An Irish immigrant lineage - Henry O'Neill (1753-1829) and Nancy Lee (1751-1831)
Henry O’Neill was born May 26, 1753, in Ulster, (Northern) Ireland. His wife Nancy Lee was born in 1751, also in Northern Ireland, probably Tyrone County. Henry’s father may have been Henry O’Neill, who was involved in the flax trade between Tyrone Co., Ireland and the Colonies, but that is uncertain. Nancy had a brother named James Lee who traveled between Ireland and the Colonies with flax. Further speculation on their families can be found in My Lineage from the Roots Up, vol. 1 (Aliconia Publishing, 2019).
Henry and Nancy were married before coming to the U.S., probably around 1775. They originally settled in Pennsylvania around 1791. In 1810, they became some of the first settlers of Starr township in Hocking Co., Ohio. Henry died February 6, 1829. Nancy (Lee) O’Neill died January 20, 1831, and was buried next to her husband in the O’Neill family cemetery in Hocking Co., which is now Starr Cemetery, Starr, Ohio.
Henry and Nancy had at least nine children:
1. James born in 1776 in Ireland. He married Ruth Donaldson.
2. Stiles born about 1780 in Ireland. He died between 1815 and 1828, presumably in Hocking Co., Ohio, as he was deceased by the time his father’s will was read and his shares of the inheritance passed to his heirs, though they were unnamed.
3. John born April 22, 1785, in Ireland. He married Abigail Chapman (1790-1860) April 19, 1810, in Portage Co., Ohio. He died July 31, 1860, and is buried in Homeland Cemetery, Rootstown, Ohio.
4. Charles born about 1790 in Ireland. He married Polly Donnolly (1794-1825) April 18, 1860, in Athens, Ohio. He died in 1846 and is buried in Starr Cemetery, Hocking Co., Ohio.
5. Thomas (Sr.) born June 10, 1792, in Pennsylvania. He married Nancy Ann Lee (1795-1878) May 4, 1818, in Hocking Co., Ohio. He died October 30, 1868, and is buried in Starr Cemetery, Hocking Co., Ohio.
6. Jane born about 1798. She married Nimrod Hathaway (1797-1868) February 15, 1821, in Hocking Co., Ohio. She died around 1827, prior to the reading of her father’s will.
7. Nancy born about 1799. She married Joseph Campbell (presumably 1792-1869) November 2, 1845, in Hocking Co., Ohio. She appears to have died September 12, 1847, if the burial plot for Nancy Campbell in Dalton Cemetery, Wayne Co., Ohio, is truly hers. It is assumed she married prior to Campbell, possibly with the surname Donnelly or Donley.
8. Margaret “Peggy” born presumably around 1795. She married Jesse Donley (d. 1843) August 1, 1823, in Hocking Co., Ohio. They settled Washington Twp. in Williams Co., Ohio. She likely died before him, and both are thought to have been buried on the banks of Lick Creek not far from what is now Ney, Defiance Co., Ohio.
9. Martha born October 8, 1800, in Portage Co., Ohio (though she claimed Pennsylvania on later censuses). It was stated in family anecdotes that she was the youngest child. She married George Washington Lee, Sr. (1798-1831) May 24, 1819, in Hocking Co., Ohio. She died August 13, 1866, and is buried in Starr Cemetery, Hocking Co., Ohio, as Martha Lee.
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