Francis O'Neil - Short Biography

Francis O'Neil, Ireland, Scotland, Wisconsin, Iowa

Francis O'Neil was born in 1812 in County Armagh in Ireland (now Northern Ireland). He is reported to be the son of James O'Neil (b.1785, d.1817) and Nancy (Agnes) Hughes (b.1787). James was born in County Antrim and is reported to have had a least two brothers, John and Barney. Not much else has been found about this or prior generations of the O'Neil family. When Francis was about five years old, his father died, and his mother took the children and moved to Scotland.

Francis is known to have had two siblings, a brother John, who reportedly married, had five children, and remained in Scotland; and a sister Hannah (b.1811, d.1903), who married John Devlin (b.1810, d. 1896) in 1835 in either Ireland or Scotland. John was noted to be a tailor. They came to America in 1847, and for a while, they lived in Columbia County, Wisconsin, near Francis. It has been reported that they moved to Milwaukee but the 1880 Census records show them in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where John is noted as operating a dry-goods store. In that Census, it shows that one of their children was born in New York and two in Wisconsin. Hannah and John had at least eight children and they are buried in Lawrence in a large family plot with a number of children and grandchildren.

In Scotland, Francis would grow up in Glasgow and as a young man, was noted to have worked for a while as a potter. At some point, he may have gone back to Ireland. In 1830, he married Rosa Hoy (b.1812, d.1854). After their marriage, they may have lived in both England and Scotland in the 1840's and some of their children were born in Scotland.

Francis O'Neil and Elizabeth Nevin

Francis is reported to have sailed to America in 1848 on the ship New Zealand, which departed from Ireland and arrived at the Port of New York in May. If this is the correct Francis, he is listed as a single passenger so it would seem that Rosa and children followed, perhaps about a year later. Francis would have arrived in south central Wisconsin in the same month as Wisconsin achieved statehood. Nearby, Fort Winnebago was still standing, though operations at the fort had ceased a few years earlier. Francis, Rosa and six children show up in the 1850 U.S. Census living in the Town of Springvale in Columbia County. Springvale is located just west of Portage, Wisconsin and Francis was farming. They would have two more children before Rosa died in 1854. After Rosa died, Francis would marry Elizabeth Nevin.

Elizabeth Nevin (b.1826, d.1905) was from Renfrewshire, Scotland. Her parents were William Nevin and Mary Raeside. William Nevin was a weaver by trade but the family was split up and there was little contact between father and daughter. She came to America with an aunt, Margaret Raeside and Margaret's husband, John Hamilton. They sailed on the ship Elijah Swift, arrived at the Port of New York in September 1849 and settled in Portage, Wisconsin. In 1850, she married Cooper Pixley (b.1814, d.1855) and they had three children. Cooper's family can be traced back to colonial Massachusetts and his grandfather, also named Cooper, was a Revolutionary War veteran and is buried at the Old Fort Winnebago cemetery. After Cooper died, Elizabeth would marry Francis O'Neil.

The children of Elizabeth Nevin and Cooper Pixley were: Elizabeth (b.1851, d.1943), Margaret (b.1853, d.1855) and James (b.1855, d.1856). Only Elizabeth would live to adulthood. She would go to Iowa with her mother and stepfather, Francis O'Neil. In 1870, she married Charles Pickney (b.1847, d.1932) in Iowa and they had a least one child. They were noted as living on 2nd Street in Mapleton and Charles was listed as a Teamster in the 1900 US Census. They lived out their lives in western Iowa and are buried at Heisler Cemetery in Mapleton. Their son, Francis, was noted to have served in the army in World War I.



West-central Wisconsin Territory in 1847. The county named Portage (center) would be
changed to Columbia and would be home to the O'Neil Family in the 1850s and 1860s.
When Francis arrived in 1848, most of the area north of the Wisconsin River had yet to
be divided into counties and surveyed townships and was still the domain of Indian Tribes.

The children of Francis and Rosa were: 

• James (b.1835, d.1903), was born in Scotland. He married Grace Smith (b.1837, d.1904), also from Scotland. James served as a Captain in Company H of the 11th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. After the war, the family lived in Columbia County, Wisconsin but later moved to Washington state, where they farmed and lived out their lives. James and Grace had a son and an adopted daughter and they are buried at Lyden Cemetery in Lyden, Washington. 

Francis O'Neil with his son James. 

• Catherine (b.1837, d.1910), was born in Scotland. In 1856, she married William Smith (b.18354, d.1899) in Wisconsin. He was born in England. They moved west and farmed in Danbury, Iowa, where William was also the Postmaster. Catherine and William reportedly had 14 children, some born in Wisconsin and some in Iowa. 

Catherine and her husband William Smith.

Kate Smith (b.1868, d.1958), the daughter of William and Catherine. In 1910 she
married Merton Patterson (b.1867, d.1922) and they farmed in Monona County.

• William (b.1841), was born in Scotland. Information on William is incomplete. He is said to have been with the 10th New York Cavalry in the Civil War. After the war, he was a chef in a prominent hotel in Chicago and later went to California. There are two Williams listed as children of Francis and Rose - it seems odd, and since not much is known about this William, his existence or relation to this family may be suspect.
• Frank (b.1843, d.1917), was born in Scotland. He served in the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. In 1869, he married Sarah Croft Stratton (b.1848), a widow with a daughter. They moved west to Woodbury County, Iowa and farmed. They moved to Lynden, Washington, sometime after 1883. Frank outlived Sarah and spent his last years in California; they had at least four children.
• Hannah (b.1845), was born in Scotland and died in infancy. 
• William (b.1848, d.1917), was born in Wisconsin. He served in the Civil War, where he enlisted at the very young age 13, served prominently and rose to be a Captain. He also raised a company for service in the Spanish-American War but their group never saw action. In 1880, he married Mary Judge (b.1848, d.1914) and they had no children. William lived in various parts of northern Wisconsin and was involved in the lumber industry. A prominent citizen, he was the mayor of Washburn and served in the state Legislature and state Senate.

