The O’Neal Family
Family history · Photographs · Personal archives
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From rear left: Lionel (Pat), Daisy, Claud, George Samuel (brother of James Robert), Annie (George's wife) James (Bob) and Selina O'Neal
A family history, kept alive
A family history, kept alive
This collection traces one branch of the O’Neal family from nineteenth-century India to England and later generations. Explore the people behind the names through original family accounts, historical documents, photographs, writing and artwork.
Some early connections remain uncertain. Wherever possible, the site distinguishes documented history from family tradition and recollection.
The family story
The family story
Meet the people and follow their lives across countries and generations.
Family archive
Family archive
Read the original words and explore letters, photographs and records behind the history.
Writings & artwork
Writings & artwork
Discover Bob’s written pieces and the creative work of Lionel ‘Pat’ O’Neal.
Read the writings →
Explore the artwork →
From nineteenth-century India to a family in England
From nineteenth-century India to a family in England
The surviving records trace James William O’Neal and his descendants in India. His son James Robert — known as Bob — later settled in England, where another chapter of the family’s history began.
This is the starting point for an interwoven collection of family lives, relationships, discoveries and unanswered questions.
Stories worth exploring
Stories worth exploring
Bob O’Neal and his family
Bob O’Neal and his family
Peter’s wartime story
Peter’s wartime story
Military service, captivity in the Far East, and the surviving records of those years.
The art of Lionel ‘Pat’ O’Neal
The art of Lionel ‘Pat’ O’Neal
Cyril’s short life in America
Cyril’s short life in America
A young man leaves Derby for a new life across the Atlantic. Cyril’s hopes, his family’s letters and his death at just nineteen form one of the most poignant chapters in the archive.
Explore his story through the surviving photographs, correspondence and contemporary reports. The image alongside is from Pater’s Alphabet, the booklet Bob made for him.
Family history is never entirely finished.
Have a photograph, memory, correction or family connection to share?
Visit Alan’s creative collection →
Explore the site: page index
Start here
Start here
Family lives and records
Family lives and records
James Robert “Bob” O’Neal’s writing
James Robert “Bob” O’Neal’s writing
Lionel “Pat” O’Neal’s artwork
Lionel “Pat” O’Neal’s artwork
Research and contact
Research and contact
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