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

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

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 County, ...

Background

O'Neil was born on a farm in the

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Utica on January 13, 1866. He was educated in the

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

of Mt. Sterling; then attended the state normal school at Oshkosh (now the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UWO) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to around 13,0 ...

), graduating from the course in

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

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 Weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspap ...

'' 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, losing to Republican 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 or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

on engrossed bills, and the joint committee on

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

. 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 civi ...

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 Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

. 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 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature