Contributor::
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Scanned and corrected by John O'Neall on 12 March 2004 |
Sources: |
The History of Warren County Ohio Part V. Biographical Sketches Turtlecreek Township (Chicago, IL: W. H. Beers Co, 1882; reprint, Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1992) |
Surnames: |
Dilatush, Hampton, O'Neall, , Sa Lee, Smith, Van Horne |
Related Links: |
Page |
JOSEPH
W. O'NEALL, Probate Judge, Lebanon; was born in Wayne Township
Warren Co., Ohio, April 6, 1846; he is the son of James
Smith and Martha A. (Sa Lee) O'Neall, the
former a native of Warren County, and the latter of Woodford Co., Ky.;
his father is still living and is a brother of J.
Kelly O’Neall, under whose name a sketch of the ancestry
is given; his mother is a daughter of Joseph and Judith
(Hampton) Sa Lee, of Kentucky. Our subject received a very limited
education, and remained on the farm until 15 years of age; when he enlisted
in Company H, 54th O. V. I., at that time being barely able to read and
write. He took part in the battle of Shiloh, but was discharged after
the battle on account of his youth. On the 12th of August 1862, he re-enlisted
in Capt. Joseph L. Budd's company A, 35th
O. V. I., and joined his regiment at Decherd, Tenn. He was with the
regiment and participated in the skirmishes and battles at Shepherdsville,
Harrodsburg, Perryville, Hoover’s Gap, Tallahoma and Chickamauga,
in the latter of which he was three times wounded -- once in the hand,
once in the right shoulder and once in the head. He was left on the battle-field
unconscious, and captured by the rebels, who took him to Atlanta, Ga.,
and thence, via Augusta, Branch Hill, Columbia, Charlotte, Raleigh and
Petersburg, to Richmond, Va., where for forty-five days they confined
him in Castle Pemberton. He was one of four prisoners detected in digging
a tunnel from the prison, which resulted in the famous "Sugar raid,"
and for this was deprived of all rations for forty-eight hours and forced
to stand erect twenty-four hours. He was afterward removed to Danville,
Va., where he was confined six months. While here, a general escape, planned
by all the prisoners, was betrayed, and the leaders, expecting to be court
martialed and put to death, determined to make another and a more desperate
effort to escape. Accordingly, our subject and six others concealed themselves
in the vault and made their way down the drain as far as possible and
then tunneled out. In this, Mr.
O'Neall and two others succeeded, while the rest were recaptured.
After three days' wandering through the woods, he was recaptured, but,
escaping from the guards, had almost reached the Union lines, when he
was captured with blood hounds and taken back to Danville. To prevent
his further attempting to escape, he was deprived of all his clothes,
and for six months, remained in almost a nude condition, only having part
of the time an old shirt given him by a fellow-prisoner; he was then taken
to the jail at Greensboro, and from there to the State Penitentiary at
Raleigh, S. C., where, with twelve others, he was fastened to the “Bull-ring.”
He was afterward removed to the penitentiary at Columbia, thence to Macon,
Ga., and from there to Andersonville, where he was confined four months,
after which he was taken to Charleston, where he was for fourteen days
under fire of Union guns. From Charleston he was removed to Charlotte,
S. C., and, on the 15th of December, 1864, succeeded in again making his
escape, and, reaching the Union lines at Savannah, was sent on a Government
vessel to Annapolis, Md. Here he obtained a furlough and returned home,
much to the astonishment and joy of his people, who had long since supposed
him dead, and who could hardly recognize in the wasted and emaciated figure
before them the healthy farm boy who left them thirty months before. When
capt- |
Page 768 |
ured, he weighed 155 pounds; when he reached home, he weighed 84. While in Andersonville Prison, he had the varioloid and scurvy. He was engaged in digging eight tunnels, and, at one time went nine days without rations. On the 19th of May, 1865, he received a Lieutenants commission, but was mustered out of the service before being assigned for duty. After the war, he taught school five years, and, after engaging in business in the West three years, he returned to Ohio and taught one year more. He studied law with John E. Smith, and was admitted to the bar April 13, 1877. On the 9th of February, 1879, he became Probate Judge of the county, in which position he is still retained, having been nominated for a second term by an overwhelming majority. He was married, Nov. 25, 1869, to Miss Laura A. Van Horne, daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Dilatush) Van Horne, and by this union has had five children, viz., M. Stella, J. A. Willie (deceased), George A., Eva Belle (deceased) and Joseph Walter. Mr. O'Neall is a Republican in politics, and socially and morally a gentleman. He has served in his present capacity to the entire satisfaction of the people and with honor to himself and credit to his constituents. |
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This page created 12 March 2004 and last updated
23 June, 2009
© 2004 Arne H Trelvik
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