ODOMS
Like the Hendersons,
our Odom research has been quite a journey. The Odom and Henderson
lines intersect with the marriage of Sarah Francis Odom and James H.
Henderson about 1844 in Mississippi (marriage record not
yet found in any of the counties where their families are known to
have lived or the surrounding counties. Pike and Simpson Counties had
fires and the early records were lost. Marriage date has been
calculated by age of oldest child.) The
Odom-Henderson line was previously covered in posts #14 through post
#18 of this blog.
For many
years, most of us researching this Odom line, have known that a
Richard Odom was the father of Sarah Francis but various undocumented
internet trees do not have the correct Richard and do not have his
correct linage. The next few posts on this blog will attempt to
present the correct information with documentation.
Richard Odom
was probably born before 1792 in South Carolina. By 1820, he was
residing in Pike County, Mississippi (1820 U.S.
Census; Census Place: Pike, Mississippi; Page: 87, NARA Roll: M33_58;
Image 119.) Also about 1820, Richard married his
first wife, (First name unknown) Merchant. This marriage record has
not been found but the date was surmised by the birth of their first
child in 1821. Some trees
assert the wife's first name as Mary or Nancy or Sarah or Jane. This
needs more extensive research. On
this 1820 census only two people were in the household, one male age
"of 16 and under 26", and one female age "of 26 and
under 49".
The next census record where Richard Odom is found is
the 1840 census in Simpson County, Mississippi. (1840;
Census Place: Simpson, Mississippi; Roll:217; Page 218; Image: 893;
Family History Library Film: 0014841) In
the household was the following enumeration: Males: Ages10-14, 2
40-49, 1
Females: Ages 5-9, 1
10-14, 2
15-19, 2
40-49, 1
By 1850, Richard's first wife Unknown Merchant had died
and Richard had married Elizabeth Cook, widow of Joseph Purvis.
Richard and Elizabeth had no children together.
In 1850, also in Simpson County, Mississippi, Richard's
household is listed as follows: #27
Richard Oldham (name misspelled) Age
61 Farmer Born SC or NC
Elizabeth Oldham Age 50
SC cannot read or write
Elizabeth Oldham 20
Miss
James Pervis
13 "
Joseph Pervis
11 "
Alexander Pervis 9
"
(1850;
Census Place: Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: M432_381; Page: 289A; Image
78.)
On the same page surrounding Richard are
the following listings:
#25
James Henderson Age 21 Farmer
Ala
Sara "
24 Miss Daughter
of Richard & __Merchant
Allen "
2 "
Richard "
5/12 "
#26
Henry H. Thornhill Age 29 Farmer
Miss
Lavina "
27 "
Daughter of Richard & __Merchant
Sara A "
1 "
Dolly Oldham
18 " Daughter
of Richard & __Merchant
#28
Solomon Thornhill Age 40 Farmer
Eady "
29 Daughter
of Richard & __Merchant
John "
7
Asa D "
3
#30
John Oldham Age 23 Farmer
Miss cannot read or write
Nancy "
25 Daughter
of Elizabeth & Joseph Purvis
Isaac "
6
Mary A "
1
Lucy Pervis
18 Daughter of
Elizabeth & Joseph Purvis
Examining Richard's age through the above census
records, we can surmise that his age of 61 is about correct in the
1850 census. This would have put his birth in 1790 or 1791.
The 1850 census page listings is really incredible
in that so many close family members are clustered, not only in the
same county, but as neighbors. As the Odom family is explored going
back in time, this same concept of moving and living in family
clusters will be seen in previous generations.
Below are the known children of Richard Odom and his
first wife, Unknown Merchant.
1.
Edith Odom b. 1821 in Simpson County, MS; d. April 1860 Pike County,
MS;
Married Solomon Thornhill.
2.
James Richard Odom b. ca 1823 MS; d. 1898 Rapides Parish, LA. Married
Cinderella Beall.
3.
Lavina Odom b. ca 1823 MS; d. after 1860. Married Henry Thornhill ca
1840.
4.
Sarah Francis Odom b. 10 August 1826 MS; d. 20 September 1911, Forest
Hill, Rapides, LA. Married James H. Henderson.
5.
John Odom b. ca 1825 MS; Married Nancy Purvis. d. after 1870 Trinity,
TX
6.
Elizabeth Odom b. 1830 MS (no other info)
7.
Dolly Odom b. 1832 MS (no other info)
Some internet trees have other children listed as
follows: Margaret (no other info); James Addison (It seems he has
been confused with James R. listed above and also with James Addison
son of the above listed James R. Odom and Cinderella Beall)
If we match the known children with the 1840 census,
this is the exact result:
Males: 10-14-2: James R. and John
Females: 5-9 - 1: Dolly
10-14-2: Sarah Francis and
Elizabeth
15-19-2: Edith and Lavina
Unfortunately, the 1850 census is the last one where
Richard Odom appeared as he died in 1853.
Before
going back to Richard's ancestors, here are his children and their
children. Most of this information was taken from census records.
Edith
Odom (1821-Aft 1860 Pike Co., MS) and Solomon Thornhill (1814-April
1860 Pike Co. MS)
John
Solomon Thornhill (1843 - 1909)
Asa
Denson Thornhill (1847 - 1927)
Amenda
Jane Thornhill (1856 - 1942)
Clarissa
Thornhill (1857 - 1887)
Minda
Ellen Thornhill (1859 - 1942)
Lavina
Odom (1823 - Aft 1860) and Henry Thornhill (1818-Apr 1860)
Sara
Thornhill b. 1849
Joseph
R. Thornhill b. 1850
Leroy
Thornhill b. 1853
May
or Mary Thornhill b. 1856
James
Richard Odom (b.20 Dec. 1823) and Cinderella (or Sinderella) Beall
(b.Abt 1824 - Aft 1850)
William
W. Odom b. 1846
Nancy
Odom b. 1848
Dolly
J. Odom b. Aug. 1850
John
Odom (b. Abt 1825) and Nancy Purvis (b. Abt 1825)
Isaac
Odom b. 1846
Elizabeth
Odom b. 1850
Jerry
Odom b. 1854
Joseph
Odom b. 1856
Richard
b. 1858
Sarah
Francis Odom (b. 10 August 1826) and James H. Henderson (b. 8 August
1821)
Allen
Henderson b. March 1847
Richard
Henderson b. December 1849
Caroline
E. Henderson b. 5 March 1854
James
W. Henderson b. 24 June 1856
Henry
Henderson b. 4 September 1858
Sarah
Frances Henderson b. 18 February 1862
Yosebia
Lavinia Henderson b. 5 July 1865
Summary
of known records of Richard Odom:
1813,
Marion County, Mississipi tax list, 1 pole, no land. (will be
discussed in next post)
1815,
Private, 13th Regiment(Nixon's), Mississippi Militia, War of 1812,
January 6, 1815 to
February
5, 1815. Captain Moses Collins' Company. Discharged 5th of Feb 1815.
Term
of service charged 1 month; Amount of pay 8 dollars.
(Fold
3)
1816
Pike County, Mississippi census, Richard Odum: 1 white male 21+.
1819
Pike County, Mississippi 1 poll $1.
1820
Pike County, Mississippi 1 poll .75
1820
Pike County, Mississippi census, Richard Odom: 1 male 16-26; 1 female
26-44.
(All
of above information from Historic Pathways, EShownMills)
1821
Pike County, Mississippi combination tax roll.
1822,
1824, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835
combination tax roll Pike County.
(This
information posted on Ancestry Tree by Dawn Driskell of Union,
Mississippi)
1834,
1 Sept. Land sale from US Government to Richard Odom of Pike County,
Mississippi,
81.5
acres, Washington, Mississippi; Certificate #1521. (Ancestry)
1840
Simpson County, Mississippi census, Richard Odem (see census
information above)
1841
Simpson County, Mississippi combination tax roll.
1844
Simpson County, Mississippi personal tax roll. (Dawn Driscoll,
Ancestry)
1845
Simpson County, Mississippi personal tax roll. (Dawn Driscoll,
Ancestry)
1850
U.S. Census, Simpson County, Mississippi Richard Oldham (see
census information above)
The
next Post will be about Richard and his Odom ancestors.
