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Hart-Riggs Cemetery ~ James Anderson O'Neil ~ part of the Polk County Pioneer Cemeteries of Oregon
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O'Neil, James Anderson
LAST NAME: O'Neil FIRST NAME: James MIDDLE NAME: Anderson NICKNAME: 
MAIDEN NAME:  AKA 1: O'Neal AKA 2: O'Neill AKA 3: 
GENDER: M TITLE: 
BORN: 1800 DIED: 31 Aug 1874 BURIED:  (Hart-Riggs Cemetery)
OCCUPATION:  Farmer
BIRTH PLACE:  Georgia
DEATH PLACE: Lewisville, Polk Co., Oregon
NOTES: 
MARRIAGE - James A. O'Neal md Tallitha Boman [Bowman] Feb. 1, 1855; Elijah Davidson, M.G. Witnesses: Jane Haley & Margaret Mason.
1860 OR CENSUS - J. A. O'Neal, age 57, occupation farmer, b. Georgia, is enumerated with T., age 21, b. Iowa, M. E., female, age 7, b. Oregon, N.E., female, age 4, b. Oregon, and Sarah, age 1, b. Oregon.
1870 OR CENSUS - James O'Neil, age 70, occupation farmer, b. Georgia, is enumerated with wife Talitha, age 35, b. Iowa, along with Emaline, age 16, b. Oregon, Nancy, age 14, b. Oregon, Sarah, age 12, b. Oregon, and Leticia, age 10, b. Oregon. Also enumerated with the family are David Allen, age 19, b Oregon, Hannah Allen, age 16, b. Oregon, James Morris, age 13, b. Oregon, and Mary Davis, age 13, b. Oregon.

BIOGRAPHICAL:
James A. O'Neal (also spelled O'Neil)
James A. O'Neil came out with [Nathaniel Jarvis] Wyeth in 1834 when the latter made his second futile attempt to establish salmon packing plants and a direct trade between Boston and the Columbia River. Wyeth did succeed in building several tradinig posts, but it was a costly adventure, as his records indicate: 'Our people are sick and dying off like rotten sheep. Our sick list has been usully one third of the whole number and the rest are frightened.' His memoir, printed by order of Congress attracted attention and stimulated immigration.
Lieutenant William Slacum in his report on the Oregon country to Congress stated: "Nothing was wanting to insure comfort, wealth, and every happiness to the people of this beautiful country, but the possession of neat cattle, all those in the country being owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, who refused to sell under any circimstances." Hence, he assisted in the forming of the Willamette Cattle Company in 1836, and O'Neil was one of eleven members of the company to accept passage on the Loriot (ship) as the guest of Lieutenant Slacom, bound for California. From January 17, 1837, when the company embarked, nine months were consumed in this attempt to bring in cattle. P. L. Edwards of the Mission, who was treasurer, kept a diary of the trip that is replete with descriptions of complications, hazards and agonies suffered. One passage reads: "Most of the party cursed the day on which they engaged, and would gladly exchange a draught of cool water for their share of the profits." But all survived the ordeal and brought in about 600 [head of] cattle which opened a new era in clonial prosperity.
The petition sent to Congress in 1837 for the establishment of a territorial government in Oregon, bore Mr. O'Neil's signature, with those of other settlers.
Mr. O'Neil must have been well established by 1839, as Sidney Smith notes in his diary that he worked for O'Neil for forty-eight days, and received in payment a cow and a calf.
Late in December of 1840 revival meetings were held at the Mission where under the earnest preaching of the Reverend David Leslie many converts were made. Among them is listed the name of James O'Neil.
Agitation was going on in regard to forming an independent government, although the American sympathizers were keeping the matter under cover lest antagonistic interests should thwart the movement, as had happened in the attempt after the death of Ewing Young. Thus a meeting of the settlers in the valley was called in March, 1843, for the avowed purpose of devising means of protection against predatory animals. This was known as the wolf meeting, and was followed by another on March 6. Although the real purpose of this second wolf meeting was kept secret, Mr. O'Neil was quietly notified of the ulterior purpose and elected chairman. He transacted the ostensible business with dispatch, making adequate provision for protection of the herds by arranging for bounties on wild animals.
Shortly after, in a speech by William Gray, was revealed the true purpose of the leaders, to protect the lives of settlers as well as of their cattle. A committee of 12 was appointed by O/Neil "to take into consideration the propriety of taking measures for the civil and military protection of this colony." It was this committee which called the general meeting of May 2, 1843, at Champoeg, now famous as the birthplace of the Provisional government.
Here Mr. O'Neil was put on the legislative committee of nine and became an important factor in forming the plan of government. When the committee met, O'Neil was placed on a sub-committee on Ways and Means and also on the Judiciary committee. Differences of opinion exist as to what assistance they had in framing the laws drawn up at this time. J. Quinn Thornton states: "They were without any books (excepting one copy of the Iowa Statutes) to which to refer for assistance in framing their laws." George Himes quotes Medorum Crawford as saying: "O'Neil had studied law to some extent in his native state, and had a copy of the New York Statutes." However, when the committee presented its report on July 5, 1843, the minutes state it was moved and carried to adopt the remainder of the judicial report, viz., to adopt the laws of Iowa as recorded. Judge Gary says "It was also voted to purchase the several law books of James O'Neil, these to be the property of the community." From all this it seems evident that Mr. O'Neil supplied the foundation for the local government. At the mass meeting of July 5, 1843, where all the new code of laws were formally adopted and the new government got under way, Mr. O'Neil was elected justice of the peace for Yamhill Dist. Two years later he was elected one of three judges for the same district.
He built the first grist mill in Polk county in 1845. This mill he sold, and later built and conducted a store in Tampico. O'Neil was married to Miss Tabitha [Talitha] C. Bowman, February 1, 1855.
By the legislature of 1853-54 Mr. O'Neil was appointed as one of the commissioners to build the Oregon-California railroad, although the undertaking was never fulfilled.
Mr. O'Neil was born in Georgia in 1800, and died in Polk county near Lewisville in September of 1874. He was buried there on his own farm, and later on when the farm fell into other hands, his body was removed to the private cemetery known as the Hart cemetery near Lewisville, southwest of Dallas, Oregon.
NOTE: James A. O'Neal was a part of the party that took ship with William A. Slacum to San Francisco, California to buy cattle and shepherd the animals back to Oregon Territory. Hudson Bay Company had full control of all the cattle and only leased their cattle to the settlers. By going to California and purchasing cattle and bringing cattle back to sell to investors, would the Iron Hand of McLoughlin could be broken, allowing settlers to own their own source of the cattle production ,business. The endeavor was successfully completed, but not without loss and a hard and difficult return trip to the Willamette Valley overland.
United States of America [US] Serial Set, Vol. No. 314: Senate Document No. 24 (Oregon State Library holdings) Memorial of William A. Slacum, praying for his services in obtaining information in relation to the settlements on the Oregon Territory ... and ordered to be printed. Monday, Dec. 18, 1837:
Exhibit B:
Names of settlers ... including 13 Canadian Frenchmen ...
Ewing Young ... and
James A. O'Neil and Thomas J. Hubbard; 1836; acres enclosed: 200; acres cultivated: 15; crop of wheat 70 bushels; 9 horses; 13 hogs; 1 house & blacksmith's shop
+ others listed ... and comments not shown here ...
(Source: MEN of CHAMPOEG: A Record of the Lives of the Pioneers Who Founded the Oregon Government by Caroline Dodds. Portland, Or: Metropolitan Press, 1932)

