Odell/Oliver

Introduction

This section is for information about the Odell/Oliver Clan so named by a couple of us in the family who have been researching them for a while.  Also so named because in our particular family there is an Odell and an Oliver family who intermarried a great deal so that some of us are related to both and, in some cases, doubly related (to be explained later).

I've created groups at Yahoo.com for most of my primary families to maintain a place where files, charts, and photos can be exchanged and where family members can get to know each other.  This is the link for the Odell/Oliver Clan.  Membership and posting is monitored by yours truly to prevent the crazies from being a pest.  Membership is free so take a look and join.  Once on the site, members can create their own folders and photo albums for sharing with the group.  Everything I post on the site is available for members to take (download).

When you visit this blog, please leave a comment so I know there's some interest.

Thank you.

January 25, 2016

The Most distant Odell family found.

I’ve traced the Odell family line back to 1840 in Windham, Greene County, NY; to Joseph Odell.  I haven’t been able to get further back with confidence in what I’ve found.  This is disappointing.  In 1840, Joseph was about 29, married with 5 children, the eldest of which was, possibly, 15 but probably 10, making Joseph 19 when his first child was born.  His wife, Catharine, was about a year younger.

I have no documentation for Joseph:  no birth certificate, no baptismal record, no marriage record, no death certificate, no obituary nor cemetery record.  I have no parentage for Joseph.

He was born, approximately 1811. Some censuses have him born in PA, most in NYS, one in Delaware Co. but not whether that was Delaware County, NY or Delaware County, PA.

As I usually do, I’ve traced Joseph through the censuses from 1840 through 1870.  In 1870, he and the family were living in Morsston/Rockland, NY (Sullivan Co.).  Joseph was 60.  I can’t find him after that.  I assume he died after September 1870 when he was recorded on the US census.  By the 1880 census, Catherine is widowed.

Catharine was born, possibly, a year later than Joseph but, apparently, in Greene Co., NY.  I have no maiden name for her, just the middle initial M. and have no parentage.  The only document I have for Catherine is a record of her burial in the Potters’ Field in Delhi, NY, April 15, 1892.

I’ve traced most of Joseph and Catherine’s children.

Reuben Odell is a direct ancestor.  I’ve traced his life from birth to death although the only document I have for Reuben is his death certificate, dated Feb. 26, 1901, Livingston Manor, NY.

I’ve traced William Odell to a point and thought I have found him married but now I’m unsure of that identification so I’m not relying on it.  I last have him clearly identified in 1850, on the census, at home with his parents, age 18, in Ashland, Greene Co., NY.

Hannah Odell, is also a direct ancestor in a messy, complicated marriage duo that later produced several double first cousins in two families which I’ll describe later.  Hannah died, August 16, 1905, Meredith, Delaware Co., NY.  Her death appears on the town registry but no death certificate has been found for her.

Anna Odell married David Ward and they appear in the home of her brother Ruben on a census.  They appear to have split at some point and Anna is later found in the home of a niece in Delhi and later in her daughter’s home, also in Delhi.  She last appeared on the 1910 US census in Delhi, is not found on the 1915 census there so I assume that she died between 1910 and 1915.  I have no documentation for Anna.

Finally, the one person in the “original” Odell family group, is Charity Odell.  Calculating from census records, Charity was born in 1843.  On one census it says she was born in Pennsylvania, on another in Greene Co., NY.  In 1850, she’s living with her parents in Greene Co., NY.  In 1855, she’s with her parents in Sullivan Co.  In 1860, she’s in the home of her sister, Hannah, and Hannah’s husband, Darius Oliver, and listed as a domestic.

After 1860, I haven’t been able to find her.  She may have married, she may have died.

Reuben named one of his daughters Charity.  Anna named one of her daughters Charity.

I'm at a brick wall with this family line at 1840.

More later....

August 23, 2012

Discovering Ezra Oliver, Jr.


Yes, Ezra Oliver, Jr. 

Until recently, there were two (2) Ezra Olivers, that we knew about, in our family.

Ezra Oliver, the elder, the original, or, at least, the first to us - so far.  This Ezra Oliver was born approximately 1805, in New York state and can be found on Greene County, NY censuses as earlier as 1840.

Ezra Oliver, II, or so we thought, was son of  William Oliver, in turn, son of Darius Oliver.  This Ezra Oliver was born July 30, 1885 in Meredith, Delaware County, NY.

And, that's the way it was for quite a while.

Then, I discovered the Fulton Historic Postcards.  More than historic postcards,  this site has indexed newspaper clippings from all over the state.  I sat for a couple of days just searching for family names.

We don't have a lot of information about the earliest members of the Oliver and Odell families and they seem to have appeared abruptly in Greene County in the early 1800s.  We haven't been able to reliably identify Ezra Oliver before then.  But...

In my search of the Fulton site for Ezra Oliver, an obituary appeared:

He died March 9, 1952, a bachelor, never married.

We already knew that Ezra Oliver, presumed the II, was married to Winnie More.  So, who was this Ezra Oliver?

The obituary tells us a great deal about him and also solves some questions about other members of the family.  

He was the son of Ezra Oliver and Abbie (Marshall) Oliver.  So, this is Ezra, Jr.  Ezra Oliver, the elder, left first (1st) wife, Hester, in Greene County and relocated to Sullivan County where much of the children were.  He married Abigail which, until I found the obituary, I knew nothing about.  He had several children with Abbie and some of the children may have been hers from a previous marriage.  The obituary tells us that her surname was Marshall.

The obituary tells us that Ezra, Jr. had been living with a Mrs. Lizzie Every of Peake's Brook.  I have a listing of the children of Ezra and Abigail from various censuses.  Among them is Mary Elizabeth.  Could she have become Lizzie Every?

The obit also tells us that Ezra, Jr. had two (2) nephews:  Ezra and Grover Currie.  There are already Curries in the family, on the Odell side.  

It was necessary to go through some censuses to find Ezra and Grover Curry who were sons of Elijah Curry and Rhoda Oliver.  Rhoda is the daughter of Ezra Oliver, the elder, and Abbie.  Rhoda and Elijah also had a daughter, Lizzie.  Maybe this Lizzie became Mrs. Lizzie Every and Ezra, Jr. would have been her uncle.

Why didn't Ezra, Jr. appear on the censuses with the family?  It's always a mystery when an individual doesn't appear when the rest of the family does.  I recently watched an Ancestry webinar at YouTube about just that.  I'll post something in the main blog about it at some point.  Ezra, Jr. appears on the 1920 census in Delhi, Delaware County, NY in the home of a Conrad family.  The census recorded that he said his father came from Germany and spoke German.

So, according to published information about genealogical nomenaclature and suffixes for family names, We have the following individuals:

Ezra Oliver, born approx. 1805, NY

Ezra Oliver, Jr. also the II, born 1858, NY

Ezra Oliver, III, born 1885, NY

I'll be writing a post on these family position suffixes shortly.  I did a little research recently to see "official" and proper use of these designations.  They can be used, in keeping straight who we're talking about when there are multiple individuals with the same name in a family.

Discovering Ezra, Jr. was one of those serendipitous moments that we hope for, particularly when we've been facing a brick wall for quite a while.  And, it's always fun for me to find another relative or ancestor.