John O'Neill (October 18, 1829May 12, 1914) was a

Canadian American Canadian Americans () are American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian Americans hold both US and Canadian citizenship. Th ...

immigrant, miner, farmer, and Democratic politician. He served two terms in 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 ...

, representing western Lafayette County.

Biography

John O'Neill was born in

Douglastown Douglastown is a hamlet in Kinnettles in Angus, Scotland, three miles south-west of Forfar. It takes its name from the landowner who in about 1789 provided land for James Ivory & Co. (in which Mr Douglas was a partner) to build a flax mill to s ...

, in

Miramichi, New Brunswick Miramichi ( ) is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...

, in 1829. In 1845, he emigrated with his parents and siblings to Lafayette County, in the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

, where they all engaged in

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mining. In 1846, the family acquired a tract of land in the town of

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ...

from the federal land office. In 1852, he crossed the country with an ox team to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he remained for several years. Upon his return to Wisconsin in 1859, he engaged in farming and livestock raising. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected chairman of the Shullsburg town board in 1872 and 1873. In 1881, he was elected to the

for Lafayette County's 2nd (western) Assembly district. He was subsequently re-elected in 1882. He did not run for a third term in 1884.

Personal life

O'Neill never married and had no children. He retired from his farm in the 1890s and went to live in the care of his brother's family. His brother, Brien, preceded him in death, but his care continued under Brien's wife and children. For the last five years of his life he was completely blind. He suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

on the morning of Tuesday, May 12, 1914, and died that afternoon. His body was interred at Saint Matthews Catholic Cemetery in Shullsburg.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1881, 1882)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1881 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1882

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, John (Wisconsin politician) British emigrants to the United States People from Shullsburg, Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members 1829 births 1914 deaths Emigrants from pre-Confederation New Brunswick to the United States Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature