Bill O'Neal

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Bill O'Neal
Born	John William O'Neal April 8, 1942 (1942-04-08) (age 66) Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas, USA
Occupation	Historian and Author Radio host Retired college professor in Carthage, Panola County, Texas
Nationality	American
Writing period	19th Century; 20th Century
Subjects	Western history
Spouse(s)	(1) Divorced from Faye Gipson O'Neal, later Faye G. Frasier (2) Karon Ashby O'Neal (born ca. 1960)
Children	Four daughters by first marriage: Lynn O. Martinez of Grand Prairie Shellie O'Neal of Corsicana Berri O. Hodges of Snyder Causey O. Henderson of Allen, Texas

John William O'Neal, known as Bill O'Neal (born April 8, 1942),^[1] is an American historian who has penned more than thirty books on such subjects as the American West, including gun fighters, lawmen, and ghost towns; Country music, with emphasis on Texas artists; baseball, such as his study of the Texas League, and children's books, including the first Thanksgiving held in Texas. He retired in 2003 as a history professor at Panola College, a junior college in Carthage, the seat of Panola County in East Texas, located southwest of Shreveport, Louisiana. Meanwhile, O'Neal continues his prolific writing career. A member of the Western Writers of America, he has appeared in television documentaries on Turner Network Television, The History Channel, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Discovery Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, and the Arts and Entertainment Channel.^[2]

Contents 1 Early years, education, family 2 Panola College, radio, civic affairs 3 Awards 3.1 Anthology 4 Western titles 5 Baseball titles 6 Children's books 7 Other titles 8 References

[edit] Early years, education, family

O'Neal was born in Corsicana, the seat of Navarro County in east central Texas to William Causby "Bud" O'Neal (died 1991) and the former Jessie Standard (1918-2002), originally from Lampasas near Temple in Central Texas. O'Neal's maternal great-grandfather drove cattle on the Chisholm Trail; his grandmother, Janie Lucile Standard, came to Texas in 1881 in a covered wagon.^[3] Bud and Jessie married on April 9, 1940, and owned a farm retail store in Corsicana. O'Neal has a younger sister, Judy O'Neal Smith of Lampasas, and a brother, Michael Ross "Mike" O'Neal (born ca. 1952) of Carrollton near Dallas.^[4]

In 1960, O'Neal graduated from Corsicana High School. He thereafter enrolled at, first, Navarro College in Corsicana and then Texas A&M University-Commerce, then known as East Texas State University in Commerce, a city in Hunt County. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from TAMU-Commerce in 1964 and 1970, respectively. O'Neal first married the former Faye Gipson in Carthage, remarried after their divorce as Faye G. Frasier of Corpus Christi. Bill and Faye had four daughters: Lynn O. Martinez of Grand Prairie in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Shellie O'Neal, a theatre arts instructor at Navarro College, Berri O. Hodges and husband, Heith A. Hodges, of Snyder, the seat of Scurry County in West Texas, and Causby Lea Henderson (born 1980) and husband, Dusty Lee Henderson of Allen in Collin Texas north of Dallas.^[5] O'Neal's second wife is the former Karon Ashby (born ca. 1960), the head of the Panola College mathematics department.^[6]

[edit] Panola College, radio, civic affairs

Even before he completed his master's studies, O'Neal had begun teaching part-time at Panola College, sometimes known as "The College among the Pines", a reference to the pine trees of east Texas.^[7]

In 1970, he became a full-time faculty member, a position that he held for thirty-three years. During his teaching career, O'Neal often dressed in the clothing which might have been worn by various historical characters. He attempted to convince students of the value of history in their daily lives and the unique information available through historical research. He also created a "Traveling Texas" history course.^[8] Panola College was founded in 1947 to offer educational opportunities, primarily, to returning World War II personnel. In 1973, O'Neal wrote Panola Junior College: The First Twenty-Five Years. He did an updated version Panola College, 1947-1997 for the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the institution.^[9]