BIOGRAPHICAL:
When the first missionaries came to Oregon, there was with them a man from New York, named James O'Neil. In 1845, a short distance from the present Ellendale county road bridge, he built a small sawmill. The next year, seeing an opportunity of securing greater returns from a flour mill, he built one, which at that time and for some years later was the only flour mill between Oregon City and Yreka, California. The little sawmill supplied the lumber for the new building, while the timbers used in its construction were hewn. The mill stones were of a granite rock found a few miles north of where Dallas now stands. They were cut out by an old man called 'Crazy' Williams, who profoundly asserted they had been 'thrown from the moon.'"
While O'Neil was operating his mill, his future father-in-law, Mr. [William] Bowman, built near the mill the first whisky distillery ever erected in Oregon. He has journeyed across the plains in 1844, and owing to his constant use of the term as a by-work, was known to everyone as "Jularker" Bowman. In making his liquor, he used wheat. This established another small marker for the farmer; gave additional distinction to the place, and filled the purse of "Jularker" Bowman. To accomodate the patrons of the mill and distillery, he also conducted a private hotel".
Historically Speaking, Vol. X (Aug 1992), pg. 6
[Excepted from an article entitled The Story of Ellendale, by Claud Shaw, 1911]

BIOGRAPHICAL:
James A. O'Neal came to Polk county before 1842 and built the first grist mill a few miles west of Dallas at a place now known as Ellendale. The names of James A. O'Neal and George K. Gay are engraved on a monument at Champoeg as the only two representatives from Polk county."
Historically Speaking, Vol. III (Aug 1974), pg 58 (PCHS)

OREGON STATE CENSUSES and TAX LISTS in the State Archives:
1845 - Census of Yamhill County, Oregon Territory #12193
1849 - Census of Champoeg County, Oregon Territory #1078
1854, March 13 - Intention of Naturlisation, Washington Co. Oregon
1854 - Tax Roll of Douglas Co., Oregon #14062
1855 - Tax Roll of Polk Co., Oregon #14179

NOTE: James was first buried on his farm - then later (?) moved to the Hart Cemetery.  It is interesting to note that Polk County
has several lost or abandoned cemeteries ... one of which is a tradition of the Bowman Farm Burying Ground on the DLC of William and Sarah Bowman had the graves of William (b. 1797-d. 1851) and Sarah Bowman (b. -d. 1861).  William and Sarah were the parents of James A. O'Neil's wife, Talitha Caroline Boman/Bowman.  The June 15, 1900 copy of the Dallas Observer places Talitha's parents as being buried on their DLC and the farm is near the now-defunct town of Lewisville.  An 1882 Map of Polk County shows the location of P. H. Bowman and Sarah A. Bowman's property.  

