Because no other papers
or documentation accompanied the O'Neill Bible down through the
years, we can only assume the early history of it's existence. The
title page of the O'Neill Bible is missing, but we know it was published
in 1868 by the Rosenthatl Publishing Co. of PA. This is noted in
miniscule text inside the bottom border of the lithograph marriage
certificate, bound in the center of the Bible. Family tradition
has it that William O'Neill, a gentleman farmer of the times, was
highly educated. It is his hand that penned the beautiful, scripted
entries in the Family Records pages of his Family Bible. In support
of this, we know that William was County Commissioner for Pike Co.
AL and local Justice of the Peace, as well as having invented an
received patents for some important pieces of farm equipment, known
today as the turn plow and sweep. After the Death entry of 1872,
the handwriting changes, which could mean that the Bible had been
passed on to one of the children or that William was no longer able
to make the entries due to health or injury. We believe that the
Death entry for W. M. O'Neill for October 2, 1896 is the death date
of William, himself. Of all of the male members of this immediate
family whose first name begins with W, no middle name is entered
that begins with an M. William's middle name is never stated, so
we assume, until otherwise proven, that this is his date of death,
entered by an unknown alternate hand. Since the Bible was not
published until 1868, it is safe to assume that when William O'Neill
first obtained the Bible, he made time to very carefully pen the
scripted dates that occurred, up until that time, including his
own marriage certificate. Judging from the very carefully formed
and ornately scrolled letters, William married Mary Mahala
Frizzell, daughter of Thomas and Temperance (Ellis) Frizzell, on
April 2, 1840. So says the date on the beautiful, lithograph Marriage
Certificate bound
in the center of the O'Neill Bible. This is an important entry for
two reasons; because it says the marriage took place at the home
of Thomas Frizzell, Mary's father, and extensive investigation has
revealed that this may be the only existing place that this marriage
date is recorded. All of the birth dates,
including those of William and Mary, are carefully noted, An analysis of the names
of the children could prove to give us some valuable clues for future
family research. The eldest children were often named, in those
days, in honor of their grandparents. This may prove to be true
in this case. We do not know William's father's name, but his first
son is named, John Robertson O'Neill, giving us a possible clue
that his father may have been a John. The middle name of Robertson
sounds more like a family name than a given name, so could be the
name of William's mother, who is yet to be found. The second son
was named in honor of Thomas Frizzell, with the name of Thomas Benjamin
O'Neill. The next two children were fraternal twins, a boy and a
girl. The twin boy was also the third son, and was named in honor
of his own father and given the name of, William. But he and his
twin sister, she being the first daughter, were both given names
in honor of their grandmother, Temperance (Ellis) Frizzell. Twin
William was given the middle name of Ellis, another confirmation
that Tempy's maiden name was Ellis, and the twin girl was named
Temperance Jane. The fifth child, and second daughter, was named
after her mother and given, Mary Elizabeth. It is not clear where
the source for the name of the sixth child and fourth son came from,
for he was named Robert Wilson. The next son and seventh child was
undoubtedly named for Mary Frizzell's brother, Jackson Frizzell,
and was named James Jackson O'Neill. The next son and eighth child
was named Edmund I. O'Neill, possibly after a family member on William's
side of the family, a theory which could also apply to the earlier
son named Robert Wilson. The last two children we given patriotic
names, a natural reflection of the times. We can only think of two
prominent person's from whom the name for Washington Lee might have
been derived; President George Washington and General Robert E.
Lee. Little Margaret Victory is last, but not least, and was undoubtedly
named for her aunt, Margaret, and in hopes for a "Victorious" ending
of the war. It's interesting to note that the only two children
that carry the same names of Mary Mahala's own siblings are Margaret
and James Jackson. Mary (Frizzell) O"Neill must have been especially
close to her sister, Margaret, and her brother, Jackson. In analyzing the death entries
in the Death
Records page,
it could be said that this family was spared the grief of losing
any infant or toddler children, or sons to the Civil War. Mary Elizabeth
was the first and youngest death to be recorded on April 3, 1861.
She was only 15 and never knew her baby sister, Margaret Victory.
