James O'Dell (1779 - 1845)

Born 20 Jul 1779 in Berkeley, West Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Pittinger) Odell — married 28 Feb 1804 in Adams County, Ohio, USA

Descendants

Died 23 Aug 1845 at age 66 in Vandalia, Cass County, Michigan, United States

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Biography

Early Life, Marriage, and Military Service

James Odell was born in 1779 to Thomas Odell and his second wife Grace Austin in what was then Berkley, Virginia. In 1804, he married Catherine Pittinger in Adams County, Ohio. The wedding was officiated by James' father, who was a Reverend. James and Catherine had eleven kids total, with seven surviving to adulthood. Following their marriage, the couple first settled in Highland, Ohio. There, James served as a Captain for the Ohio Militia in the War of 1812.

Cass County, Michigan & the Odell Mill

He and Catherine settled in Cass County Michigan in 1832, and James, who was a miller, bought a mill near Vandalia, Michigan. This mill came to be known as "O'Dell's Mill", which was the site of a historically significant confrontation in 1847, when 13 Kentucky slave holders and slave catchers raided Quaker farms in Cass County, intending to retrieve former slaves who had increasingly taken refuge in the Quaker populated region. They captured 9 people, and when word spread of the kidnappings, a crowd of Quakers, free blacks, and other abolitionist townspeople gathered to stop them. This all culminated in a confrontation at the Mill, where the armed but vastly outnumbered Kentuckian slaveholders agreed to stand trial.

Political Life

James Odell was quite prominent and very politically active in Michigan. He served two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives, and was a delegate of the first Constitutional Convention of Michigan, representing Cass County in 1835. More locally, James spent six years as a Township Supervisor, several years as the School Inspector and Highway Commissioner, and also held the offices of Collector and Constable in his township.

Death

James died in Vandalia, Cass County, Michigan on 23 August 1845. He is buried in Birch Lake Cemetery in Calvin Township, Michigan as is his wife, who predeceased him by 2 years, in 1843.

Sources

• https://mdoe.state.mi.us/legislators/Legislator/LegislatorDetail/3640

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_O%27Dell#:~:text=James%20O'Dell%20was%20born,reached%20the%20rank%20of%20captain.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_raid_in_Cass_County_(1847)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_Slave_Act_of_1850

• https://www.urscc.org/1847-kentucky-raid.html

• https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.16906586&view=1up&seq=7&skin=2021 History of Cass County Michigan by Alfred Mathews (1971), page 249.

• ^[1]

• "U.S. Federal Census"; 1830; Census Place: Ontwa, Cass, Michigan Territory; Series: M19; Roll: 69; Page: 187; Family History Library Film: 0363348

• "Records" linked to 'James O'Dell' Originally shared/posted by Ancestry user 'johcrk' on 06 Mar 2013. Accessed on ancestry.com, July 2022.
  • View Media on ancestry.com, (requires subscription).

Acknowledgements

Bio written by A Frakes on 22 July 2022. I took great care to try to make sure everything was accurate and that I put everything into my own words using the information in the above sources, but if anyone feels like they want to make edits/improvements/corrections, I won't mind!