The Homes of Thomas O'Neill & Margaret Jones

c.1876 - 1905/07 Shock Road, Sherman Township, Huron County, Michigan

The O'Neil 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. By the time of the 1880 census, Thomas and Margaret are established on the Shock Road farm and quite possibly had lived there since their marriage in 1876. The 1880 census form does not indicate whether the land was owned or rented.

There was an old log house on the long forty with the barn on the square 40 but there were orchards on both forties. The large Edwards family with whom Margaret Jones was raised had several properties adjacent or close to Shock Road farm. Francis Edwards is on the land adjacent to the long forty. Francis Edwards is the father of Jeremiah Edwards and grandfather of Arthur (Art) Edwards. Jeremiah and his son were well known to Harold as neighbors and lived across from the O'Neil home on Shock Road for generations.

On the 1890 plat map Thomas O'Neil is listed as owner of the farm on Shock Road. Joe O'Neil told his children a story of falling asleep on one of the upper floors while they were building the house on the square forty when Joe was 3 or 4 years old. The workers had to wake him up to move him out of the way. That would place the building of the house at 1894 or 95. John Jones, Margaret's father and a carpenter, helped build the house on Shock Road.

c.1905/07 - 1913 Purdy Road, Sherman Township, Huron County, Michigan

The 1910 census show Thomas, Margaret, Joe and young Margaret living on Purdy Road, a property that Harold always called 'Smokey Hollow'.

On the 1904 plat map of Sherman township the farm on Purdy Road is owned by James Edwards. By this time many of the Edwards' had moved to Bloomfield township and James Edwards would probably be looking to sell. As his sons grew to marrying age, Thomas could have been looking for another farm. In any case, the 1910 census it is owned by Thomas O'Neil, free of mortgage.

Tom O'Neil Jr. marries Eliza Brown in 1907 so it is likely that the O'Neil family moved there after 1904 and before 1907 when Tom Jr. was in his early twenties. A plat map published in 1913 but reflecting property ownership from an earlier period, probably 1912, lists the two O'Neil farms with the Shock Road farm as Thos. O'Neil and the Purdy Road farm as T. O'Neil.

Another atlas published in 1913 has a later map that clearly has Joseph O'Neil as the owner of the Shock Road farm and Tom O'Neil as the owner of the Purdy Road farm so it is assumed that Thomas and Margaret retired at this time.

c.1913 - 1916 Bartlett StreeT, Harbor Beach, Sand Beach Township, Huron County, Michigan

On retirement, Thomas and Margaret lived in Harbor Beach for three years in a house was on Bartlett Street. It is not known if they bought the house in Harbor Beach or only rented. Apparently retirement didn't suit them so at some point between 1916 and 1920 they purchased another farm on Edwards Road.

c. 1916 - 1938 Edwards Road, Sherman Township, Huron County, Michigan

The house on Edwards Road faced east and was on the northwest corner of Edwards and White Rock roads. Thomas and Margaret also rented the Hanna farm across the road from their property. It is the Hanna farm that had the cemetary where John Jones was buried.