Omer Call was the son of Cyril Call & Sarah Tiffany Call. He and his twin brother Homer were the youngest of 13 children. Siblings: Harvey Call (1808-1849), Anson Call (1810-1890), Salmon Call (1812-1813), Samantha [Call] Willey (1814-1905), Fanny [Call] Loveland (1816-1898), Lucina [Call] Sessions (1819-1904), Josiah Howe Call (1821-1858), Mary [Call] Sessions (1824-1865), Sonora Rosaline [Call] Dustin (1826 1906), Sarah [Call] Hanchett (1828 1886), Melissa Cynthia [Call] Brownell (1830 1888) and Homer Call (1834-1908). The twins, as they were usually referred to, were born in Madison, Geauga County, Ohio, on 9 January 1834. They remembered the Prophet Joseph Smith, for at one time he rocked them upon his knee while visiting at the home of Cyril Call. Omer and Homer were identical twins, but Omer, who was the elder of the two was a few pounds heavier, weighing about 170 lbs. Both were strong and athletic in their early life. They were also good singers. In social gatherings, they were often called on to sing "The Bull Fight", a song composed by a member of the Mormon Batallion and described the only battle which took place on their march to California. Their dramatic ability, including many gestures, made the song more interesting. Omer's early boyhood years were spent in Warsaw and Nauvoo, Illinois. In the fall of 1845, the Call family home was burned to the ground by mobs. The leader of the mob said to Omer's father Cyril, "I have nothing against you as a man, but you are a Mormon and we must treat them all alike. After their home was burned, they stayed in Nauvoo until they were ready to make the trip west to the Salt Lake Valley. The family of Cyril Call traveled to Utah in 1850 with the Warren Foote Company and made their home in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah. In 1852, Omer and Homer moved to Willard, Box Elder County, Utah and homesteaded farms, each built a substantial rock home and each possessed large herds of cattle and hogs. They formed a business partnership which lasted more than fifty years. They were successful farmers and railroad builders. They owned and operated the first flour mill in Northern Utah, ran one or more threshing machines and also a molasses mill. In connection with their flour mill, they packed rolled oats and buckwheat pancake flour in pasteboard cartons, which they sold to the public. Omer married Sarah Maria Ferrin on 26 Oct 1855 in Willard, Box Elder, Utah, when he was 21 years of age. Eleven children were born to them, Omer Samuel Call (1857-1930), Sally Agnes [Call] Cordon (1858-1955), Cyril Josiah Call (1860-1940), Fanny Manervia Call (1862-1863), Albert Jarius Call (1864-1931), Nancy Ann Call (1866-1881), Anson Heber Call(1868-1885), Lydia Jane [Call] Barrow (1869-1936), George William Call (1872-1930), Elihu Call (1873-1929) and Sarah Elenor Call(1880-1880). He later married Eleanor Jones on 30 Mar 1867 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, and they became parents of another 11 children. Justin David Call(1868-1922), Mary Lucina Call (1869-1869), Cyrus John Call (1871-1885), Joseph Call (1872-1878), Sarah Eliza [Call] Nelson (1875-1970), Benjamin Carlos Call (1877-1962), Esther [Call] Stewart ( 1879-1959), William Vosco Call ( 1881-1957), Margaret Elenor [Call] Morris (1883-1941), Chauncy Homer Call (1884-1893)and Waldemar Alma Call (1889-1948). Shortly after his marriage to Sarah, President Brigham Young ordered the Saints to go South as Johnston's Army was coming to destroy them; he told them to burn their homes if necessary and not leave them for the soldiers to enjoy. Omer was among those left in Willard to carry out this order, should they receive the command to do so. Sally Agnes Call, a daughter of Omer and Sarah's relates an experience with the grasshoppers that invaded the area. She tells it thus: "We had to drive them on rows of straw and burn them or drive them in a great moving mass into the lake. My father and Uncle Homer, his twin, had a fine crop of wheat together and the grasshoppers were already devouring it. My grandfather [Cyril Call] called his boys together and said: "We will make a covenant with the Lord that if He will spare our wheat we will keep it for breadstuff only." Their prayers were answered and the grasshoppers left. They realized a good harvest from the wheat and it was kept for bread, etc---People traveled for miles to secure some of it for their families who were in great need of bread. Some offered as high as $10.00 a bushel but my father would take no more than $2.00 a bushel". At the 39th Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints held on 13 October 1869, Omer was called to serve a short mission to the Eastern states. His name was presented to the conference by George Q. Cannon.

