OTHER BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES: 1879 1889 1903 1911 1930 BIOGRAPHIES Source: The History of Vermilion County, Illinois A Tale of its Evolution, Settlement and Progress for nearly a Century -         Vols. I & 2 By Lottie E. Jones - Chicago - Pioneer Publishing Company  - 1911 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z   DANIEL OAKS.  Among the men now living in Vermilion county who fought for the Union in the Civil war may be named Daniel Oaks, who has resided for more than forty years on the farm he now owns, in Vance township. He came to Illinois with his parents in his boyhood and has been a witness of the great changes by which many obstacles have been conquered and the state has been made a pleasant abiding place for several millions of prosperous and happy people. He was born in Seneca county, Ohio, August 27 1842, a son of Michael Oaks, by his second wife, who died during the childhood of our subject, and his father was married a third time. On emigrating to Illinois late in the '40s, he first located in Clark county near the town of Marshall, where he lived ten or twelve years, and then came to Vance township, Vermilion county, and bought a farm of forty acres. After the death of his third wife he took up his residence with his son and continued with him until 1881, when he was called away at the age of seventy-five years.      Daniel Oaks was reared on the home farm and educated in the public schools. Soon after the opening of the Civil war he offered his services to the government and in 1862 was enrolled in Company C, Seventy-first Illinois Regiment, in response to a call for one hundred day men. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he returned home and in January, 1864, enlisted in Company F, Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry, serving until the close of the war and participating in many important engagements, among which were the battles of Scottsboro, Snake Creek Gap, Atlanta, Bentonville, Big Shanty, Burnt Hickory, Dallas, Davis Mill, Ezra Church, Goldsboro, Kingston, Kenesaw Mountain, Lovejoy Station, Little Salkahatchie, Lumpkins Mill and Nickajack. He participated in Sherman's march to the sea, being a member of the Fifteenth Army Corps, under command of General John A. Logan. At the battle of Atlanta, July 28, 1864, Mr. Oaks received a flesh wound which, however, did not prove serious and he soon recovered from the injury. He was a brave and vigilant soldier and was honorably discharged from the army in September, 1865, after having passed through many thrilling experiences which made a never-to-be-forgotten impression upon his life. Returning to Vermilion county and laying aside the uniform and accouterment of war, he resumed the occupations of peace and after renting a farm for two years, he purchased the homestead which he has since occupied and now owns a highly improved farm of one hundred and ten acres, which is provided with a comfortable residence, a commodious barn, good fences, and all the equipments of the up-to-date farming establishment      In 1869 Mr. Oaks was united in marriage to Miss Melissa Morrison, of Vance township, and of this union four children were born, two of whom are living: Eva, the wife of Charles Hazelton, a farmer of Vance township; and Charles, of Homer, Illinois. Mrs. Oaks was called to her final rest about 1879 and on July 26, 1881, Mr. Oaks was married to Miss Margaret Hickman, of Vance township. She is a daughter of Maranda and Elizabeth Hickman, who came to Vermilion county in 1865 from Harrison county, Virginia. Our subject and his wife have one child, William, now an employe of the Pullman Company of Chicago. Mrs. Oaks holds membership in the Cumberland Presbyterian church and is one of the active supporters of that denomination. Mr. Oaks has been for many years a stanch advocate of the republican party but he has never aspired to official honors. He is a worthy member of Homer Post, No. 263, Grand Army of the Republic, and at the gatherings of his gray-haired comrades he again renews the associations of long years ago when great armies met on many a battlefield to decide the fate of the nation. He recognizes that the greatest honor of his life was his service under the stars and stripes. Mr. Oaks is respected as a patriotic and self-sacrificing citizen and as an energetic and capable man of business who has always contributed to the extent of his ability to the upbuilding of the region with which he has been identified during the greater part of his active career. Source: History of Vermilion Co., Ill. - Vol. II - Pub. 1911 - By Lottie E. Jones - Chicago - Pioneer Publishing Company  - Page 512   PERRY OLSON.  Coming to the new world empty handed when a youth of scarcely nineteen, Perry Olson has since worked his way steadily upward by dint of untiring perseverance and indomitable energy until he is now numbered among the most prosperous and respected citizens of his community, being the owner of six hundred and forty-two acres of valuable land within the borders of Vermilion county.  Since 1907 he has made his home in Grant township, having there purchased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres.  His birth occurred in the southern part of Sweden on the 25th of October, 1864, his parents being Ola and Lena Olson, who still reside in that country.  Their children were seven in number, namely: Anna, Nels and Ola, all yet living in Sweden; Perry, of this review; Swan, who likewise makes his home in Sweden; Carl, who is deceased; and Andrew.      Perry Olson spent the first eighteen years of his life in his native land, obtaining a good practical education in the common schools.  In the spring of 1883, wishing to test the truth of the many favorable reports which he had heard concerning the opportunities of the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and came direct to Vermilion county, Illinois.  Securing employment as a farm land, he was thus busily engaged for five years, on the expiration of which period he rented a tract of land in Butler township, devoting his attention to its cultivation for several years.  When he had accumulated sufficient capital to enable him to purchase a farm of his own, he came into possession of three hundred and twenty acres on sections 25 and 26, Butler township, continuing to reside thereon until 1907.  In that year he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in Grant township, where he has made his home to the present time.  In the conduct of his farming interests he has followed the most modern methods of agriculture and his well directed labors have been annually rewarded by bounteous harvests.  His land holdings now embrace six hundred and forty-two acres and his success is all the more creditable by reason of the fact that it is attributable entirely to his own efforts, for his cash capital at the time of his arrival in this country was but twenty-five cents.      In 1888 Mr. Olson was united in marriage to Miss Gussie Lindall, a native of Sweden, in which country her parents spent their entire lives.  Our subject and his wife now have three children: George W., Laura A., and Elmer W.      Mr. Olson is a stanch republican in politics and holds the office of township commissioner, now serving for the second year.  Both he and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and exemplify its teachings in their daily lives.  He is a man who has made the most of each opportunity but also one who has not swerved from the principles of upright manhood. Source: History of Vermilion Co., Ill. - Vol. II - Pub. 1911 - By Lottie E. Jones - Chicago - Pioneer Publishing Company  - Page 473   THOMAS O'NEAL Thomas O'Neal, with his wife, Sarah (Howard) O'Neal, came from Nelson County, Kentucky, and settled at Brooks' Point in the fall of 1821. He was a native of Nelson County, while his wife was a native of Indiana. Mr. O'Neal first took up a claim near Brooks' Point, but three years later he entered near the Big Vermilion River. After he moved to the Vermilion River, he established a tan yard and made his own leather from which he made the shoes of the family. He made leather from which he could make Indian moccasins and which the Indians would get from him. The winter months were spent in making rails with which to fence his land and clearing up the ground, thus adding about ten acres of tillable land to his farm every year. When the Black Hawk war broke out, he saddled his horse and with his gun on his shoulder, went into the service. His oldest son was also in that war. Thomas O'Neal remained in the service as long as the war lasted. When he returned home he again took up the work of improving his farm with renewed determination to make a valuable property, and met great success. He died September, 1861, and his wife died two years later. They were the parents of nine children who have kept the name a well known one through almost a century in Vermilion. Source:  The History of Vermilion County, Illinois - Vol. I - 1911 - Page 108 - Submitted by Mary Paulius NOTES:

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