Great Grandpa O'Neil's Other Family

John Edgar O'Neil

John Edgar O'Neil with 

daughter Margaret (my grandma)

 My Grandma Margaret Johnson was an amazing, determined, caring woman, but she took after her mother by holding grudges. Her father, John Edgar O'Neil, had been married twice before marrying her mom, Auretta Empey, who had been married previously as well. My Great-Grandma Auretta O'Neil had a son from her previous marriage, my Uncle Dale. She had been divorced when he was fairly young, and rather than raising him herself as a single mother, he went to live with his grandparents and uncles for a good portion of his growing up years. Still, my Grandma Margaret would see him throughout adulthood and considered him a brother.

Her father's previous family was a different story. He married Nina May Kinney in 1910 or 1911, and they had a daughter, Maxine J O'Neil. They soon divorced, and then he married Verla Vivian Day in 1915. According to the 1920 and 1930 censuses, John and Verla were married at least fifteen years, but I haven't found records of any children, or exactly what happened. It's said they divorced, and in 1937 he married my Great-Grandma Auretta Empey O'Neil, and had Grandma Margaret and Uncle Bob.

Bob, John E, Auretta, and Margaret O'Neil 

celebrating John's retirement

Growing up I'd sometimes hear Grandma refer to the "cold-blooded" relatives. I finally asked her a few years ago who that meant, finding out she was referring to her Dad's earlier marriages and families. I think she may have met a few of the family members once, and it wasn't a good experience. I don't know when this was, or what happened, but it led young Margaret to not think of them very well. I can see how from both sides divorces and "broken" families would lead to hurt feelings. I don't think I'd be very pleased if someone "stole" my dad, or if they thought I'd stolen their Dad. I even got nervous once when I had a dream that Grandma had a separate set of grandkids I didn't know. While there may have been some hurt feelings in the past, our family would like to learn more about John O'Neil's other descendants.

Auretta O'Neil had collected some of the names and dates of her husband's previous marriages for family records, as she was very good about working on family history.

The other day while thinking of my late Grandma, I decided to research those other families, thinking she might have a half-sibling still living. Using familysearch.org and ancestry.com, I found John Edgar and his wives, and his other daughter.

Excluding Auretta's previous marriage, this is the visual I created in order to understand the chain of divorces and lasting marriages starting with the O'Neils and Kinneys. [Alberta and John O'Neil were siblings, who married siblings Nina May and Victor George Kinney- both couples divorced]

Marriage record for John E O'Neil and Nina May Kinney

Maxine's death record

In 1910, his father, John S. O'Neil worked as a Superintendent for an irrigation company in Mesa County, Colorado. It's no surprise that his son John Edgar worked at the age of 19 as a laborer for the "Ditch Rider" industry. His sister, Alberta M. (17) is listed as single, but John S.'s son-in-law, Victor Kinney is a newlywed living with the family. According to the records, John E married Victor's sister, Nina May Kinney around Valentine's Day 1910 or 1911 (a significant difference, because...) a little girl, Maxine Jacqueline O'Neil, was born to them on May 11, 1911. I can't find records for Maxine or Nina in 1920, so I'm not sure if Maxine stayed with her mom or other relatives throughout her childhood.

At the age of 18 [1929], Maxine married 26-year-old Charles Rash, and they had five children (as of the 1940 census). She and Charles moved from Colorado to Oregon, then to Idaho, and lastly to Arizona. She died at the age of 33 from Tuberculosis in 1944 (when my Grandma was 6-years-old). Maxine's youngest were only 4-years-old when their mother passed away. One of whom is Zelma Rash, who passed away in 2009. As far as I can tell, Maxine's and Charles' other four children are still living. There still might be time to meet them.

Auretta and John E O'Neil

In 1920, John Edgar (28) had moved to Vallejo, California with his wife, native Texan Verla V O'Neil (22). He worked in the navy yard as a steam engineer.

As of the 1930 census John E (38) and Verla (32) were still married and living in gold old Provo, Utah, where he worked as a fireman for the railroad. Another occupant is listed in their home, nephew William Potorf (17). Since William's mother was born in Texas, I guessed that she was Verla's sister. After a little searching, I found Leona Day Potorf, and connected her to Verla. She died in 1922, which would explain why her son is now living with his aunt. This is the last I can find of Verla. Maybe her information in the 1940 census hasn't been indexed, or perhaps she'd already passed away, but I can't find anything. Grandma O'Neil indicated that John and Verla were divorced. I knew Great-Grandpa O'Neil had been married before, but I hadn't realized how long he and Verla had been married. They had been a part of each other's lives for so long, and then nothing. I even tried searching for Verla with different last names, in case she had remarried, but nothing stood out in the records.

In April of 1937, John Edgar O'Neil married Auretta Empey O'Neil, and one year later they had my grandma Margaret Alice O'Neil [Johnson]. A few years later my great-uncle Bob was born, and he still lives in the family home.

Sometimes doing research online is about very distant relatives, connected only through a chain of marriages, but this was about finding Grandma's half-sister. My great-aunt. I still don't understand what life was like for Nina Kinney, Maxine, or Verla Day, but I hope their families are doing well, and we can come together in the future.

Uncle Bob holding a picture of Uncle Dale, Bob, his mom

(Great-Grandma O'Neil), and his sister (Grandma Margaret Johnson)