John O'Neal was believed to be the son of James & Mary Donohue O'Neal. He was born on March 4, 1840, in County Donegal, Ireland, probably near the town of Muff. James O'Neal had red hair and was an overseer. The family lived on land owned by an Englishman who took all the profits. John O'Neal attended an English school and for this reason had a good command of the English language. According to family legend, John O'Neal belonged to a gang as a child and was frequently beaten up because an opposing gang had a big bully. Family legend also has it that John O'Neal was a successful boxer. John O'Neal sailed for the United States at the age of 21. (?) The ship took five weeks to reach port. The ship landed at Philadelphia. Supposedly John was accompanied by three sisters, Bridget, Judith, and Hannah, who stayed in Philadelphia. One of the sisters who had red hair and brown eyes supposedly was last heard of in Indianapolis. John O'Neal left Philadelphia and worked his way across the mountains to the Midwest. He is thought to have fired a steamboat on the Ohio River and sailed to New Orleans. During a steamboat race, the Olympian, the boat he was firing, was losing steam, so he put hams in the fire and got steam. He also fired boats on the Mississippi River. John O'Neal had traveled around the country before the Civil War. He is supposed to have bought horses for the Union Army. At this time he was in the South and a man came to the place he was staying to draft him into the Confederate Army. He was about to have breakfast and said to the man, "Wait until I have finished breakfast." The man consented. When John O'Neal finished his breakfast, he hit the man over the head with a chair and escaped out the door. John O'Neal contracted yellow fever during an epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee, and nearly died. He related how corpses were stacked on horse-drawn wagons and taken to the cemeteries for burial at night. After the Civil War, John O'Neal arrived in Evansville where work was in progress on the Wabash-Erie Canal. He shoveled dirt on the canal. John saved his money until he had sufficient funds to become a "contract ditcher" on the Wabash and Erie Canal which was then being constructed through Gibson, Pike, and Daviess Counties. He got to Daviess County where he worked on the Ryan settlement. He also ditched and drained Sugerlands, north of Washington, close to the present county farm. John O'Neal met Anna Theresa Gallager in Washington, Indiana. Anna Gallager, daughter of Manus and Margaret Fanning (Farrell) Gallagher, was born at Corning, August 1, 1860. She attended the Grannon School eight years. She worked for Mr. Lesley in Washington for two or three years doing housework. She also cooked for hired hands at John Larkin's house in Loogootee. The house, which is the white two story at the south edge of Loogootee on Highway 550, still stands. She lived with the family and Anna and old Mrs. Larkin, John's mother, slept together. John Larkin was a wealthy man. He paid wages of 50 cents a day: when asked if he could afford to pay all the hired hands, he said he sold enough clover seed in one year to pay the hands. John O'Neal was working in Washington on the drag line. John Kellett told the story of someone who met John O'NEal on his way to court Anna Gallagher. When asked if he were O'Neal, the lawyer from Washington, he replied, "That is just the man I am." John O'Neal and Anna Gallagher were married in April of 1885. Reportedly, someone asked Anna why she wanted to marry that old man. There were 27 years difference in their ages. When first married, they lived east of St. Joseph Church, south and east of Branble in Brown Township, Martin County. (When Crane Naval Ammunition Depot was formed, Crane got the majority of Brown Township and Perry Township was enlarged with the remainder.) All the children except John were born there. John O'Neal had 160 acres and built the house and barn. In 1900, John O'Neal traded the property near St. Joseph Church, for the present family farm near Loogootee. Old man Johnson had owned the farm and divided it into two halves, leaving these to his two daughters, 1/2 to John Potter's wife and 1/2 to John Raney's wife. A Mr. Hughes bought the Potter half. John Raney lost his part in a poker game and sold the north half to old man Hughes for $1600. John O'Neal and Hughes made a trade. John O'NEal got the Loogootee property, 231 1/2 acres, and Hughes got the 160 acres near Bramble and $3,000. Tom O'Neal remembered the family walking and driving the cattle from Bramble to the new farm. The family of nine lived in a three room house. The original house stood on the sight of the present large, white barn. John O'Neal bought five acres where the present house stands from old man Sherman around 1905. These fives acres were out of lot # 8 of the original town of Mt. Pleasant. (All property west of the east fence line of the yard is out of lot #8. The only reminders of Mt. Pleasant today are the old cemetery, approximately 1/2 mile southwest of the farm and the old Routt house, which was a stagecoach stop.) The original house was moved to the present location in August, 1907, and four rooms were added. Jackmans helped build the additions. The lower barn was built in March, 1907 by Tom and Bill Fitzgibbons. In 1907 or 1908 John O'Neal bought the Williams' field for $300. There was a saw mill at the lower barn which was later moved into the bottom, north of the stumpy field. In September, 1909, timber was cut for the barn at the house. Water was obtained from the branch for the mill. The lumber was cut and stacked. At this time, the river rose and they got the saw mill moved, but all the lumber got wet. This caused the family to say about the barn, "The barn has been completely under water except for the roof." The barn raising was held Thanksgiving Day, 1910. The timbers were raised and a big dinner was prepared. John O'Neal died, August 8, 1909, and is buried at St. John's Cemetery, Loogootee, Indiana. After his death, Jim, Tom, and Anna Theresa operated the farm. Jim and Tom, then purchased 170 acres from the Pete Walker heirs. Jim sold his share to Tom and he was deeded half the home farm, the lower half. In 1932, John V. O'Neal bought 14 acres from his brother, Jim, which included the old barn lot, the barn, and property down to Cave Hollow (section 31). In 1947, Anna Theresa deeded her half of the farm to her son John. Anna Theresa O'Neal died, December 17, 1948, and is buried in St. John's Cemetery, Loogootee. John V. O'Neal then inherited the upper half of the farm plus the 14 acres in the Williams' field. In 1937, John V. O'Neal bought 52 acres in the bottom from the Larkin heirs: this joined the original farm. In 1948, John V. and Catherine O'Neal bought 234 acres from C. C. Van Hoy's wife, who was a Larkin. In 1951, John V. and Catherine O'Neal built a two story brick house over the basement and cellar of the old house. According to information from Anne O'Neal (daughter of James F. O'Neal) John O'Neal was born in Ireland on March 4, 1940 and died Aug. 8, 1909. Anna T. Gallagher is recorded as born April 21, 1884. They had 7 children. James F., Thomas B., Catherine (Burger), Mary J. (Mame Smith), Rose H. (Burke), Margaret who died at age 19, unmarried of pneumonia, and John V. O'Neal.