Joseph O'Neill & Frances Artman Homes

1913 - 1919 Harbor Beach

It is unknown whether or not Joseph and Frances lived on the farm on Shock Road after they got married in 1913. On the WWI Draft Registration, dated 05 June 1917, Joseph O'Neil is listed as residing in Harbor Beach with a wife and three children. Dorothy O'Neil was born May 1918 in Harbor Beach so sometime between mid-1918 and mid-1919 the O'Neil family moved to Detroit.

1919-1923/24 131 Calumet Avenue, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA

The 1920 census, dated 16 January 1920, lists Joseph and Frances, children Mildred, Irene, George, Dorothy and sister-in-law Anna Artman as residing at 131 Calument Avenue in Detroit. There is also a Helen Stapleton , fifty years old and single, listed as living there and working as 'household', probably meaning housework. Both are listed as head of household and renters. As Harold remembers this house as small, only 24x24, it must have been crowded.

1923/34 - 1930 541 Albany Avenue, Ferndale, Wayne County, Michigan, USA

1930 - 1949 Shock and Atwater Roads, Sherman Township, Huron County, Michigan, USA

The family farm consisted of two forty-acre lots at the corner of Shock and Atwater roads. The 'long forty' was located on the northeast corner and the 'square forty' was diagonally opposed on the southwest corner.

The O'Neil house built when Joe was 3-4 years old (1894-95). Joe told a story of falling asleep on one of the upper floors while they were working and they had to wake him up to move him out of the way. John Jones (that damned Englishman, as Frances would say) helped build the house. In her opinion, it could have been better built and she would blame John Jones every time she had to deal with one of the flaws.

This farm remained in the family until it was sold to a neighbor in 1955 by Harold O'Neill.