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Line 19: − + + − + + − + + + − + − + − Bill and Faye have four daughters: Lynn O. Martinez (born 1972 and married to Rudy Martinez) of Mansfield, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex; Lynn's twin sister, Dr. Shellie O'Neal, (born 1972), a theater arts professor at Navarro College; Dr. Berri O'Neal, (born 1975 and married to Drew Gormley) of Irving in Dallas County , the executive director of Universities Center at Dallas (www.ucddowntown.org) and adjunct professor, Texas A&M University-Commerce, and Causby Lea Henderson (born 1980 and married to Dusty Lee Henderson) of Allen, Texas, located north of Dallas. O'Neal's third wife was the former Karon Jane Ashby (1960-2016), a former head of the Panola College [[mathematics]] department.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jimerson-lipsey.com/obituary/3787113|title=Karon Jane Ashby O'Neal obituary|publisher=jimmerson-lipsey.com|date=July 4, 2016|accessdate=December 13, 2019}}</ref>+ − + Line 43:
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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name=John William "Bill" O'Neal
| name=John William "Bill" O'Neal
(Texas historian, author, professor)
| image=Bill O’Neal.jpg
| birth_date=April 8, 1942
| birth_date=April 8, 1942
| birth_place=Corsicana, Navarro County, [[Texas]]<br>
| birth_place=Corsicana, Navarro County, [[Texas]]<br>
Resident of Carthage in Panola County
Resident of Carthage in Panola County
| occupation=[[Historian]], [[Author]], [[Radio]] host, [[Professor]]
| death_date=November 3, 2025 (aged 83)<br>
'''Resting place''':<br>
Pattison Cemetery in Emhouse in Navarro County, Texas
| nationality=[[United States|American]]<br>
| nationality=[[United States|American]]<br>
|spouse=(1) Kathryn Berry (divorced)<br>
| spouse= (1) Kathryn Berry (divorced)<br>
(2) Faye Gipson (divorced) (since Faye G. Frasier)<br>
(2) Faye Gipson (divorced<br> (since Faye G. Frasier)<br>
(3) Karen Jane Ashby O'Neal (married 1993-2016, her death)<br>
(3) Karen Jane Ashby O'Neal (married 1993-2016, her death)
'''Children''':<br>
'''Children''':<br>
Four daughters from second marriage:<br>
Four daughters from second marriage:<br>
Berri O'Neal Gormley<br>
Berri O'Neal Gormley<br>
Causby Lea O'Neal Henderson<br>
Causby Lea O'Neal Henderson<br>
'''Parents''':<br>William Causby "Bud" O'Neal<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
William Causby "Bud" O'Neal<br>
Jessie Standard O'Neal<br>
Jessie Standard O'Neal<br>
'''Alma mater''':<br>
'''Alma mater''':<br>
Corsicana High School<br>
Corsicana High School<br>
Navarro College<br>
Navarro College<br>
Texas A&M University - Commerce in Hunt County}}
Texas A&M University - Commerce in Hunt County
|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]}}
'''John William O'Neal''', known as '''Bill O'Neal''' (born April 8, 1942), is an [[United States|American]] [[author]] who has written more than forty books and more than three hundred articles and book reviews on the American West. His work focuses on gunfighters, law enforcement officers, and ghost towns. He has also written on [[Country music]], with emphasis on [[Texas]] artists, [[baseball]], and children's books, including one about the first [[Thanksgiving Day|Thanksgiving]] celebrations held in Texas.
:Not to be confused with Texas historian and attorney [[Bill Neal (Texas)|Bill Neal]]
'''John William O'Neal''', known as '''Bill O'Neal''' (April 8, 1942 – November 3, 2025)<ref name=obit/> was an author of fifty-nine books and scores of articles on the American West. His work focuses on gunfighters, law enforcement officers, and ghost towns. He has also written on [[Country music]], with emphasis on [[Texas]] artists, [[baseball]], and children's books, including one about the first [[Thanksgiving Day|Thanksgiving]] celebrations held in Texas.
==Background==
==Background==
O'Neal was born in Corsicana in Navarro County in east central Texas to William Causby "Bud" O'Neal (1915–1991), a 1939 Bachelor of Science graduate of [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], and the former Jessie Standard (1918–2002), originally from Lampasas in west 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. 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 (born March 20, 1944), and a brother, Michael Ross "Mike" O'Neal (born June 25, 1952) of Carrollton near [[Dallas]].
