John Henry O'Neall (October 30, 1838 – July 15, 1907) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

from 1887 to 1891.

Biography

Born in

Newberry, South Carolina Newberry is a city in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States, in the Piedmont northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. The population was 10,277 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Newberry County; at one time it ...

, O'Neall was left an orphan at eight years of age and was raised by his grandfather, who lived in

Daviess County, Indiana Daviess County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 31,648. The county seat is Washington, Indiana, Washington. About 15% of the county's population is Amish ...

. He attended country schools and graduated from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

at Bloomington in 1862. He then graduated from the law department of the

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1864. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and practiced in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

and later in

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana. The population was 11,509 at the time of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

. He served in the State legislature in 1866. He was appointed prosecuting attorney for the eleventh judicial circuit in 1873. O'Neall was elected to the office in 1874, but resigned before his term was completed.

Congress

O'Neall was elected 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 ...

to the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890.

Later career and death

He resumed the practice of law in

. School trustee of Washington for fifteen years. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1896. City attorney of Washington 1899-1907. Organized the Federal Trust Co. in 1899 and was its president until 1902, when it was made a national bank. He died in

, July 15, 1907. He was interred in St. John's Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneall, John H. 1838 births 1907 deaths Indiana University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Daviess County, Indiana Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana People from Newberry, South Carolina 19th-century American politicians Indiana lawyers People from Washington, Indiana People from Terre Haute, Indiana