John Belton O'Neall

John Belton O'Neall was a judge on the precursor of the South Carolina Supreme Court. He graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) in December 1812 and began teaching at Newberry Academy. He was admitted to practice law in May 1814 in South Carolina. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1816 from the Newberry, South Carolina area. He was elected again in 1822, and in 1824, he served as the Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was first elected as a trial judge in 1828, and in 1830 was elected a judge on the South Carolina Court of Appeals. Following reforms to South Carolina's judicial branch, he was elected to serve as Chief Justice and President of the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the highest court of the state. O'Neall died on December 27, 1863, and is buried in Rosemont Cemetery in Newberry, South Carolina.