Montgomery County TN Archives Biographies.....O'Neal, William A. 1854 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com October 30, 2005, 3:33 am

Author: Will T. Hale

   WILLIAM A. O'NEAL. A widely known and highly esteemed citizen of Palmyra,

William A. O'Neal is closely identified with the advancement of the agricultural

interests of Montgomery county, where he is a large landholder, and a successful

farmer and stock raiser. He was born, July 30, 1854, in Montgomery county,

Tennessee, which was likewise the birthplace of his father, the late John

O'Neal. His paternal grandfather, Hardy O'Neal, a native of North Carolina, was

a pioneer settler of Montgomery county, and for many years was a raftsman on the

Mississippi river.



   Born in 1825, John O'Neal, with the exception of the five or six years that

he was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Mississippi, spent his entire life in

Montgomery county. Turning his attention to agriculture when young, he met with

very satisfactory results in his undertakings, acquiring title to about one

thousand acres of land. In his political affiliations he was a trustworthy

Democrat, and fraternally he belonged to the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of

Masons. Religiously both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian

church. He married Elizabeth Britton, a daughter of William Britton, who was of

English ancestry, and as a young man settled, in Tennessee, where he carried on

a good business as a farmer and a tanner. Two children blessed their marriage,

as follows: William A., the special subject of this brief personal sketch, and

Helen, wife of J. A. Byrd. By his second marriage which was to Sallie Stewart,

of Mississippi, John O 'Neal had one son, John S., who resides in Cincinnati.



   Having laid a substantial foundation for his future education in the schools

of his native county, William A. O'Neal continued his studies in Kentucky,

attending first a school in Oak Grove, and later a college in Bellevue.

Returning home, he has since carried on general farming with ability and

unquestioned success, his well-kept and well-appointed estate of five hundred

and eighty-three acres being one of the most productive and attractive in the

vicinity. Mr. O'Neal raises large crops of corn, tobacco and wheat, and in

addition pays much attention to the raising of fine graded stock, including Red

Poll cattle and Shropshire sheep, and is an extensive dealer in high bred horses

and mules.



   Mr. O'Neal married November 4, 1875, Alice Ogburn, daughter of Edward Ogburn,

a pioneer settler of Montgomery county, and into their pleasant home four

children have been born, namely: William A., Jr., living on the home farm;

Mamie, wife of G. W. Densmore, of Montgomery county, Tennessee; Oliver J., a

dentist in Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Bessie, wife of Robert O'Neal, of

Clarksville. Politically Mr. O'Neal is a firm adherent of the Democratic party,

and fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Religiously

both Mr. and Mrs. O'Neal are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church.



Additional Comments:
From:



A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in

commerce, industry and modern activities

by Will T. Hale

Chicago:  Lewis Pub. Co.,  1913



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