Parents – My O'Neal Family

Who are the parents of Joseph, Colbert, and Betsey O'Neal?

The relationship between Joseph, Colbert, and Betsey has been established through margin notes in a book entitled The History of Belpre by C.E. Dickinson, owned by Kristin Bush, a descendant of Betsey O’Neal. The margin notations were made by Eunice Horton, the granddaughter of Betsey O’Neal. I’m limiting my questsion to these three, because the relationship of Ezra and Mary O’Neal to Joseph, Colbert, and Betsey, or to each other for that matter, has not yet been determined.

Below are several excerpts from a letter written by Bennet O’Neale, postmarked 09 May 1859. Bennet was writing to his nephew about family matters.

My father’s name was John. He was born in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, the 9th day of Oct 1749.

My father came from Maryland to Culpeper County Virginia where he lived and died.

My mother’s name was Rachil Wood … born in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, the 14 the day of February 1752 and married to my father 16th day of February 1781.

My mother died when I was a boy. My father died before I was grown. My father married a second time, had three sons & three daughters. They all moved to Ohio state. The last account I had from them, which is about 12 years past, three of them were dead.

O'Neal's living in Culpeper County, Virginia in 1790

O’Neal Census, Volume III, New York – Wyoming. Genealogical Data on the Surname O’Neal Abstracted from Published Indexes.
Year	County	Name
1790	Culpeper	Deariss¹ O’Neal
1790	Culpeper	John O’Neal
1790	Culpeper	Sarah O’Neal

Note: I believe his first name was spelled Darius.

Marriage records from Culpeper County, Virginia show John O’Neal and Judith Suttle getting married on 08 Apr 1794. Obviously, Rachel Wood had passed away by this time. Bennet was born in 1784, so he was still a boy. Some might argue that this was John’s son John, born in 1786 according to the Bennet letter, but he would have only been eight years old at the time.

Juda shows up on the 1810 census as head of household, meaning poor John had obviously gone to his just reward. She is living with six children, three boys and three girls.

Judah O’Neal – 1810, Culpeper County, Virginia

Roll M252_68 page 63

Age	Male	Female
Under 10	2¹	1³
10-16	1²	2⁴
16-26	0	0
26-45	0	0⁵
45 and over	0	0

Notes:

Possibly Ezra (b. 1802) and Colbert (b. 1805)
Possibly Joseph (b. abt. 1800)
Possibly Betsy (b. 1808)
Possibly Mary (b. abt. 1796) and an undetermined sister.
Judah was born abt. 1775 and would have been 35 in 1810, even though she was named as the head of household the enumerator didn’t make a mark for her.

Judah O’Neal does not show up on the 1820 census for Culpeper County, Virginia. One has to ask, “Did she die, remarry, or move?”
Let’s look now at the household of Colbert O’Neal in the 1850 census (page 548 & page 549) for Belpre, Washington County, Ohio

Colbert O’Neal – 1850, Belpre, Washington County, Ohio

Roll M432_738 page 548 & 549

SCHEDULE I. – Free inhabitants in District No.157 Belpre Township in the County of Washington State Ohio enumerated by me, on the 19th day of July 1850. Benj. F. Stone Asst. Marshall
Dwelling	Family	Name	Age	Sex	Color	Occuation	Value of Real Estate	Born
65	67	Colbert O’Neal	45	M	W	Farmer	1,500	Virginia
–	–	Sarah O’Neal	41	F	W	–	–	Ohio
–	–	Foster O’Neal	16	M	W	Farmer	–	Ohio
–	–	Amanda O’Neal	14	F	W	–	–	Ohio
–	–	Edwin R. O’Neal	10	M	W	–	–	Ohio
–	–	Juda Russel	74	F	W	–	–	Virginia

Notice Juda Russel living with Colbert O’Neal and his family. Her age is given as 74, which means she would have born abt. 1775.
Does this mean that after John died Juda may have gotten remarried?

James Russell – 1820, Belpre, Washington Co., Ohio

Roll M33_95 page 184A

Age	Male	Female
Under 10	0	0
10-16	1¹	1²
16-26	1³	0
26-45	0	0
45 and over	1⁴	1⁵

Notes:

Possibly Colbert (b. 1805)
Possibly Betsey (b. Abt. 1808)
Possibly Joseph (b. Abt. 1800)
James
Judah was born abt. 1775 and would have been 45 in 1820

If the children are who I propose they are, then it makes one wonder if Juda left some children in Virginia when she married and moved to Ohio. Then later on the other three moved to Ohio.

James Russell does not show up on the 1830 census for Belpre. Joseph O’Neal shows up for the first time, due to the fact he got married in 1828. He has a 50-60 year woman living with him. Judah was born in 1775, she would have fifty-five years old when the 1830 census was taken.

