Israel C. O'Neal

Israel C. O'Neal
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Alexandria City and Alexandria
In office
January 1, 1874 – March 31, 1875
Personal details
BornIsrael Christopher O'Neal
(1818-03-06)March 6, 1818
Frederick, Maryland, U.S.
DiedMarch 2, 1899(1899-03-02) (aged 80)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeSt. Paul's Cemetery
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Maria Catharine Doll
​
​
(m. 1838; div. 1859)​

Annie Elizabeth Chandler
​
​
(m. 1860; died 1862)​

Amanda Entwistle
​
(m. 1863)​
Children9
Occupation
  • Politician
  • sheriff
  • marshal

Israel Christopher O'Neal (1818 – March 2, 1899) was an American politician and law enforcement official. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1874 to 1875.[1] He rarely used the name Israel, instead identifying himself as "I.C." (which has often been misinterpreted in handwritten records as "J.C.").

Early life

O'Neal was born in Frederick, Maryland, to John and Rebecca O'Neal. He was christened at Evangelical Lutheran Church.[2]

Law enforcement and other government service

In 1853, O'Neal was elected sheriff of Frederick County, having run as a member of the Whig Party.[3] He served in that office until 1855.[4]

During the Civil War, he was a sutler to a regiment of the Union Army.[5]

In October 1867, he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of Freedman's Village, a position he held until February 1868.[6][7] He served as the Collector of Taxes for the Northern District of Alexandria in 1868.[8][9]

He was appointed sheriff of Arlington County, Virginia in April 1869.[10] After a change in law required the sheriff of Arlington County to be elected instead of appointed, he was elected to that office in November 1870 and served for three years, until December 31, 1873.[10] On August 15, 1873, he conducted the execution of William Jackson, who had been convicted of killing his wife Mary Fletcher.[11]

In April 1874 he was appointed by C. P. Ramsdell to be a Deputy United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia.[12] He held that position into the 1880s.

Politics

After the decline of the Whig Party in the late 1850s, O'Neal became involved in Radical Republican politics. He participated in Radical Republican meetings throughout the 1860s and 1870s.[13][14]

In 1874 O'Neal was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican, representing Alexandria County along with Delegate John B. Syphax.[1] He was assigned to the Committee on Banks, Currency and Commerce and the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns.[1] One newspaper described him as "a sturdy Republican and a good man," and said "[h]is modest good sense and gentlemanly bearing have won him the respect of all the members of the House."[15]

While in the House of Delegates, he introduced bills to:

  • prohibit unlawful hunting, fishing, and ranging in Alexandria County;[16]
  • extend the corporate powers of the German Banking Company of Alexandria;[17]
  • incorporate the Virginia Turnpike Company;
  • authorize the Hebrew Congregation of Alexandria to borrow money;[18] and
  • amend the law regarding printing records of the Court of Appeals.[19]

He also:

  • advocated against the sale of liquor on Sunday;[20]
  • voted against a resolution protesting the seizure of the Louisiana statehouse by federal officials;[21]
  • was assigned to a special committee to investigate "the whereabouts of certain bonds which should be in the State Treasurer's office but are not";[22] and
  • presented petitions on behalf of the citizens of Alexandria seeking:
    • an investigation into the alleged monopoly of the steamer Arrow[23] in landing passengers at Mount Vernon;[24][25] and
    • discretionary powers for the School Board of Alexandria to admit children age seven and under to public schools.[26][25]

In 1875 he was nominated by the Radical Republicans to be a candidate for the Virginia Senate, but he declined the nomination.[27]

O'Neal was nominated by Alexandria's conservative Republicans to be a candidate for Congress in 1876.[28] He lost the election to Eppa Hunton, a Democrat and former Confederate general.[29]

In 1883 the Republicans of Alexandria again nominated him as a candidate for the Virginia legislature.[30]

Business interests

Throughout his life, O'Neal was involved in numerous businesses. The 1850 United States Census listed him in Frederick with the occupation of shoemaker.[31]

O'Neal formed a partnership with Frank E. Corbett in 1874.[32] They purchased a brickworks from John Tucker and Robert Lucas for $7,700 in 1875.[33] The business, known as O'Neal & Corbett, operated where the Gunston Hall Apartments are currently located in Alexandria.[33] As of 1883, the business was described as "making about 1,500,000 bricks per annum and employing 35 men and boys."[32] O'Neal exited the partnership in 1889, selling his share to Charles Yohe, at which point the business was renamed Corbett & Yohe.[33][34]

O'Neal also had a real estate business with Samuel H. Lunt,[5] and he owned a steamer, the Harry Loder, which ran between Alexandria and Piscataway Creek in Maryland.[5]

Personal life

O'Neal married his first wife, Maria Catharine Doll, on March 29, 1838, at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick.[35] They had nine children, including Lewis I. They divorced in 1859 shortly after the birth of their ninth child.[36]

O'Neal married his second wife, Annie Elizabeth Chandler, on February 18, 1860, in Baltimore.[37] She died two years later, on July 14, 1862, of unknown causes.[38] He married his third wife, Amanda Entwistle, on September 3, 1863, in Washington, D.C.[39]

He died on March 2, 1899, at his home at 911 Prince Street in Alexandria.[40][5] His obituary stated his cause of death as apoplexy. He is interred in the O'Neal/McBurney lot at St. Paul's Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia. His will was admitted to probate in the Corporation Court of Alexandria, Virginia on March 9, 1899.[41] The administration of his estate took more than 10 years, after it was determined that he was insolvent at the time of his death.[42]

