W. Stuart O'Neil, To your message below which came from the Antrim rootsweb list: My name is William Robert O'Neal (1938-), my father was Robert William O'Neal (1908-1986), my grandfather William James O'Neal (1883-1969). My grandfather, originally from Cumberland MD went to Pittsburgh (Homestead) in about 1900 to work in the steel mills. He was RR Supt. at the Homestead Works for Carnegie- Illinois Steel and later US Steel. Our family lived there (Brentwood) 1940-1942 and ( Mt. Lebanon) 1954-1963. My father graduated as an engineer from Pitt. We lived in Mt. Lebanon where I graduated from high school. So your entry caught my eye. There are more coincident facts. We are trying to trace the origins. Family tradition from all branches agree that they came from "Antrim" (town?, county?), but we have no place name, no documents or other information. All of OUR branches (fully documented) spell the name O'Neal or O'Neale. They were ALL Protestant going back to 1660s. I have traced my O'NEALs back to Bedford Co PA in 1776-1850, Montgomery/Frederick Co's MD in 1750-1776 and St. Mary's/Calvert Co's MD from 1660s to ca. 1750. I have been in contact with MANY true cousins all descendants of Joseph O'NEAL (ca.1660-ca.1700). His descendants went into PA, VA, KY, OH, and southwestward. One early branch to GA. This has always been a puzzle to us. Is this a clue to searching in Antrim? Should we look for Protestant O'Neals? I am well familiar wih the "Plantation" to Ireland, but I assumed that the O'Neals/O'Neills were NOT planted, that is did not come from Scotland as there were so many of them already in Northern Ireland and esp. Antrim in the 1600s. I also do not believe they were of the Irish nobility. I do not think they owned land. Although some could have been "servitors". I am familiar with the noble branches who capitulated to the British in order to save their lands and were made tenants. You are the FIRST O'Neill/O'Neal/O'Neale I have found who back to Antrim and is PROTESTANT. They were early on in 1692, "Church of Maryland" or Episcopal (Church of England) then later in my branch mostly "Methodist Episcopal" or "M.E." as they referred to it in documents. [By the way, we use the shorthand term "O'Nexlx" to designate ALL the spellings of O'Neal/O'Neall/O'Neill/O'Neale/O'Neil/O'Neel/O'Nail.] My questions for you are the same ones that have been puzzling us: How did your O'Neill/O'Neil family become Protestant? Are there other Protestant O'Nexlx families in Antrim? How did THEY become Protestant? Where can we find some history of this? Is the fact they are Protestant a good clue to help us find the immigrant? Can we rule out certain places or O'Nexlx families in Antrim? Are there certain church records? Were they in fact planted from Scotland? (I think not). Were they not Irish born for generations in Antrim? If so, how did they become (turn) Protestant? How would you answer these questions for YOUR O'Neills? Have you been to Ireland and researched in Antrim? I would be very glad to hear from you. Incidentally, I belong to an "O'Neall LIst" which is a surname rootsweb list (newsgroup) similar to the Antrim rootsweb list. To subscribe merely send a "subscribe" message to [email protected] Most of these O'Nexlx subscribers are researching in the South, but there may be some connection for you. Bob O'Neal 2102 N. Union Ave Tacoma WA 98406 [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 9/18/98 4:40:51 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << William O'Neill b. abt. 1841, d. 1914, Married Sarah Ritchie, b. abt 1841, d. 1923, on Dec. 19, 1861. The record was found on the microfilmed records of the Buckna Presbyterian Church. These are my grandparents. William's father's name was William O'Neill. Sarah's father's name was James Ritchie. Both William and Sarah lived in Tecloy, Skerry Parish, when they were married. They later moved to Loughconnelly. The marriage record was witnessed and signed by James Ritchie and John O'Neill. William and Sarah had 11 children. 1) John b. abt. 1862, d. 1930 in County Antrim, 2) William James, b. abt. 1865, d. 1922 in Pittsburgh, PA. USA., 3) Margaret, b. abt. 1868, d. 1953 in County Antrim, 4) Rosetta, b. 1870, d. 1963 in Scotia, New York, USA., 5) Jane b. 1871 in Breakagh, County Antrim, d. 1971 in California, USA., 6) Sarah, b. abt. 1874, d. abt. 1945 in Scotland, 7) Agnes, b. abt. 1876, d. at age 6, 8) Mary Ann, b. 1879, d. 1965 in Braid Valley Hospital, Ballymena, 9) Elizabeth, b. 1880, d. 1967 in Belfast, 10) Roy, b. 1884, d. 1963 in Scotland, 11) Arthur, ( My father), b. 1888 at Loughconnelly, d. 1976 in Coraopolis, PA, USA. My great-grandmother O'Neill's given name was Anne. I was told by my father that her maiden name was O'Hara. I would like confirmation of this and welcome any other information about her and her family. Thank you for any help you can give me. W.S. O'Neil, Coraopolis, PA. >>