His father Isaac Newton Eddy was a printer, inventor, and engraver.
[2] Isaac moved the family, including Oliver and his seven siblings, from Vermont to Waterford, New York in 1826.
[4] In 1822, he married Jane Maria Burger in Newburgh, New York.
[4] He moved to New York City in 1826, where he worked painting portraits and miniatures.
He painted numerous portraits in Newark, particularly of the city's rising industrial elite.