Joseph O’Neal – 1830, Belpre, Washington County, Ohio

Roll M19_141 page 307

Schedule of the whole number of persons within the division alloted to L.H. Gates by the Marshall of the District (or Territory) of Ohio, Belpre Township
Age	Male	Female
Under 5	1	0
5-10	0	0
10-15	0	2
15-20	0	1
20-30	1	1
30-40	1	0
40-50	0	0
50-60	0	1

Joseph O’Neal died in 1840 prior to the census. Colbert got married in 1832 and showed up for the first time on the 1840 census. He has a woman living with him 60-70 years of age. Judah would have been 65 in 1840.

Colbert O’Neal – 1840, Belpre, Washington County, Ohio

Roll M704_433 page 14

Schedule of the whole number of persons within the division alloted toA.G. Hollister Ohio, Washington County, Belpre Township
Age	Male	Female
Under 5	1	1
5-10	1	0
10-15	0	0
15-20	0	1
20-30	0	1
30-40	1	0
40-50	0	0
50-60	0	0
60-70	0	1

Edwin Russell O’Neal was born 4 Oct 1839 to Colbert and Seraph. Russell is an interesting choice for a middle name. A greatful Colbert naming his son after his deceased step dad? His biological father, John, had been dead 30+ years. James Russell may have been the only father he remembered.

Bennet mentions in his letter that three of the children born to his father John and John’s second wife were dead by 1847. If Mary O’Neale was indeed one of the children, she died sometime between 1819-1822. We know that Joseph died in 1840. Betsey, Colbert, and Ezra were still alive. So the yet unidentified girl who would round out the six children, must have passed away.

This might be a good time to introduce you to the following information. Here is an excerpt from a book entitled The Dana Family in America, page 320.

           STEPHEN 5 DANA (William,4 William,3 Benjamin,2 Richard 1), 
           born Worcester; baptized there, at First Church, Nov. 7, 
           1779; died June 6, 1834; married Apr. 14, 1807, BETSEY 
           MARIETTA FOSTER (sister of his brother William's wife), 
           born Providence, R. I., June 7, 1788, died Apr. 9, 1870, 
           daughter of Hon. Peregrine and Polly (Parkman) Foster. 
           He was a farmer and large landowner. Res. Belpr‚ and 
           Newport, Ohio. 

           Children, born in Newport: 

           i. SERAPH DWIGHT,6 b. July 29, 1808; d. Sept. 13, 1869; m. 
              Nov. 1, 1832, Colbert O'Neal of Belpr‚, b. Culpepper, Va., 
              Jan. 15, 1805, son of John and Judith (Suttle) O'Neal.

So let’s recap what we have:

Margin notes from a book saying Joseph, Colbert, and Betsey are siblings
The Bennet O’Neale letter saying his father moved to Culpeper County, Virginia, got married a second time, and fathered six children, three boys and three girls, that ended up moving to Ohio.
Census data showing John O’Neal living in Culpeper County, Virginia.
A marriage record from Culpeper County, Virginia, showing John O’Neal married Judith Suttle.
Census data showing a widowed Judah O’Neal living in Culpeper County, Virginia, with six children who’s ages match those of Joseph, Colbert, Ezra, Betsey, Mary, and an unknown girl of the right age.
An excerpt from a book claiming the parents of Colbert to be John O’Neal and Judah Suttle, and therefore, the parents of Joseph and Betsey.
A marriage record from Ross County, Ohio, showing Judith Suttle married James Russell.
Census data showing a Judah Russel living with Colbert and his family

So what do you think? Are John O’Neale and Judith Suttle the parents of Joseph, Colbert, and Betsey, and therefore, my great-great-great grandparents? To me the evidence seems to strongly point in that direction, but I still have some doubt. Why?

Mostly due the following excerpts from The History of Washington County, Ohio, 1788-1881, page 503:

“Joseph O’Neal, Sr., emigrated from old Virginia in 1812, and settled a short distance north of the present village of Belpre. He was born in 1770, and died in Belpre in 1807. His two sons Joseph and Colbert, continued to live on the home place. The latter, who is still living, was born in Virginia in 1805.

Then this on page 526, talking about cemeteries in Belpre, specifically the cemetery on the bluff at Cedarville.

“He who strolls among the graves and deciphers the moss-grown inscriptions, will find among the more prominent names and early dates the following, viz: Johnathan Stone, died in 1801; Peregrin Foster, in 1804; Noah Sparhawk, 1807; Johnathan Haskell, 1816; Captain William Dana, 1809, and his son Charles, 1817; Deacon Benjamin Miles, 1817; Major Robert Bradford, 1822; Benjamin F. Stone, 1824; Theodore Foster, 1825; Amos Stearns, 1813; William Browning, 1823; Reuben Robbins, 1821; Colonel Silas Bent; 1848; Daniel Loring, 1825; Doctor William Beebe, 1821; Benoni Lewis, 1821; Joseph O’Neal, 1810; Levi Benedict, 1824, and others.

Is this a typo? Was it intended to be Joseph O’Neal, 1840? Making him my great-great grandfather, or does it truly mean what it says, 1810, possibly making him my great-great-great grandfather?

So what does it all mean? It simply means there is more work to be done on this issue. I just can’t ignore the conflicting data.