O'Neal was born in Corsicana in Navarro County in east central Texas to William Causby "Bud" O'Neal (1915–1991), a 1939 Bachelor of Science graduate of [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]], and the former Jessie Lucille Standard (1918–2002), originally from Lampasas in west central Texas. O'Neal's maternal great-grandfather drove [[cattle]] on the Chisholm Trail; his maternal grandmother, Janie Lucile Standard, came to Texas in 1881 in a covered wagon. Bud and Jessie married on April 9, 1940, and owned a [[farm]] retail store in Corsicana. As a little boy, O'Neal spent treasured hours at the Ideal, Palace, and Grand theatres in Corsicana, figuratively riding the range with Gene Autry and [[Roy Rogers]]. O'Neal has a younger sister, Judy O'Neal Smith (born March 20, 1944), and a brother, Michael Ross "Mike" O'Neal (born June 25, 1952) of Carrollton near [[Dallas]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/bill-o-neal-obituary?id=59965851|title=Bill O'Neal obituary|publisher=legacy.com|date=November 5, 2025}}</ref>
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 of Arts]] and [[Master of Arts]] from A&m-Commerce in 1964 and 1969, respectively. O'Neal served as athletic director and head football coach at Anna High School (1967–1968) and at Waskom High School in Harrison County (1968–1970). He first married the former Kathryn Berry of [[Dallas]]. After their [[divorce]], O'Neal married Faye Gipson of Garrison in Nacogdoches County. Faye remarried after their divorce and is now Faye G. Frasier of [[Corpus Christi]].
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 of Arts]] and [[Master of Arts]] from A&M-Commerce in 1964 and 1969, respectively. O'Neal served as athletic director and head football coach at Anna High School (1967–1968) and at Waskom High School in Harrison County (1968–1970). He first married the former Kathryn Berry of [[Dallas]]. After their divorce, O'Neal married Faye Gipson of Garrison in Nacogdoches County, who remarried and took the name Faye G. Frasier of [[Corpus Christi]].
There are four O'Neal daughters from the second marriage: twins Lynn O. Martinez (born 1972), the wife of Rudy Martinez of Mansfield, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Shellie O'Neal, a theater arts professor at Navarro College. A third daughter, Dr. Berri O'Neal (born 1975), the wife of Drew Gormley of Irving in Dallas County, is the executive director of Universities Center at Dallas (www.ucddowntown.org) and an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University-Commerce. The fourth daughter, Causby Lea Henderson (born 1980), the wife of Dusty Lee Henderson of Allen, Texas, north of Dallas. O'Neal's third wife was the former Karon Jane Ashby (1960-2016), the daughter of James W. and Louise Riggs Ashby of her native Carthage. Karon O'Neal was a talented seamstress and musician and a former head of the Panola College [[mathematics]] department. She and O'Neal were married in Central [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church in Carthage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jimerson-lipsey.com/obituary/3787113|title=Karon Jane Ashby O'Neal obituary|publisher=Jimmerson-lipsey.com|date=July 4, 2016|accessdate=December 13, 2019}}</ref>
==Panola College, radio, and civic affairs==
==Panola College==
In the 1968-1969 academic year, O'Neal taught as a graduate assistant in the History Department at East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas. In 1970, he became a full-time faculty member at Panola College, 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 created a "Traveling Texas" history course.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.panola.edu/recruiting/pr2003/billoneal.htm|title=End Of An Era|accessdate=August 19, 2013; no longer on-line}}</ref> Panola College was founded in 1947 to offer educational opportunities, primarily, to returning [[World War II]] service personnel.
In the 1968-1969 academic year, O'Neal taught as a graduate assistant in the History Department at East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas. In 1970, he became a full-time faculty member at Panola College, 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 created a "Traveling Texas" history course.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.panola.edu/recruiting/pr2003/billoneal.htm|title=End Of An Era|accessdate=August 19, 2013; no longer on-line}}</ref> Panola College was founded in 1947 to offer educational opportunities, primarily, to returning [[World War II]] service personnel.
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 in Carthage, whose inductees include Jim Reeves and Tex Ritter, the latter the subject of an O'Neal book.
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 in Carthage, whose inductees include Jim Reeves and Tex Ritter, the latter the subject of an O'Neal book.
O'Neal has long been active as a part-time [[radio]] personality on KGAS (AM) and (FM) in Carthage for more than three decades.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=KGAS AM-FM Radio|title=Meet the KGAS Radio Staff|url=http://www.kgasradio.com/staff.php}}</ref> His interest in radio began with the popular songs of the 1950s and 1960s.
O'Neal has for more than thirty years been a part-time [[radio]] personality on KGAS (AM) and (FM) in Carthage.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=KGAS AM-FM Radio|title=Meet the KGAS Radio Staff|url=http://www.kgasradio.com/staff.php|accessdate=June 17, 2013; material no longer accessible}}</ref> His interest in radio began with the popular songs of the 1950s and 1960s.
