Benjamin Franklin "Ben" O'Neal, Jr., (June 23, 1922 -- April 29, 2004) was a Shreveport businessman and a pioneer in the development of the modern Republican Party in Louisiana. O'Neal was a member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury (now the Caddo Parish Commission) from 1964-1968 and the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972-1988. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shreveport, Louisiana is the third largest metropolitan city in the state of Louisiana, USA. It is located in Caddo Parish, and as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 200,145. ... For other uses, see Republican Party (disambiguation) or GOP (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Caddo Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He was born in Shreveport to Benjamin F. O'Neal, Sr., (1889-1968) and the former Abbie Hendrick. O'Neal's grandfather, also B.F. O'Neal, of Benton, the seat of Bossier Parish, was the U.S. marshal for the Western District of Louisiana. The grandfather was a delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention, which renominated President William McKinley and then New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt for vice president. The grandfather died in New Orleans in 1910, while he was visiting a son. Hence, unlike most Louisiana Republicans, who were former Democrats, O'Neal came from an old Republican family. 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Benton is a town located in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. ... Bossier Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... William McKinley, Jr. ... Official language(s) None Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ...

O'Neal graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Thereafter, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Reserve. After he completed flight training, he became an instructor in the pilot training program and, later, he was assigned duty as a pilot for the commander of the Western Flying Training Command. Baylor University is a private, Baptist-affiliated research university located in Waco, Texas, USA. It is the largest Baptist university in the world by enrollment. ... Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. ...

He returned to Shreveport after World War II and entered the real estate business with his father in the firm known as "B.F. O'Neal & Son, Realtors." In 1960, he was elected president of the Shreveport-Bossier Board of Realtors and was named "Realtor of the Year." He was a vice president of the National Association of Realtors and was a member of the "Build America Better" Committee. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

Caddo Parish Police Jury

O'Neal was elected to the police jury (now called the Caddo Parish Commission) in the March 3, 1964, general election. He was aided in his victory by coattails provided by the Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., of Shreveport. He and Owen Adams of Greenwood, later of Houston, Texas, were the first two Republicans to serve on the police jury since Charles T. Beaird (1922-2006), who had been elected in 1956. March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. ... A governor is an official who heads the government of a colony, state or other sub-national state unit. ... Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr. ... Greenwood is a town located in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. ... Nickname: Space City Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Mayor Bill White Area    - City 1,558 km²  (601. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On the police jury, O'Neal worked for equalization of tax assessments, which resulted in most parish homeowners having their assessments lowered from 40 percent to 25 percent. He was chairman of the special committee responsible for the development of an industrial park on the site of the former Caddo Parish Penal Farm.

Four terms in the state legislature

In 1968, O'Neal first ran at-large for the state legislature but was defeated when the Democrats swept the state and local offices in Caddo Parish, except for Police Juror Owen Adams, who retained his seat. Still, O'Neal led the GOP legislative ticket with 13,709 votes that year. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

In 1972, aided again by coattails from the Republican gubernatorial candidate, David C. Treen, O'Neal was elected to the state legislature in a single-member district. O'Neal polled 7,065 votes (54.9 percent) in a race against Democratic nominee Gard Wayt, a Shreveport insurance executive, who drew 5,606 votes (43.6 percent). (The American Party choice, Maud C. Walton, received 193 ballots or 1.5 percent.) 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... David Conner Treen, Sr. ...

O'Neal was one of only four Republicans in the 105-member body at that time. His GOP colleagues included Arthur W. "Art" Sour, Jr., also of Shreveport, who upset Democratic incumbent Frank Fulco, Sr. Sour polled 5,564 votes (53.2 percent) to Fulco's 4,886 (46.8 percent). Sour served until 1992, having been defeated in the 1991 primary. For other uses, see Republican Party (disambiguation) or GOP (disambiguation). ... Arthur W. Art Sour, Jr. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The other Republican lawmakers were Clark Gaudin of Baton Rouge, who polled 6,949 votes (51 percent) to Democrat Lillian Walker's 6,645 (49 percent) and Charles D. Lancaster, Jr., who defeated Democrat Calvin P. "Chuck" Lee in a Jefferson Parish contest, 6,018 (53.3 percent) to Lee's 5,281 (46.7 percent). Gaudin had won the House seat in a special 1967 election, lost it in 1968, and rebounded with his 1972 victory. Lancaster was defeated after a single term in 1975 but returned to victory in 1979. Edward Clark Gaudin (born December 26, 1931) is a Baton Rouge attorney who served for 21 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives (1967-1968; 1972-1992) as the first Republican member from East Baton Rouge Parish in the twentieth century. ... Capitol Building Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see 1979 (song). ...

O'Neal, meanwhile, was unopposed in the first-ever jungle primary of 1975. At that time, he had only four Republican colleagues, and one of those, A. J. McNamara of Jefferson Parish, was actually elected as a Democrat but switched affiliation in 1977. In the jungle primary, all candidates run in the same initial election regardless of party label. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

He was also reelected without opposition in 1979, when Treen won the governorship. O'Neal was elected to his fourth and final term in 1983. He retired from the House in 1988. He was succeeded by his fellow conservative Republican, a young attorney, and later judge, Roy Brun. Roy Louis Brun (born January 15, 1953) is a First Judicial District state judge in Shreveport (Caddo Parish), who was a Republican member of the Louisiana state House of Representatives from 1988-1997. ...

O'Neal was a member of the Education Commission of the States, the American Legislative Council, the National Conference of State Legislators, the Council for National Policy, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). His favorite hobby was hunting on his family farm.

O'Neal's obituary

O'Neal was mortally injured in an automobile accident on April 4, 2004. He died 25 days later. Survivors included his wife, Nancy Johns O'Neal (born 1925), and their children, Jane O'Neal de Bessonet (born 1950) of Baton Rouge, Dr. Barron Johns O'Neal (born 1952) of Shreveport, Lisa O'Neal Childs (born 1955) of Shreveport, and Mary O'Neal Johnson of Jackson, Mississippi, and twelve grandchildren. 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: The Best of the New South; The Bold, New City Coordinates: Country United States State Mississippi County Hinds Founded 1822 Mayor Frank Melton Area    - City 276. ...

A memorial service was held on May 1, 2004, at St. Marks' Episcopal Cathedral in Shreveport, with the Very Reverend M.L. Agnew, Jr., dean of the cathedral, officiating. Pallbearers included Charlton H. Lyons, Jr., (son of the late Republican gubernatorial candidate) and former Caddo Parish legislative colleague Bruce Lynn. Honorary pallbearers included Judges Tom Stagg and Roy Brun, both of Shreveport. May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... The word episcopal is derived from the Greek επίσκοπος, transliterated epískopos, which literally means overseer; the word, however, is used in religious contexts to refer to a bishop. ... A governor is an official who heads the government of a colony, state or other sub-national state unit. ... Thomas Eaton Tom Stagg, Jr. ...

Roy Louis Brun (born January 15, 1953) is a First Judicial District state judge in Shreveport (Caddo Parish), who was a Republican member of the Louisiana state House of Representatives from 1988-1997. ...

References

Billy Hathorn, "The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980," Master's thesis (1980), Northwestern State University at Natchitoches

Shreveport Times, Benjamin F. O'Neal, Jr., obituary, May 2, 2004

Monroe News Star, August 18, 1910

http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=ONEAL&firstname=BENJAMIN&start=21

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=102487 http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1900/LA.html