Two Henry O'Neills
Which Henry O'Neill?

According to research by James Hargraves, descendant of (one) John O'Neall, there were not one, but two Henry O'Neills in Virginia during the 1700s.  Here is a comparison of James's findings for the two.


Year
Henry 1 (elder)
Henry 2 (younger)
1724
Born in Virginia

1742

Born in Christiana, Delaware
c. 1745
Married Margaret Chambers

1759
On Frederick County, Virginia, Rent Rolls

1763-1787
Birth of children:  John, 1763; James F., 1765; Rachel, 1767; Eber, 1768; Jane, 1769; William Chambers, 1772; Susannah, 1775; Henry, 1777; Thomas Asa, 1778; Hugh, 1785; Margaret, 26 Sep 1787

c. 1766

Married Hannah (--?--)
1774
Stationed at Winchester, in Frderick County Militia (Loyalist)

c. 1776
Moved to Georgia

1781-83

In Loyalist Militia.  Then moved to Florida, then returned to South Carolina, but to Union District, not Newberry (where his estate had been confiscated).
1782
Death of father-in-law, William Chambers, whose will mentions his daughter Margaret and her husband Henry O'Neill

1784-1790

Birth of daughters Nancy and Mary
1788
Died 1 May, Cumberland Island, Camden County, Georgia, adjacent to Spanish Florida.

1790-1800

Birth of daughter Hannah
1800

On census in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with wife Hannah, daughters Nancy, Mary and Hannah
1810

On census in Spartanburg, South Carolina
1815

Died 25 Jan, in Spartanburg

In summary:

1.  Henry 1 married Margaret Chambers and had the children indicated; he also died in 1788 on Cumberland Island, near Spanish Florida. Hence, he satisfies the criteria (children, date and place of death) for the Henry O'Neill who founded the Florida line of O'Neills.  Also, he may well have been the Henry O'Neill who died as described by John Belton O'Neall in the general area of northeastern Florida. 

2.  Henry 2 was born later and had a completely different set of children, logically enough.

So the question is, which one was the son of Hugh and Anne Cox O'Neall?  If we attach any importance to the dates traditionally associated with Hugh (and I'm not entirely convinced that we should), then Henry 1 was born too early to have been Hugh's son, since Hugh didn't even arrive in Delaware until around 1730.  His eldest son, William, was only born in 1734, so Henry 1 would have been his eldest son and by far!  Therefore, on this criterion, the better candidate for his son is Henry 2.