O’Neal, Edward

Edward O’Neal was born near Weatherford in Parker County, Texas, on March 4, 1879, where he was raised and educated on a farm. At twenty years of age, he entered the oil industry with the Texas Oil Company at Gates, Texas, before working in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. In 1911, he moved to California to work for the Producers’ Transportation Company at San Luis Obispo, rising from piperman to district foreman before relocating to the Coalinga oil fields in 1913.

In March 1918, Edward was appointed city marshal and tax collector for Coalinga, gaining a strong reputation as a fearless peace officer who captured notable thieves and a high-profile suspect. He was married to Ada Thompson of Texas, and together they raised four daughters named Lena Mae, Pauline, Pearl, and Ella. A member of the Masons and the Oil Workers’ Union, he eventually resigned as city marshal in the fall of 1918 to resume his career in the local oil fields.