BIOGRAPHIES

‡ Source:
Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio
Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company
Chicago & New York
1920
Transcribed by Sharon Wick

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	GEORGE J. OAKLEY ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 14
	BARNEY OLDFIELD ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 527
	ROY O'MERRILL, of Ai in Fulton county is yet a young man, having been born Apr. 18, 1891, in Fulton Township, Fulton county.  His father, Frank C. Merrill, was born near Ottokee, while the mother , Etta (Nobbs) Merrill, was born at Ai.  They still reside in Fulton Township, Fulton county.      On Mar. 7, 1914, Roy O. Merrill married Ruby Stillwell, of Adrian, Michigan.  She is a daughter of Arnos P. and Eva (Blair) Stillwell.  After his marriage he resided on his father’s farm two years, then bought sixty-five acres, and he has improved it with necessary buildings and fences.   He has tiled a great deal and with a dairy in operation is increasing the soil fertility.  He has twelve head of Holstein dairy cows.      Mr. Merrill has two sons, Marion Homer, who was born Feb. 19, 1916. and Deane Louis, born Jan. 18, 1920.  Running back the Merrill family tree, Frank C. Merrill is a son of Ozias and Jane (Vaughn) Merrill, the father having been born Aug. 2, 1827, in Maine. The mother was born May 5, 1829, in Holmes county, Ohio.  The next generation of Merrills was Levi and Lucy (Staple) Merrill.      It was in 1838 that the original Merrill family came by the Erie Canal to Buffalo and by a lake vessel to Toledo, and they soon settled where they have always lived in Fulton county.  It was a wild part of the country when the Merrills came into it.  They have witnessed the transformation.      It is known that Alexander and Rebecca (Jones) Vaughn, of the family ancestry, were native of Holmes county, and that in 1834 they came into the limits of what is now Fulton county.  Their son James Vaughn was the first white child born in Fulton Township.  They lived at Ai.  Ozias Merrill conducted a general store in war times - Civil war.  He served as auditor of Fulton county in war times - Civil war.  He served as auditor from Fulton county in its early history.  He was engaged extensively in the real estate business for several years.  His death occurred in 1903, while Mrs. Merrill had died seven years earlier.  Their children were  Frank C.; Horace A., deceased; Eugene, of Wauseon; and Minnie, wife of William Biddle, of York Township.      Frank C. Merrill married Etta E. Nobbs, Mar. 22, 1882, and they located on a farm in Fulton Township.   Her parents, James H. and Ann (Fetterman) Nobbs, had come from Pennsylvania.  With the land they purchased and the land all under cultivation but twelve acres in timber and pasture.  Since 1917 Mr. Merrill has rented the land to his son.  The children of the Merrills are:  Herma, wife of William Walters, of Fulton Township; Clayton, of Fulton; Florence, wife of Dwight Hand, of Ypsilanti, Mich; Roy O., of this sketch; Lucy, wife of Clark Drennan, of Lucas county; Koyrl of Ypsilanti; and Mildred and Raymond.  The members of the republican party.  Mr. Merrill has served as trustee of Fulton.  He is a Mason in Swanton, and different members of the family belong to the Grange. ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 349
	JAMES O'NEAL.  While James O'Neal, of Metamora, seems to be one generation ahead of William O'Neal, whose early family story dates back to the same beginning, the William O'Neal story happened to be copied first, and thus it is a "Twice Told Tale" in the end.  The name O'Neal at once suggests Ireland, and while James O'Neal was born in Toledo in 1856, he is a son of Thomas and Mary (Brady) O'Neal, while the story is also told by William O'Neal, who is their grandson.      In the way of resume, Thomas O'Neal, the immigrant, was married in Buffalo to a young woman from the Emerald Isle, the same as himself, and is 1851 he came as a laborer to Delta.  Fulton county was organized in 1850, and thus the O'Neals were pioneers in the community.  This young settler helped to build the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroads, finally investing in a farm in Amboy.  Here they ended their days.  Thomas O'Neal, who relates the story, was their oldest son.  His brothers are:  John, deceased; Michael and William of Amboy; and Martin of Royalton.      It was on St. Valentine's Day, 1882, that Lucy M. Houghton became the bride of James O'Neal.  She was born in Amboy, a daughter of Daniel and Minerva (Gale) Houghton.  The parents were from New York State.  Mr. O'Neal began farm activities on a quarter section of land in Amboy.  It was all in timber and he cleared and improved it.  He erected a modern brick farm house with other buildings in keeping with it.  He added to the farm from time to time until he had 240 acres under cultivation.  Later he sold an eighty from it.      Mr. O'Neal continued in active farm management until 1971, when his mantle descended to the shoulders of a son, and he now lives in retirement in Metamora.  After leaving common school as a young man Mr. O'Neal attended Wauseon High School one year, and he has given two terms to the service of Amboy Township as a school trustee.  Since 1899 he has filled the office of justice of the peace, elected by the democratic party.      Mr. O'Neal was a teacher in public school from the time he was twenty until he was forty - twenty years of continuous service, "Teaching the young ideal how to shoot."  The children born to Mr. and Mrs. O'Neal are:  Minerva, wife of Eugene Miller, Jasper, Michigan; William, who operates the farm; and Nina Belle, wife of Samuel Ottgen.  The family belongs to the Catholic Church in Carrigan, Ohio.       His comfortable surroundings at Metamora today are an appropriate environment for a man whose life has been one of so much activity as Mr. O'Neal.  Clearing up the timber, cultivating the fields, extending his possessions and his work as a farmer, and in the intervals of this busy employment teaching school, Mr. O'Neal has indeed discharged well his debt to the world and has earned the honors that accompany him into old age. ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 532
	WILLIAM O'NEIL.  The name O'Neil at once suggests Ireland.  While William O'Neil of Amboy was born May 11, 1872, in Royalton, his parents, Thomas and Mary (Brady) O'Neil, were Irish emigrants, although they met and were married in Buffalo.  Later they located on a farm in Royalton.  She died there Aug. 11, 1896, while he died in November, seven years later.  Their children are: James, of Metamora; John, deceased; Thomas and Michael of Amboy; Martin of Royalton; William who relates the family story; and Maggie and Ella who died in infancy.      On Feb. 9, 1893, William O'Neil was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Catherine Mossing.  She was born Nov. 20, 1873, in Germany.  She is a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Gillan) Mossing, who emigrated to the United States when she was a babe and they located on a farm in Amboy.  After their marriage William O'Neil purchased land in Royal ton, but in April 1903, he sold it and bought a farm in Amboy.  He has 120 acres of well improved land, although part of it was in the brush when he bought it.      Mr. O'Neil built a house and added other improvements from time to time.  He tiled and fenced the land and it is now practically all under cultivation.  He is the man to make two blades of grass grow where there was one.  He is a democrat and a member of the Catholic Church in Caraghar, Ohio.  The children are: Martin, of Royalton; John, of Royalton; Edward, Lawrence and Anna, at home. Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - Publ. by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920
	GEORGE W. ORNDORFF ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 382
	CARL F. ORTH ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 55
	EDWARD A. OTTGEN ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 402
	FRANK OTTGEN ‡ Source: Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio - by The Lewis Publishing Company - Chicago & New York - 1920 - Page 404

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