Edward O'Neill (March 14, 1820 – March 28, 1890) was an

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and politician, who served in the

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and the State Assembly; and four one-year terms as

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

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, as well as nine years on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, four of them as its president. He was a

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Background

O'Neill was born March 14, 1820, in

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

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, and was educated in the

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. He came to the United States at the age of 17 and settled in

Manchester, Vermont Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns (county seats) of, Bennington County, Vermont. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 census. Manchester Village, an incorporated village, and Manchester Center are settlement centers within ...

, where he remained for some time. In 1847 he married Clarissa A. McLaughlin of

Arlington, Vermont Arlington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,457 at the 2020 census. History The town of Arlington was chartered July 28, 1761, by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, as part of the New Hampshire ...

. The O'Neills moved in October 1850 to Milwaukee. In 1852 O'Neill helped to organize the Milwaukee Union Guard, of which he was elected captain and remained in that office until elected lieutenant-colonel of the First Regiment of the Wisconsin State

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In the legislature

He served two one-year terms (1854-1855) in the Assembly and was elected to the State Senate's Sixth District in 1855 for the 1856-1857 sessions. He was particularly proud of his role in establishing the House of Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents (later renamed the State Reform School, then the Industrial School for Boys), a state

reform school A reform school was a penal institution, generally for teenagers mainly operating between 1830 and 1900. In the United Kingdom and its colonies reformatories commonly called reform schools were set up from 1854 onwards for youngsters who were ...

in Waukesha. He would serve as president of its board of managers for ten years, and was repeatedly reappointed by Republican governors on account of his interest in the school.

1860s and beyond

In 1860, he partnered with John Dahlman and Timothy Dore in opening a large

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business, which they continued for ten years. In 1863 he was elected mayor of Milwaukee. He was elected once more in 1867 and re-elected in 1868 and 1869. In his first and last races, he was unopposed. In 1870, he was one of the businessmen who organized the Bank of Commerce, of which he became president; when the Bank of Commerce and the German Exchange Bank merged to form the Merchants' Exchange Bank, he remained its president until his death in 1890. After the city appropriated a million dollars to build an extensive

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

, O'Neill was appointed president of the city's board of water commissioners until control of the works was transferred in 1875 to the control of the city engineer and board of public works.

Deaths

Clarissa O'Neill died January 23, 1890, and Edward followed her in death on March 28 of that year. They left a large sum to the St. Rose Catholic girl's

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

which O'Neill had helped found, and of which he had been a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

; and the remainder of their wealth to their daughter, Marie (O'Neill) Keefe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Edward 1820 births 1890 deaths Businesspeople from Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin Mayors of Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from County Kerry School board members in Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators American bankers 19th-century American politicians People from Manchester, Vermont 19th-century American businesspeople