Anna Frederica Heise O’Neil, champion of women’s issues in the workplace and for the poor, left a political legacy for Ohio women that few have matched.
Born in Cumberland, Md., O’Neil moved to Summit County, Ohio, in 1915. O’Neil received her public education at Coolville, Ohio. She attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music briefly.
O’Neil met and married her husband, Dennis (Mike), and pursued the work of a milliner in Akron for a number of years. Her husband worked for Ohio Edison for 43 years and Mrs. O’Neil become interested in politics when her husband served on the City Council for Kenmore and then ran for mayor of that community.
O’Neil began her career in politics in 1932, when she was selected to run for the Ohio House of Representatives by the Women’s Democratic Club of Summit County. Initially refusing to run, she reconsidered but did not tell her husband. When he read about it in the local newspaper the next morning, his only comment was that she would never be elected. Elected the following year, she was the only woman to serve 10 terms as a state legislator.
While in the state legislature, O’Neil was the first woman to serve as chairman of the House Finance Committee, a position she held for 12 years. She co-authored a bill to match state funds for the needy during the Depression. Under her direction, the first minimum wage bill was introduced for women in industry.
O’Neil was appointed by the governor to the Ohio Children and Youth Commission in 1949, and represented the state at a national youth conference in 1950. She was the chair of the Rehabilitation Committee of the Ohio Postwar Program Commission that same year. The RCOPPC was an organization that dealt with housing and urban development.
A natural leader, O’Neil was elected state president of the National Order of Women Legislators in 1953. The following year O’Neil retired from the General Assembly because of health problems resulting from a car accident.
Over the years, O’Neil served as president of many organizations. These include the Women’s Democratic Club of Akron, Kenmore Senior Citizens and the Krumroy Senior Citizens.
Using her knowledge of the political process, O’Neil also played an integral part in the Akron and Summit County Federation of Women’s Club, the Board of Legislators of Akron and Summit County, the Akron Area Citizen’s Committee on Aging, the G.A.R., and the Buckley Post of the Women’s Relief Corps.
An avid gardener, O’Neil enjoyed being an active member of the Town and Country Garden Club and the Garden Forum of Greater Akron. She also attended Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Akron and was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society.
O’Neil was well respected by everyone who knew her. In an article dated March 1, 1954, the Beacon Journal says, “while [we] have not always agreed with Mrs. O’Neil on specific issues, we have respected her conscientious devotion to her duties. She has set a splendid example as a public servant which we hope will be followed by other citizens, both women and men.”
Photo courtesy of the Beacon Journal.
–Penny Fox