In addition to his books, many of which have gained popularity beyond historical circles, O'Neal has written hundreds of scholarly articles and book reviews. He lectures before historical associations and related public gatherings. On April 5, 2008, O'Neal addressed the West Texas Historical Association annual meeting at West Texas A&M University in Canyon with a well-received lecture on how Texans, such as Gene Autry, Jim Reeves, Tex Ritter, and Bob Wills, have numerically dominated the field of Country music. Moreover, the state has produced artists in other fields of music too: Mary Martin, Janis Joplin, Buddy Holly, and Van Cliburn.^[10]

O'Neal is a member of the Panola County Chamber of Commerce and serves on the executive board of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, whose inductees include Reeves and Ritter, the latter the subject of an O'Neal book.

O'Neal has also active as a part-time radio personality on KGAS in Carthage for more than three decades. His interest in radio began with the popular songs of the 1950s and 1960s.

[edit] Awards

In 1973, O'Neal received the first annual "Excellent Teacher" award at Panola College. In 1987, he was named "Alumnus of the Year" by both Navarro College and Texas A&M University-Commerce. He was "Panola County Citizen of the Year" in 1988. In 2000, he was a Minnie Stevens Piper scholar.^[11]

O'Neal has been cited for his "meticulous research" by the Western Historical Quarterly, published by Utah State University at Logan.^[12]

In 2005, O'Neal received the National Association of Outlaw and Lawmen Association (NOLA) award for his The Johnson County War, a study of the 1892 struggle between small farmers and wealthy ranchers in Johnson County in northern Wyoming. See Johnson County War.

In 2007, he was named the "Best Living Non-Fiction Writer" by True West Magazine.

[edit] Anthology

[edit] Western titles

• Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters (1991)

• Henry Brown, the Outlaw-Marshal (The Early West); published 1980; see Henry Newton Brown

• Arizona Rangers (1988)

• Cattlemen v. Sheepherders: Five Decades of Violence in the West, 1880-1920 (1989)

• "Fighting Men of the Indian Wars (1991)

• Legends of the Wild West (1995); co-authors Dale Crutchfield and Dale L. Walker

• Ghost Towns of the American West (1995)

• Best of the West (1997)

• Historic Ranches of the Old West (1997)

• The Bloody Legacy of Pink Higgins: A Half Century of Violence in Texas (1999)

• Great Gunfighters of the Wild West: Twenty Courageous Westerners Who Struggled With Right and Wrong, Good and Evil, Law and Order (2001)

• The Wild West (2002)

• Harry Wheeler, Arizona Lawman (2003), not to be confused with Harry Wheeler, the baseball player

• The Johnson County War (2004)

• Cheyenne, 1867-1903': A Biography of the Magic City of the Plains (2006)

• Brick Book Best of the West (2007)

[edit] Baseball titles

• The Texas League 1888-1987: A Century of Baseball (1987)

• The American Association: A Baseball History, 1902-1991 (1992); see American Association.

• The International League: A Baseball History, 1884-1992 (1992); see International League

• The Pacific Coast League, 1903-1888 (1990); see Pacific Coast League.

• The Southern League, 1885-1994 (1994); see Southern League.

[edit] Children's books

• Great Gunfighters of the Wild West

• The First Thanksgiving - It Happened in Texas (2000)

• Doris Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor (2007); see Doris Miller.

[edit] Other titles

• Tex Ritter: America's Most Beloved Cowboy, Austin: Eakin Press, 1998

• Reel Cowboys (2000)

• The Sons of the Pioneers (2001), co-author Fred Goodwin; see Sons of the Pioneers

• Sam Houston Slept Here: Guide to the Homes of Texas' Chief Executives (2004)

• Regulator-Moderator War

• Reel Rangers': Texas Rangers in Movies, TV, Radio, and Other Forms of Popular Culture

[edit] References