Jeremiah O'Neil (January 13, 1866 – November 19, 1947) was an American educator, newspaperman and judge from Wauzeka,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

who served one term as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

from

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford Count ...

Background

O'Neil was born on a farm in the

Town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Utica on January 13, 1866. He was educated in the public schools of Mt. Sterling; then attended the state

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

at Oshkosh (now the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UW Osh) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to nearly 14,000 students e ...

), graduating from the course in

elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or fir ...

in June 1893. He taught school and served as principal of the grade schools in Kewaskum from 1893 to 1896, then taught in Crawford County for five years. On January 1, 1899, he became editor and publisher of the

weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly n ...

'' The Kickapoo Chief'' in Wauzeka.

Public office

O'Neil served two terms as president of the village board of Wauzeka. He ran for the Crawford County seat in the Assembly in 1904 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, losing to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent James Dinsdale, with 1770 votes to Dinsdale's 1998. Dinsdale was not a candidate in 1906, and O'Neil was victorious in his second attempt, with 1567 votes to 1,325 for Republican A. M. Laird. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

engrossed bill In the United States Congress, an enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both houses of Congress in identical form. In the United States, enrolled bills are engrossed—prepared in a formally printed copy ...

s, and the joint committee on

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. He was defeated for reelection in 1908 by Republican George T. Atwood, who drew 1909 votes to 1706 for O'Neil and 73 for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

R. Dobson.Beck, J. D., ed. ''The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin'' Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printer, 1909; p. 1112
/ref> In 1913 he quit as publisher of the ''Chief'' when he was elected the

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

for Crawford County. He was re-elected every six years until his death on November 19, 1947 in a hospital in

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was est ...

. His wife had died the previous spring.

Personal life

He married Edna Charlotte Bellows; they had three children: John, Margaret, and William.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeil, Jeremiah 1866 births 1947 deaths Schoolteachers from Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Crawford County, Wisconsin 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century American newspaper editors Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin state court judges County officials in Wisconsin Editors of Wisconsin newspapers University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni People from Utica, Crawford County, Wisconsin