O’NEILL, John Joseph, Congress, MO (1846-1898)

O’NEILL, John Joseph, a Representative from Missouri; born in St. Louis, Mo., June 25, 1846; attended the common schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1870 and commenced practice in St. Louis; engaged in the manufacture of gold pens; member of the State house of representatives, 1872-1878; member of the municipal assembly, 1879-1881; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1889); chairman, Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Forty-ninth Congress), Committee on Labor (Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1888 to the Fifty-first Congress; elected to the Fifty-second Congress (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1893); successfully contested the election of Charles F. Joy to the Fifty-third Congress (April 3, 1894-March 3, 1895); was not a candidate for renomination in 1894; resumed the practice of law; died in St. Louis, Mo., February 19, 1898; interment in Calvary Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present