He was a member of the Sons of Temperance[43] and a noted orator on the subject of temperance.[5] His involvement with the Sons of Temperance dates to at least 1845, when he was named as one of the incorporators in the legislative charter for the Frederick Division No. 15 of the Sons of Temperance.[44]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "House of Delegates History (DOME)". history.house.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  2. ↑ "ELC Vol III pg 51.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  3. ↑ "Election Results, Frederick County". The Baltimore Sun. November 7, 1853.
  4. ↑ "Frederick County, Maryland - Sheriffs". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Local Matters-Death of Mr. I.C. O'Neal". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 100, no. 51. March 2, 1899. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  6. ↑ "Special Order No. 149, Headquarters, Assistant Commissioner, District of Columbia". Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (NARA Record Group 105). National Archives and Records Administration. October 17, 1867. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via FamilySearch.org.
  7. ↑ "Special Order No. 14, Headquarters, Assistant Commissioner, Washington, D.C.". Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (NARA Record Group 105). National Archives and Records Administration. January 28, 1868 – via FamilySearch.org.
  8. ↑ "Municipal Officers". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 69, no. 92. April 17, 1868. p. 4. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  9. ↑ "Tax-Payers Take Notice". Alexandria Gazette. November 16, 1868. p. 4. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  10. 1 2 By the Research and Records Committee (October 1967). "County Officials in Arlington 1870-1960" (PDF). Arlington Historical Magazine. 3 (3): 49.
  11. ↑ "The Gallows in Virginia". The Baltimore Sun. August 16, 1873.
  12. ↑ "Virginia News". Norfolk Landmark. Vol. 2, no. 12. April 14, 1874. p. 4. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  13. ↑ "Radical Meetings". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 69, no. 84. April 8, 1868. p. 3. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  14. ↑ Bernstein, Peter. "The Life and Times of George Lewis Seaton" (PDF). Alexandria Archaeology (121): 62.
  15. ↑ "Capitol Notes". Daily State Journal. Vol. 6, no. 70. January 30, 1874. p. 1. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  16. ↑ "Introduced and Referred". Daily Dispatch. Vol. 46, no. 33. February 7, 1874. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  17. ↑ "From Richmond". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 75, no. 66. March 19, 1874. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  18. ↑ "Local Legislation". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 76, no. 8. January 9, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Presented and Referred". Daily Dispatch. Vol. 47, no. 49. February 26, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  20. ↑ "From Richmond". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 75, no. 40. February 14, 1874. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  21. ↑ "In the House of Delegates". Daily Dispatch. Vol. 47, no. 13. January 15, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Virginia Legislature". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 76, no. 44. February 20, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  23. ↑ Scott-Childress, Reynolds J. (Fall 2010). "From "Nature's Nation" to "Washington's Playground": Marshall Hall, Middle-Class Culture, and the Commercialization of Leisure, 1865–1900" (PDF). Maryland Historical Magazine. 105 (3): 243–272.
  24. ↑ "Presented and Referred". Daily Dispatch. Vol. 47, no. 30. February 4, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  25. 1 2 "Local News-Local Legislation". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 76, no. 37. February 12, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  26. ↑ "Presented and Referred". Daily Dispatch. Vol. 47, no. 36. February 11, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  27. ↑ "Declines the Nomination". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 76, no. 187. October 21, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  28. ↑ "Congressional Nominations". The Baltimore Sun. August 31, 1876.
  29. ↑ "Meeting of the State Board of Canvassers-Official Vote for Congressmen and Electors". The State. Vol. 1, no. 218. November 28, 1876. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  30. ↑ "State News". Public Ledger. Vol. 15, no. 11. August 15, 1883. p. 3. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  31. ↑ "Schedule I - Free Inhabitants in Fredericktown in the County of Frederick, State of Maryland, enumerated on the 13th day of July 1850". FamilySearch.org. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  32. 1 2 Walter, Elizabeth J. (2010). Barcroft: The Beginnings of a Suburban Neighborhood (1886 to 1920) (PDF) (Masters Thesis, George Mason University). Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  33. 1 2 3 Phase I Archival and Archeological Investigations at the Gunston Hall Apartments, Alexandria, Virginia (PDF). R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. April 14, 2005.
  34. ↑ "Corporation Notes-Dissolution of Partnership". Alexandria Gazette. Vol. 90, no. 216. September 2, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved April 18, 2026 – via Virginia Chronicle.
  35. ↑ "ELC Vol III pg 288.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  36. ↑ "Maryland State Archives - Frederick County Circuit Court, Equity Index". guide.msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  37. ↑ "Married". The Baltimore Sun. February 25, 1860.
  38. ↑ "Died". The Baltimore Sun. July 15, 1862.
  39. ↑ "Married". Alexandria Gazette. September 4, 1863. p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  40. ↑ "Old Citizen Passes Away". The Evening Star. Washington, D.C. March 2, 1899. p. 1.
  41. ↑ "Four Men Injured". The Baltimore Sun. March 9, 1899.
  42. ↑ Chancery records for Administrator of Israel C. O'Neal v. Margaret E. O' Neal et al., Corporation Court for Alexandria, Virginia, case no. 1911-001, available from the Library of Virginia.
  43. ↑ "Local News - Temperance Reunion at Vienna". Alexandria Gazette. September 20, 1867. p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  44. ↑ 1845 Laws of Maryland, Chapter 201. Maryland State Archives.
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