It is interesting to note that when the handwriting changes after
the death entry of Olivia L. O'Neill on Nov. 22, 1872, there is
a 21 year gap until the next death entry, when Mary Mahala O'Neill,
herself, passes away on Feb. 4, 1893. Again, this could mean that
the Bible had passed to new hands, and possibly could have even
been forgotten for a time. It is also interesting to note that the
next death entry, is the only entry of a person who was not a direct
family member, but an "in-law". It is for Mrs. S. A. J. McMillin
on Aug. 14, 1894. Mrs. S. A. J. McMillin was the mother of Olivia
L. O'Neill, Thomas Benjamin's wife. We believe her first name was
Sarah and she was found in the 1860 Pike Co. Census in the household
of her husband, S. A. J. McMillin. The last entries in the
Bible have a reverent feel about them, only because they are death
entries noted, by themselves, on the Memorandum
Page rather than
the Death Records page. This is curious because the Death Records
page was not filled up and the entry of Mrs. S. A. J. McMillin proves
that the Death Records page was not reserved only for immediate
children or parents. It can only mean that these were very special
entries to William O'Neill, as it is written in his own elegant
hand. The death dates of Thomas and Temperance Frizzell are carefully
entered. These two dates may be the most important dates in the
entire Bible, as they are the only known recorded dates, to the
day, of the deaths of the patriarchs of this line. Because the Bible was written
in William's own hand, and he, above all, would have first hand
information on his own family, it stands to reason that every name
and date in this book are accurate, thus dispelling any previously
recorded misspellings and information in other documents and writings,
including the spelling of the Frizzell's family name, at the time,
ending in a "ell" rather than "le". The entry of Mrs. S. A.
J. McMillin may give us the direction of how the Bible was passed
down through the family. Her daughter, Olivia L. (McMillen) died
in 1872, just two years after the untimely death of her husband,
Thomas Benjamin O'Neill. This left their two young children, William
Thomas and Artimissie O'Neill, orphans. Little William Thomas and
Artimissie went to live with their grandparents, William and Mary
O'Neill, and are found listed in William's household in the 1860
census. Because, Mrs. S. A. J. McMillin's death is entered in the
Bible, and no other "in-law's" deaths are entered, it must be safe
to say that the Bible passed to the grandson and ward, William Thomas
O'Neill. Being the youngest male, William Thomas would have been
the last child or grandchild to leave the house of his grandparents,
his sister having married Will Smilie before then, and therefore
probably inherited the Bible. It may have been William Thomas that
made the remaining entries twenty years later, when he entered the
death date of his maternal grandmother. The Bible then was passed
down to William Thomas' eldest daughter, Lula Bell O'Neal Carr,
of Montgomery, AL. When "Aunt Bell" died in the early 1980's, she
was widowed at the time and her only son had long left the home
and was not to be found. The Bible was found in the attic of her
home. No one knew what to do with it and it seemed no one wanted
it, either. The reason, we were told, was that it was too big and
falling apart. Then, fortunately, someone in the family remembered
that "Ruth's" granddaughter in Texas, was interested in the family
history. So the Bible passed to her sister, Mamie Ruth (O'Neal)
Bradberry of Montgomery, to be given to her granddaughter, Cynthia
Anne (Sims), then living in Dallas. So a stroke of fortune preserved
this important ancient relic and placed it in the very hands that
would see that it was shared and cared for to last, perhaps, another
hundred and thirty years. The Bible is extremely fragile
and as the pages are turned, their edges flake away with dryness,
so the Bible is wrapped and boxed away to prevent much handling.
Great care has been taken to copy the Family Records pages to share
with others and it was recently unboxed for the photographs for
this web page. Cynthia now cherishes it and cares for it with much
love. It is now serving the purpose that William O'Neill intended
when he lovingly recorded his families important dates. It serves
to help us better understand their lives and reminds us how fragile
and fleeting time and history really is. When the Bible is opened
and looked upon, one cannot but feel some awe, that over one hundred
and thirty years ago, our own ancestors held and read from this
Bible and cherished it above all. .
this task was done with great reverence and love.
and starting with the eldest child, the children are numbered in
the margin from One to Eleven. Again, many of these birth dates
have not been found in any
public records, so this Bible may be the only place that they are
officially recorded.
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