William O'Neil

• Agnes (b.1851, d.1941), was born in Wisconsin and went west to Iowa with her father and stepmother in 1866. In 1869, she married James Donery (b.1832, d.1894), they had 10 children and farmed in Woodbury County. 
• Edward (b.1853, d.1941), was born in Wisconsin and went west to Iowa with his father and stepmother in 1866. In 1874, he headed further west to Washington Territory to homestead. There, in 1883, he married Mary Walker (b.1855, d. 1930). They had at least four children, farmed in Whatcom County and are buried at Lyndon Cemetery in Lyndon, Washington.

The children of Francis and Elizabeth were:

• Issac (b.1857), was born in Wisconsin and may have been the firstborn child of Francis and Elizabeth. He is listed on the 1870 US Census as 13 years old but no other information about him as been found.
• Hannah (b.1858, d.1935), was born in Wisconsin. She married Thomas Jefferson Hollister (b.1855, d.1924) in 1883. They had eight children and lived out their lives in western Iowa. You can read more about the TJ Hollister family farther below in this post and in Part 3 of the Hollister Family story, found here.

Hannah O'Neil.

• Grace (b.1857, d.1891), was born in Wisconsin. She married Peter Banta (b.1856, d. 1934) in 1883. They had six children but Grace died at the age of 32. After her death, Peter remarried and lived in the State of Washington. Grace is buried at Heisler Cemetery in Mapleton.
• Mary (b.1960, d.1881), was born in Wisconsin. She married Thomas Martin (b.1855). Records indicate that she was married in 1881 and died in that same year but information is incomplete.
• Margaret (b.1862, d.1939), was born in Wisconsin. She married James Hammond (b.1856, d.1930) in 1892. They farmed, lived out their lives in Monona County, and are buried at Heisler Cemetery in Mapleton. They had one son, James Jr., who served in World War II.

Margaret (Maggie) O'Neil

• Loren (b.1864, d.1936), was born in Wisconsin. He married Elizabeth Campbell (b.1873, d.1920). He is known to have farmed, operated the Arlington Hotel, and later owned a cigar and confectionery store. He and Elizabeth are buried at Heisler Cemetery in Mapleton.

Loren O'Neil.

• Sarah (b.1866, d. 1922), was born in Wisconsin. She married Albert Anthony (b.1861, d.1940) in 1886. The 1910 Census shows them living in Nebraska and Albert noted as a carpenter, but they were back in Iowa in the 1920 Census. They had six children and are buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Mapleton.

Sarah O'Neil

• Flora (b. 1868, d.1869), as born in Wisconsin and was noted to have died in infancy.

By the time of the 1860 census, the Francis O'Neil family had moved to the Town of Caledonia on the west bank of the Wisconsin River but still in Columbia County. The 1860 snapshot shows a family from three marriages; besides Francis and Elizabeth, there was: James, Frank, William, Agnes and Edward (from Francis and Rosa), Grace and Hannah (from Francis and Elizabeth) and Elizabeth Pixley.

Hotel Arlington, one of the hotels operated by the O'Neil family

In 1866, Francis and some of the O'Neil family packed up and headed west. They traveled via covered wagon and arrived on 'old' Mapleton in Monona County, Iowa on July 14th. Mapleton is located in far west-central Iowa, about 45 miles southeast of Sioux City. In the spring of 1867, they moved just west to Crawford County, where Francis set up a road house on the stage route between Denison and Sioux City. They returned to Monona County and farmed a homestead that was 1-1/2 miles north of the old town. When the town moved and was laid out, he ran the first hotel, called the 'Farmer's Home.' When the railroad was being constructed, Francis built a large frame building at Battle Creek for the purpose of feeding and housing the railroad workers. The building was moved to Mapleton as the railroad moved west. In 1877, Francis moved into Mapleton, where he built a small house with a loft above. He then hauled lumber in from Dunlap to build a larger house.  After the death of Francis in 1890, Elizabeth lived with her son Loren and his family. He was listed as "Hotel Keeper" in the 1900 census.

Francis O'Neil Land Acquisition

Francis and Elizabeth's daughter, Hannah, would marry Thomas Jefferson Hollister in 1883. The Hollister family had also come west from Wisconsin and settled in Monona County. Jeff (as he was called) was still single and in his 20s when he came to western Iowa. After their marriage, they would live next to or with the O'Neils on Main Street in Mapleton. Later, they would settle in nearby Ute, where Jeff worked as a blacksmith. Their daughter, Stella Hollister, would marry Reuben Holcomb and live out her life in Monroe, Wisconsin.

Hannah, Sara, Grace and Maggie O'Neil.

Extended Family - the O'Neil's

Additional Information:

Read about another Iowa-related family, the Hollisters here.
Read about Reuben Holcomb here.

Research Notes: Information for this report comes from a number of sources: Geneology papers from O'Neil relatives and provided to me my a cousin, United States Census, Iowa and Wisconsin State Census, public family trees found at AncestryDotCom and FamilySearch, historical publications (Monona County History, etc.), other vital records and other on-line sources.

This is one of a series of short biographies of individual ancestors. These are undertaken, from time to time, when enough information becomes available about an individual. Post was updated on 9/2021 and 4/2025.