Eastern States
October 1869–Unknown
Age Called: 35
Eastern States.
Set Apart: 9 October 1869
Mission type: Proselytizing
Marital Status: Married
Priesthood office: Seventy
Quorum: 59th
Called From: Willard, Box Elder, Utah, United States
Set apart by: A. P. Rockwood
Notes: Called on a short mission.

According to Sally Agnes, after Omer received his mission call "Grandmother Pettingill" of Willard asked him to go see her brother. When her father located this brother he found him to be a "spiritualist". He was hospitably entertained by him and invited to observe his séances. But alas--the spiritualist was unable to perform his work due, of course, to the presence of the Holy Priesthood which her father held. This remained a testimony to her of the divinity of Mormonism. Omer remained a faithful member of the church throughout his life. In commemoration of Omer & Homer's 72nd birthday in 1906, a newspaper article was written honoring them. It reads as follows; "The Cyril Call family, descendants of 13 sons and daughters is one of the largest in the Mormon Church. His ancestry in the United States dates back to 1639. Omer and Homer Call, the two youngest sons and whose pictures are herewith produced celebrated their 72nd birthday on January 9, 1906 at Willard, Utah. They are the oldest twins in the church and the oldest but one in the United States. They have taken an active part in the development of Utah, coming here in 1850 and settling in Willard two years later. They have been partners in business all their lives and were the first to bring into Box Elder County a threshing machine, a sawmill and a grist mill. Omer is the husband of 2 wives and the father of 22 children. Homer has had one wife, now deceased, and is the father of 12 children. In July last, they had a family reunion at which was present 150 descendants. They are faithful members of the church and were present at Green Plains, Illinois, when their home was burned to the ground by the mob. They served in the Echo Canyon War, in several Indian crusades, have held responsible civil positions and have been very active men all their lives. May they celebrate many more birthdays". Omer only celebrated 3 more birthdays as he passed away on September 14, 1909 in Willard, Utah at the age of 75 years, 8 months and 5 days. Cause of death was listed as Peritonitis.

Obituary in newspaper read as follows, "DEATH OF PIONEER, Omer Call, one of the earliest residents of this county, closed his eyes in death Tuesday morning, at his home in Willard, [Utah] after an illnes of several months during which time he suffered untold agony. Cause of death was listed as Peritonitis, superinduced by cancer of the rectum. Mr. Call was a very interesting character, not only for his own sterling qualities but for the fact that he sprang from a very prominent family which was early assosicated with the founding of these United States. The family arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1638 and settled there. James Call, the great-great-grandfather of Omer Call fought in the King Willams War of 1689. His great-grandfather John Call fought under General Wolf in the French and Indian Wars in 1759; his grandfather, Joseph Call fought under George Washington in the Revolutionary War and his father, Cyril Call fought in the War of 1812. Thus it can be seen that Omer Call springs from illustrious progenitors and his nature was characteristic of his birth, being fearless in the defense of what he believed to be right. Omer Call, himself, was born in Ohio, January 9th, 1834, being a twin to Homer Call who died about a year ago. These twins were born in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their father having been baptized in October 1831. Omer had vivid recollections of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, having sat on his knee many times and listened to him preach also. In connection with his parents and the rest of the family, he passed through the persecutions of Missouri and Nauvoo, having had their property burned in Illinois by a mob headed by Lawyer Stevens, who was a member of the W.M. of Hancock Masonic to which organization Mr. Call's father belonged also. In the year 1850, Mr. Call arrived in Utah and two years later settled in Willard. He had two wives, Sarah Ferrin and Elenor Jones, each of which bore him 11 children and both of whom have preceded him to the other life. Four children by each wife have also preceded their father to the other side. Mr. Call passed thru all the incidents of pioneer life, such as the Indian and Echo Canyon wars, the hardships endured by the depredations of the grasshoppers and other trials which the pioneers had to meet, but which thru it all he preserved a sublime confidence that all would be well in the end, and never once did he waiver in the faith which he had espoused. He was the first man in Box Elder county to own a threshing machine and built the first grist mill. He was a farmer and stock raiser of prominence, and one of the leading citizens of Willard. At the time of his brother's death one year ago, these twin brothers were considered the oldest twins in the United States, and they were always together in every business venture in life. Mr. Call was one of the most active in church circles in the ward where he resided and it can be said of him that the greatest delight he had in life was endeavoring to live his religion. He was conscious up until the very last and his last injunction to his children was, live true and faithful to the gospel. Funeral services are being held in the Willard tabernacle today".

Gender
Male
Birth date, place
9 January 1834, Madison, Lake, Ohio, United States
Death date
14 September 1909
Baptism date
March 1845
Baptism by
Chester Loveland
Father's name
Cyril Call
Mother's name
Sarah Tiffany