Arm in Arm

 Last June I posted a letter written by my maternal Great-grandpa, John Edgar O'Neil to his fiancée, Auretta Empey. Mom shared a picture from about that time, that I think gives a great visual for the letter.

Auretta and Edgar

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)

The O'Neil Place

Mom took Miss V and I out to breakfast with some of her siblings and uncles. We drove her Uncle Bob, (her Mom's youngest brother) home afterward, at which point he gave us a tour and shared somed stories. About 8 decades ago, my Great Grandparents went past a home for sale in Ogden, Utah, and decided to buy it right then. "For $2,000 or $3,000," as Uncle Bob explained.

My mom has memories of pretending one of the areas was an elevator, so she and her siblings could be elevator operators like their Mom, Margaret had been at one point. Bob's desk is by one of the windows in the living room facing the front of the house, alongside a built-in bench with shelving along the next wall and window facing the other street of the corner lot.

Bob shared that Great-grandma Auretta Empey O'Neil used to sit at her desk, writing letters, recording in her journal, and working on family history right there, and that the bench was always covered in her potted plants and flowers. They had to tear down the garage and built a new carport, which now houses the car that always makes me think of Bob, his classic green Chevy Impala.

The old basement with coal shoot has a modern heating system, and Bob's updated the kitchen and bathroom with beautiful tiles. You can still see the remnants of how they used to look, as the claw foot bathtub sits on the front porch waiting for a new home, and the indented space for a little fridge now holds shelves where the modern fridge won't fit. Bob makes sure the lawn and the outside of his parents' family home stays well-kept, so it's a welcome sight after pulling off the busy Ogden streets.

Uncle Bob holding a picture of his siblings and Mom: Dale, Bob, Great-Grandma O'Neil and my Grandma Margaret

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa O'Neil

O'Neil kids in the 1940s

Grandma J and her two brothers, Bob and Dale in the mid- to late-1940s or so.  It's the O'Neil line that gets stuck in the shortest number of steps.  Their mom, Auretta Empey O'Neil, documented a lot of the family history, so the Empey line is clear, but her husband's line only goes back to Ireland around 1800.  Henry J. O'Neil and Bridget Duffey emigrated from Ireland to Canada, and then lived and died in Colorado.

Family Headstones

As part of the fourth annual Hooper Memorial Day campout, my family, aunts, uncles, and cousins packed into a caravan of cars and visited several cemeteries in Davis and Weber Counties.   First we ate, played Pit, watched a movie projected on a tablecloth dangling from the back seat.

We located these headstones at the Ogden City Cemetery and two Lindquist Mortuary Cemeteries.

Clarissa A. Barlow

Keith Walker Barlow, Grandma Hooper's brother

Walker Barlow, Ogden City Cemetery

Dad's brother, Fred Ririe Hooper,
who died at 27 of complications  with diabetes

Grandpa Chesley Brent Johnson, Clinton City Cemetery

John E. Barlow

Heather Rochelle Steglich, cousin, Clinton City Cemetery

Grandma J's Dad, John Edgar O'Neil

Grandma J's Mom, Auretta E. O'Neil

We only visit the headstones from about three generations back, so I'll have to look for my family stones when Zak and I return from Switzerland.