William Henry O’Neal

 

 

Born:          24 Dec 1846, Davie County, NC Married:   Amanda Stanbrough, July 30, 1871 Died:          December 6, 1915 in Cainsville, Missouri

William Henry O’Neal, the oldest son of William O’Neal and Lucretia Casey, was born on Christmas Eve, 1846 in (most likely) Davie County, NC.  Shortly after his birth, his family moved to the tiny community of Woodville, Indiana, in Henry County, very near the Hancock County line.    The family moved to the great open plains of Indiana from western North Carolina.   William Henry would live in Indiana until age 10.    In the mid-1850’s, with the opening of much of the land west of the Mississipi to settler’s through land grant programs, William Henry’s father, along with a number of other families, packed up a covered wagon and headed overland for an opportunity for a larger farm and a fresh start in the new state of Missouri.    Traveling with William Henry and his parents were his older sister, Mary Ann, age 12 and his younger brother John, age 6.   Settling along the banks of the Grand River in Harrison County, Missouri, it is not known whether William Henry attended school in Missouri after his arrival or not.    More than likely he was busy from his arrival at age 11 in Missouri, helping his father establish a homestead by tending to crops, livestock, the garden and other chores and may have never had an opportunity for any formal school.

In 1871,  at age 25, William Henry married Amanda Stanbrough, daughter of the Quaker family of James and Louisa Stanbrough.    The Stanbrough’s had also settled in Harrison County, coming from the same section of Indiana as William Henry’s family.   It is even possible that William Henry knew “Mandy” Stanbrough as a small boy in Indiana and traveled together with her and her family in the wagon train that brought many families to the far northwest corner of Missouri in 1856. 

 

Raising a Family

By the mid-1870’s, William Henry (William Henry may have went by the nickname “Joe” during his adult life) owned 40 acres of land on a creek branch off of the Grand River in Harrison County, Missouri.   The map below shows some of his neighbors on nearby farms in 1876. 

 

·         S. N. Glaze, who owned all the property to the north of William Henry.

·         To the south and east, L Shaw.

·         Directly to the west can be seen the M&E Methodist church. 

·         Just to the northeast is Howard Hampton George, William Henry’s brother-in-law.

	Image of William Henry O’Neal’s property from  an 1876 Plat Book of Harrison County, Missouri.
Click Image for Larger View

 

William Henry’s Family

William and Mandy raised a large family on their farm, having ten children between 1873 and 1893.   William Henry and Amanda’s first 3 children were daughters:

 

·         “Bell” O’Neal, who later married George Lundy, the wedding being held at her grandfather Stanbrough’s home near Cainsville.

·         Minnie O’Neal, born in 1874.

·         Anna T. O’Neal, born in 1875.   ( I have as of yet determined what happened to Minnie or Anna )

·         In 1880, William Henry’s first son was born, Ira O’Neal.  

·         In 1881, Rosa “Rosie” O’Neal was born.   In 1902, Rosie married Leonard Lundy, the brother of Bell’s husband. 

·         “Coy” O’Neal was born in 1884.  He later married Bertha Darrow and had 3 children.   ( Glaze Cemetary – Coy O’Neal )

·         In 1887, Lovie O’Neal was born.

·         William or “Billy Junior” was born in 1889.  Billy went on to marry Mabel Jeffries in 1919.

·         Samuel or “Earl” O’Neal was the last child, born Jun 11^th, 1893.  Earl married Rosa Burke between 1917 and 1919.

·         A 10^th child was born sometime before 1900, but did not survive. 

 

 

1910

.pdf file 1910 Harrison County, MO Census (T624 roll 778  page 215)

The census document to the left shows William Henry at age 63 still actively farming on his homestead in Harrison County.     Only his two youngest sons, William, Jr and Earl are still living at home at this time.    Amanda’s father, James, at age 88, is living only two houses away, as shown on this census document.

 

 

William Henry did not live to see his son Earl’s wedding mentioned above, dying on December 6, 1915.    William Henry is buried in the Glaze Cemetary in Harrison County, Missouri.   (cemetery listing).   After his death,  William Henry’s wife, Mandy moved in with her son Earl.   In the 1920 census, Mandy can be found in Earl’s household, with her son Coy and his wife living just next door.  

 

 

Note

I do not have a photograph of William Henry O’Neal or Mandy O’Neal.   If you know of one in existence or are a descendant of this couple who has a photograph, please email me.

 

Additional Info on History of Harrison County, MO

If you would like to read additional information about the history of Harrison County, Missouri, you can navigate to the History Section of the official Harrison County government web site. 

 

Family Tree for William Henry O’Neal

• William Henry’s family tree in the Family Tree section of Rootsweb
• William Henry’s family tree in the Family Tree section of Gencirlces

 

 

ß Return to my O’Neal Family Genealogy Homepage

 

 

Note:  A Huge thanks to Pat O’Neal and Urania O’Neal Turner for the photo of William Henry O’Neal.

 

 

 

© Copyright  2004-2008  by Steve O’Neal.  No portion of this website may be copied or reproduced without the author’s express permission.

 

Site Information
This Site was originally Created on:		Mar 2, 2005
This Page was originally Created:		Apr 1, 2005
This Page was last Updated:		Apr 22, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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