==Awards==
==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 awarded Minnie Stevens Piper Professorship, and he remains the only Panola College faculty member ever to receive a Piper Professorship.<ref name=autogenerated2 />
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 awarded Minnie Stevens Piper Professorship, and he remains the only Panola College faculty member ever to receive a Piper Professorship.<ref name=autogenerated2 />
O'Neal has been cited for his "meticulous research" by ''The Western Historical Quarterly,'' published by [[Utah State University]] at Logan, [[Utah]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historycooperative.org/cgi-bin/justtop.cgi?act=justtop&url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/whq/36.4/br_34.html |title=Book Review |work=''The Western Historical Quarterly,'' 36.4 |publisher=The History Cooperative}accessdate=August 17, 2013; no longer on-line}}</ref>
O'Neal has been cited for his "meticulous research" by ''The Western Historical Quarterly,'' published by [[Utah State University]] at Logan, [[Utah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycooperative.org/cgi-bin/justtop.cgi?act=justtop&url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/whq/36.4/br_34.html|title=Book Review|work=The Western Historical Quarterly, 36.4 |publisher=The History Cooperative|accessdate=August 17, 2013; no longer on-line}}</ref>
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]].
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]].
In 2007, he was named the "Best Living Non-Fiction Writer" by ''True West Magazine.''
In 2007, he was named the "Best Living Non-Fiction Writer" by ''True West Magazine.''
O'Neal is a former Texas state historian, a position to which he was appointed in 2012 by [[Governor]] [[Rick Perry]]. He spoke at a public forum on March 24, 2013, at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in [[Austin]] on the topic, "The Leadership Roles of Sam Houston."<ref>West Texas Historical Association newsletter, March 20, 2013.</ref>
From 2012 to 2018, O'Neal was the Texas state historian, a position to which he was appointed by then [[Governor]] [[Rick Perry]]. He spoke at a public forum on March 24, 2013, at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in [[Austin]] on the topic, "The Leadership Roles of Sam Houston."<ref>West Texas Historical Association newsletter, March 20, 2013.</ref>
On August 10, 2013, O'Neal addressed the summer advanced degree commencement at his ''alma mater'', Texas A&M at Commerce; university president Dr. Dan Jones presented him with an honorary doctor of letters degree. The Bill O'Neal Hall, a new dormitory at Panola College, is named in his honor.<ref>Tai Kreidler, "Texas State Historian Awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters and Dormitory Named in His Honor," West Texas Historial Association newsletter, August 19, 2013.</ref>
On August 10, 2013, O'Neal addressed the summer advanced degree commencement at his ''alma mater'', Texas A&M at Commerce; university president Dr. Dan Jones presented him with an honorary doctor of letters degree. The Bill O'Neal Hall, a new dormitory at Panola College, is named in his honor.<ref>Tai Kreidler, "Texas State Historian Awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters and Dormitory Named in His Honor," West Texas Historial Association newsletter, August 19, 2013.</ref>
In the fall of 2025, in his last action as an historian, he presented a paper at the East Texas Historical Association conference in which he advocated for the importance of citizen historians.<ref>Tai Kriedler, Special
WTHA E-Newsletter: Bill O'Neal Death, November 4, 2025.</ref>
O'Neal died at the age of eighty-three. His services were held at Central Baptist Church in Carthage, where he had married his third wife
in 1993. He is interred at Pattison Cemetery in Navarro County, Texas.
==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
===Western titles===
===Western titles===
*''The Arizona Rangers'' (1987).
*''The Arizona Rangers'' (1987).
*''Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters'' (1991).
*''Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters'' (1991).
*''Frontier Forts of Texas." (2018).
*''Frontier Forts of Texas." (2018).
===Baseball titles===
===Baseball titles===
*''The Texas League 1888-1987: A Century of Baseball'' (1987).
*''The Texas League 1888-1987: A Century of Baseball'' (1987).
*''The American Association: A Baseball History, 1902-1991'' (1992).
*''The American Association: A Baseball History, 1902-1991'' (1992).
*''The International League: A Baseball History, 1884-1992'' (1992).
*''The International League: A Baseball History, 1884-1992'' (1992).
*''The Pacific Coast League, 1903-1888'' (1990).
*''The Pacific Coast League, 1903-1888'' (1990).
*''The Southern League, 1885-1994'' (1994).
*''The Southern League, 1885-1994'' (1994).
===Children's books===
===Children's books===
*''Great Gunfighters of the Wild West'' (2001).
*''Great Gunfighters of the Wild West" (2001).
*''The First Thanksgiving - It Happened in Texas'' (2000).
*''The First Thanksgiving - It Happened in Texas'' (2000).
*''Doris Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor'' (2007).
*''Doris Miller, Hero of Pearl Harbor'' (2007).
===Other titles===
===Other titles===
*''Tex Ritter: America's Most Beloved Cowboy'' (Austin:Eakin Press, 1998).
*''Tex Ritter: America's Most Beloved Cowboy'' (Austin:Eakin Press, 1998).
*''Reel Cowboys'' (2000).
*''Reel Cowboys'' (2000).