company, stated that Henry was a member of Company D, 4th Texas Cavalry.

1910 Census - Kenedy, Karnes Co, TX - Addie ONeal (63) widowed b.MS (parents b. AL); Eli J Smiley (46) son widowed b. TX (father b. FL, mother b. MS); Hayden B ONeal (26) son married b. TX (father b. TN, mother b. MS); Kate ONeal (26) daughter in law b. TX

The following was received from the war office in August of 1923 in response to the adjutant general’s request for Henry’s military records: “The records of this office show a large number of men bearing the name Henry O’neill and variations of that surname as of various C.S.A. organs. none of whom can, from the data furnished, be identified as the man whose record is desired. One Henry O’Neal, pvt. Co. A, 4th Regt. Tex. Cav. C.S.A. is shown to have jointed that orgn. by transfer from Col. Smith’s Conscripts Dec. 8, 1862. and on muster roll May 30, 1862 to Jan. 31, 1863 (last on file) is shown, Absent on sick furlough. Regtl Return 1864. show him on detached service, horse detail. Regt. Ret. Mar. 1865 shows him detached with Lt. B.E. Frasier for special service, S.O. Brig. Hdqrs. Mar. 27, 1865. No later record found. The above organization is shown to have formed a part of the Brigade of Gen. Thos. Green in 1863.”

It is assumed that Company A, 4th Regiment Texas Cavalry was accepted as Henry’s service, since after the return of the document from the war department, Henry’s 3rd wife, Addie, was approved to receive a widow’s pension on August 24, 1923.

It is also assumed that Addie went to Kenedy, Karnes Co., TX, because her Seale family was living there at the time. Her application states that she had been living there for 15 years. Therefore, she would have moved there from Kerr Co., TX, around 1902, shortly after Henry’s death. Apparently by December 1925, Addie was living in Robstown, Nueces Co., TX, either with, or near, her daughter Fannie and Fannie’s husband, Ernest Rhodes. This is verified by a bond that was filed in December of 1925 that stated her widow’s pension being either lost, destroyed, or not received.

On September 29, 1932, a mortuary warrant was filed by Addie’s son-in-law, Ernest Rhodes in Nueces Co., TX. A mortuary warrant usually stated that the recipient of a pension had died and requested money for the necessities of a funeral. This document stated that Addie died on September 13, 1932 in Robstown, Nueces Co., TX, at Ernest’s home. Addie was buried in the Kenedy Cemeterey in Kenedy, Karnes Co., TX, along with her son, Neal Smiley.