Who are the parents of Betsey O'Neal?

Will abstracts of Culpeper, VA, v.3, (1803-1809)
Culpeper Will Book E 20 June 1803-16 October 1809. p. 68
Edited & Published by Ruth and Sam Sparacio
1320 Mayflower drive, McLean, VA 22101
Copyright 1988

P214 Pursuant to an Order of the Court of Culpeper, we have first been 
sworn, have proceeded to appraise the Estate of JOHN ONEALE, decd, as 
followeth...(which inventory includes...Negro sarah aged about 50 
years, $100; Negro Solomon, aged 7 years, $133; one horse, two beds, a 
saddle, a woman's saddle. seven chairs, kitchen furniture, forty logs 
in the Town of Washington, five stacks of wheat. JUDY ONEALE 
Administration/
Gabriel Smither
James Garrott
Chas Harper

At a court held for Culpeper County the 16th of February 1807
This inventory of the estate of JOHN ONEALE decd was returned into 
court and ordered to be recorded.

Betsey was born 4 Oct 1808. John’s estate was being probated 16 Feb 1807. Therefore, he could not be Betsey’s father. Then who are the parents of Betsey O’Neal?

John O’Neale was married twice: Rachel Wood (16 Feb 1781) and Judith Suttle (04 Apr 1794).

List of the children of Joseph O’Neale and Rachel Wood:

Name

Date of Birth

Location of Birth

Jonathan O’Neal

28 Sep 1782

St. Mary’s County, MD

Bennett O’Neal

20 Feb 1784

St. Mary’s County, MD

Daniel O’Neal

06 Mar 1785

St. Mary’s County, MD

John O’Neal

06 Oct 1786

St. Mary’s County, MD

Susannah O’Neal

06 Jan 1788

St. Mary’s County, MD

Revised list of the children of Joseph O’Neale and Judith Suttle(Settle) born in Virginia and living in Ohio

Name

Date of Birth

Location of Birth

Living in Ohio

Margaret O’Neal

1795

Unknown

Unknown

Jane O’Neal

1796

Culpeper County, Virginia

Bourneville, Ross County

(Mary) Polley O’Neal

1798

Unknown

Belpre, Washington County

Joseph O’Neal

14 Sep 1800

Culpeper County, Virginia

Belpre, Washington County

Ezra O’Neal

6 Aug 1802

Culpeper County, Virginia

Newport, Washington County

Colbert O’Neal

15 Jan 1805

Culpeper County, Virginia

Belpre, Washington County

These notes were taken from the margins of the book The History of Belpre by C.E. Dickinson, owned by Kristin Bush.

PageTextNotationNotation by
Inside coverLucy Dana married a Browning. She was our mother’s Aunt Lucy.Eunice
Cover PageEunice Horton bought this book from Della Prince Pride on Friday June 28, 1929.Eunice
1Referring to Indian Mounds – The one which is most complete is situated on the ridge in the east part of Rockland on land now owned by Jessie Pride.This is the one of Grandpa Stone’s place.Eunice
113I believe the Center Belpre brick school house where our parents and uncles went to school was built in 1837.Eunice
151O’Neil, Ezra H., age 21, Volunteer, November 18, 1861, three years, 73rd regiment, Company F, private, attained rank of orderly sargeant, served two years and three months, honorably discharged Feb 1864. Severly wounded at Gettysburg.Our mother’s cousin.Eunice
1591861 – Names of Officers and Men of Captain Frank Loring’s Company. Mentioned are J.L. O’Neal, E.M. O’Neal, D.B. Horton, Milton Stone, E.R. O’Neal.D.B. Horton is our father.
Mary Ann Powell was Uncle Miton’s first wife. Flora Rarick was his second wife.
Eunice
184The following statements are taken from the a historical paper prepared by Mrs. C.L. McNeal and presented at the Semi Centennial Celebration in the village church. In 1822 a class of 21 members met in the school house on the farm of Joseph Newbury near the site of the present Rockland Church. with Joseph O’Neal leader.Our mother’s uncle. Grandma Stone’s brother.Eunice
195List of Women’s Reading Club Officers. Listed as auditor is Miss Josie O’Neil.Uncle Colbert, father of Russell. Russell was mother’s cousin. Josie is Russell’s daughter, Will was her brother.Eunice
IndexLists both Colbert and Joseph O’Neal.Mother’s uncles.Eunice

.

If you look at the last entry of the above notes, Colbert and Joseph O’Neal are said to be “Mother’s uncles”. Mother being Susan Ester Stone, the daughter of Betsey O’Neal. This lead Kristin Bush and myself to conclude that Betsey was the sister of Joseph and Colbert. However to be their sister she would have to be the child of John O’Neale, and I have already shown above that that can’t be the case.

In order to make the pieces of the puzzle fit, at least the pieces we have, then the thought occured to me maybe Betsey was the grand daughter of John O’Neale, and not his daughter. People don’t always distinguish between uncles and grand uncles.

If you look at the tables of children above, Betsey could be the daughter of Johnathan, Bennett, Daniel, or John. Ezra was too young.

The children of Daniel, Bennet, and John are listed below:

Children of Daniel O’Neale and Sarah Ellen Jennings

Name

Date of Birth

Location of Birth

John Ralls O’Neale

4 Jan 1808

Unknown

Mary Ann O’Neale

3 Feb 1810

Culpeper County, VA

John Ralls O’Neale II

10 Mar 1812

Washington, Culpeper County, VA

Jame Jackson O’Neale

1813

Rappahannock County, VA

Wiiliam Edward O’Neale

29 Aug 1815

Washington, Rappahannock, VA

Mildred Elizabeth O’Neale

31 May 1820

Culpeper County, VA

Charles Henry O’Neale

7 Aug 1824

Washington, Rappahannock, VA

James Richard O’Neale

13 Apr 1827

Culpeper County, VA

Sarah Jane O’Neale

7 Dec 1829

Culpeper County, VA

Eliza Catherine O’Neale

21 Jun 1832

Culpeper County, VA

Susan Ellen O’Neale

22 Feb 1835

Culpeper County, VA

Children of Bennet O’Neale and Ann Sally Embrey

Name

Date of Birth

Location of Birth

Rachel O’Neal

28 May 1808

Culpeper County, VA

Eliza O’Neal

23 Sep 1809

Culpeper County, VA

Ann O’Neal

31 Mar 1811

Culpeper County, VA

Polly O’Neal

19 Nov 1812

Barren County, KY

Carroll O’Neal

24 Mar 1815

Barren County, KY

Lucyndia O’Neal

1 Dec 1816

Barren County, KY

Harvey O’Neal

19 May 1818

Barren County, KY

Sarah O’Neal

6 Jan 1828

Barren County, KY

Children of John O’Neale and Elizabeth Embrey

Name

Date of Birth

Location of Birth

Sarah O’Neal

1811

Kentucky

William O’Neal

Unknown

Unknown

Martha Ann O’Neal

Unknown

Unknown

John O’Neal

Unknown

Unknown

No children are listed anywhere for Jonathan. I’ve always assumed he died at a fairly young age, but that may not be the case.

Daniel and Bennet have children that have birth dates close to Betsey’s, so they are probably not her father. John was married 18 Sep 1808, just a few weeks before the 4 Oct 1808 birth of Betsey. John is probably not the father, but he can’t be ruled out entirely. Jonathan is the real unknown quantity. The bottom line, the search goes on.

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