Thursday, September 11, 2025

Francis O'Neil and the O'Neil Family - Part 2

 The O'Neil Family, the Next Generations


Francis O'Neil and Elizabeth Nevin came to America from Scotland and Ireland in the 1840s, married, and raised a large family that included children from previous marriages. They started out in south-central Wisconsin and then embarked on a 400-mile journey to far western Iowa and lived out their lives on the prairie.

From the 1897 Sanborn Map, the Arlington Hotel is shown on Fourth Street.
The hotel was often the center of life for the extended O'Neil family. 

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

David Hollister & the Hollister Family (4)

 Part Four - T.J. Hollister and Family

If you missed Part 2 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .

Toward the end of his life, David Hollister would make one last journey, along with a number of the children, and would set down in Mapleton, Iowa. Here, they would settle in the surrounding area and raise their families on the prairie. David's fourth-born, Thomas Jefferson Hollister, was in his 20s when the family headed west. In Mapleton, he met another traveler from Wisconsin, Hannah O'Neil, and they married, raising seven children together. Some of those children would fan out across the United States as they reached adulthood, and one would make the ultimate sacrifice. The last part of this series is their story.

The children of Thomas Jefferson Hollister and Hannah O'Neal:
Stella, Grace, Rush, Mable, Loren, Nona, and Thomas.