30. Beyond the Book: William of Lawrence County

     Since George W. O'Neill was a descendant of William O'Neill of Lawrence County, Ohio, and the original 1937 genealogy was primarily about William's family branch, I did not include much about that branch in my 2005 manuscript. If you do not have a copy of the 1937 original, here is a sketchy intro to those folks, summarized from G. W. [Incidentally, William was the older brother of Thomas in Post 29.]

William O’Neill (2012 Update)

            William, the first son of John and Anne Horton O'Neill, was born on Irish Ridge near Summerfield on November 13, 1825. Although he was fifteen years old before he attended any school, he later became a teacher at Calais in Noble County for one term.

             At the age of 25 he moved to Lawrence County, Ohio, and bought a farm that his father owned down there in Mason Township. On February 18, 1852, William married Rhuama Wymer, the daughter of John Wymer and Patience Fordice. John, a Virginia-born nearby farmer, was of German lineage; Patience, born in Quebec, Canada, was English.

            William spent a year in Nashville, Tennessee, in the 173rd Ohio Infantry during the Civil War, and fought in the Battle of Nashville, but spent most of his life on his farm in Lawrence County.

            William died on his farm on February 21, 1905, and Rhuama, who later lived with her son G. W., on April 2, 1919. Both are buried in the Locust Grove Cemetery of Lawrence County.

The Children of William O'Neill and Rhuama Wymer

1.         John Wymer, the first child, was born on December 5, 1852, in Lawrence County. He married Cordelia E. Hall and they had three sons, one who died in infancy, Oscar S., and Edgar C. John was a farmer all his life and died in February of 1929. Cordelia followed him on December 12, 1949, and both are buried in Locust Grove Cemetery.

2.         George W. was born in Mason Township on February 28, 1855, and became a long-term school teacher with over 30 years to his credit. George married Emma R. Miller of Millersport, Ohio, on October 4, 1877, and the couple had five children, Elbert E., Leslie L., Charles C., William, and Myrtle Enola, all born between 1878 and 1896.

            George W. died on November 1, 1842, in Marathon, Ohio, at the home of his daughter Myrtle. Emma died on October 6, 1946, also in Marathon, and both are buried at Locust Grove Cemetery in Lawrence County.

3.         Enola A. was born in the old log house in Mason Township on August 29, 1857. She married William Earles on December 3, 1879. The couple had no children, as Enola died on December 5, 1882, at the age of 25. She is buried at Locust Grove Cemetery.

4.         Elmer H. was born August 22, 1861, in Mason Township, but died on July 16, 1880, at 18 years old, due to some pulmonary problems.

5.         Nelson W., the fourth son, came along in the old log house on July 13, 1866. He developed a curvature of the spine, but was a good musician and made a living as a photographer. He died on May 23, 1889, caught in the grippe epidemic that year. He never married and is buried at Locust Grove with his family.

6.         Oliver U., youngest son of William and Rhuama, was born in Mason Township on March 1, 1870. He grew up and became a teacher for a short time, but decided to study medicine at Louisville, Kentucky, graduating in 1898. He practiced at Wilgus, Ohio, Russel, Kentucky, and Ironton, Ohio.

            He married Ida Ruth of Portsmouth, Ohio, on December 22, 1898, and they had three children, an infant that died young, Ruth, and Stanley Paul