FIRST OREGON CENSUS COPIES WILL BE MADE by Freda Goodrich Mowrey, Club Editor, The Oregonian.  -- As one of the interesting accomplishments of the year the Oregon society of the Daughters of the American Revolution [DAR] is completing arrangements to have four photostat copies of the first Oregon census which was taken in 1850.  This census,  of which only one copy exists in the Bureau of the Census at Washington, D. C., contains 12,000 names on 322 pages and is in the handwriting of Joseph Meek and James O'Neil, Champoeg voters who made it.  It is the oldest American census on the Pacific  coast and is so frail that it could not be copied by hand.  One copy will be presented to the state library at Salem, one to the national library of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Washington, D. C., and one to the society's state library in Portland.  Mrs. John Y. Richardson, the Oregon State regent will have the fourth copy.
Oregonian, J30 Jan 1934, pg 8.

BIOGRAPHICAL:
Mill was county’s first community
Site, now known as Ellendale, was hub of travel, business
By: Lynn Mack
Nestled about 2.5 miles west of Dallas, along the La Creole Creek (or Rickreall as it is now called) lies an all-but-forgotten site of early Polk County history.
This area, known today as Ellendale, shows little evidence that at one time it was a major hub of activity in Polk County and the surrounding territory. The importance of the community however, began well before it was known as “Ellendale.”
During the winter of 1844-45, James A. O’Neil built a grist mill at the confluence of the La Creole and a small stream eventually known as O’Neil’s Creek.
Because there were no other grist mills in Polk County, and only one other mill on the west side of the Willamette River, the mill was important to people living throughout the territory stretching from the northern end of Yamhill County to as far south into what are now Linn and Benton counties.
O’Neil also built living quarters and a small store to accommodate his often travel-weary customers with meals and overnight lodgings. The community became known as “O’Neil’s Mill” and is considered Polk County’s first community. It also became the site of Polk County’s first post office in 1850.
One may wonder why O’Neil chose this site for his mill, as it seems like an obscure, out-of-the-way area today. Undoubtedly, the location was chosen for its proximity to water power and plentiful timber. It was also located near a rock quarry, which was convenient and necessary for supply the mill stones needed to grind the wheat.
Possibly the most important reason the mill was located at the site was that it was near the California Trail, which was a main north-south route through Oregon at that time. The trail had been used by trappers and Indians to travel the territory between Fort Vancouver and California for many years. It was also used by immigrants who came to Oregon using the “Southern Route,” beginning in 1846.
There was an ever-growing flow of travelers using the trail, including those seeking a fortune in the gold mines of California. Many prospective miners would purchase flour and other supplies at O’Neil’s Mill on their way south to California.
The mill also was patronized by Mexicans who traveled up from the mines, with droves of pack mules, to purchase wheat and have it ground into flour. Their large bands of mules would graze and eat in the areas surrounding the mill, awaiting the time when they would make the arduous return trip, fully packed with flour, back to the California mines.
In December of 1849, a flood destroyed the mill. O’Neil sold his rights to James W. Nesmith and Henry Owen, who rebuilt the mill and changed its name to Nesmith’s Mills. They operated the mill until 1856 when it was sold yet again. Operation of the mill ceased in November 1857 because grist mills had been built throughout the Willamette Valley and this mill was no longer needed.
In 1863, the mill site, waterpower and land were sold to Judge Reuben P. Boise, whose donation land claim adjoined the property. Judge Boise’s wife was named Ellen, and in time, the creek formerly known as O’Neil’s Creek, became known as Ellen’s Dale, in her honor.
Soon the creek and the community were officially renamed, “Ellendale.”
Ellendale went on to have its own history but only “O’Neil’s Mill” owns the special title of Polk County’s first community.
Statesman Journal 15 Oct 2006
DEATH CERTIFICATE: 
N/A
OBITUARY: 
INSCRIPTION: 
James A. O'Neil
1800 - 1876

NOTE: The Multnomah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) placed a bronze plaque on the tombstone of James A. O'Neil in May of 1931 with the following tribute: "To honor one of those Patriots who on May 2, 1843 founded the Provisional Government at Champoeg, Oregon."

For marker photographs and pictures showcasing the restoration work at Hart-Riggs Cemetery, please see: http://polkcemeterysavers.org/Home_Page.php
SOURCES: 
Branigar Survey
Saucy Survey & Photographs
Sibley (DAR) 1931
Polk County Oregon Marriage Records 1849-1879, Bk A, pg 8
1860 OR CENSUS (Polk Co., Bridgeport, FA #507)
1870 OR CENSUS (Polk Co., Monmouth, FA #789)
Historically Speaking, Vol. X, pg. 6
MEN of CHAMPOEG, pg. 8
SJ 15 Oct 2006
CONTACTS: 
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