A New York native, he was mayor of Portland, Oregon, and an Indian Agent in Idaho and Washington territories.

[3] Of Irish descent, his father was a shopkeeper in Schenectady County, New York, where the younger James was born.

[3] James was educated in the local public schools as well as the academies in Gallupville and Albany.

[3] On April 7, 1856, O'Neill was elected as the seventh mayor of Portland, replacing George W.

[4] He was re-elected the next year, becoming the city's first two-term mayor, but was replaced on November 4, 1857, by William S. Ladd before the end of his second term.

[5] In 1863, he was working as an interpreter for the Office of Indian Affairs in the Idaho Territory.

[3] O'Neill returned to Washington in 1878 and worked as a farmer for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.