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Mr. Odell
is a
retired farmer living in Greeley and is enjoying a life of leisure made possible
by former years of well directed labor. He was born in Michigan on the 24th of
September, 1850, a son of Job and Mary (Nicol)
Odell, natives of Tennessee and Preble county, Ohio, respectively. Both removed
to Michigan in the '40s and in that state their marriage occurred. In 1851 they
came to Delaware county, Iowa, making the journey
with two ox teams and also driving some milk cows.
The family home was established upon a farm in Elk township,
which the father entered from the government. Conditions of life in this county
were then very primitive and the first residence of the family was a log cabin
with a clapboard roof and puncheon floor and the door was fastened with a string
latch which, however, always hung out in welcome as the family possessed in
marked degree that hearty hospitality so characteristic of all pioneers. This
rude house remained the family dwelling for fifteen years and the parents lived
upon the farm until called to the Great Beyond. Together with John Martindale
the father built one of the first mills in the county-the Fountain Spring mill,
situated near Greeley. He was a republican in his political allegiance and was
the first assessor of Elk township. In his family
were seven children, namely: Gabriel H., now a resident of Cedar Rapids, this
state; Abigail, the wife of A. B. Smith, of Nebraska; William N., of this
review; Nancy E., who married Frank Taylor, of Virginia; C.
M., deceased; I. C., a farmer of Elk township; and John B., deceased.
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William N. O'Dell |
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William N. Odell was educated in the common schools near his home and as a boy
was also trained in the work of the farm, thus acquiring a knowledge that has
been of great value to him since starting out on his own account. He remained at
home until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-three years of age.
After that event he rented a farm for a year and then purchased forty acres of
land in Elk township, where he resided for ten years
in a log cabin. He then sold his farm and purchased eighty acres elsewhere in
Elk township and removed to his new property. He
lived there for twenty years and by degrees added more land to his holdings
until he became the owner of one hundred and twenty seven acres. In 1902,
however, he sold his land and removed to Greeley, where he purchased a fine
residence and where he is now living in retirement from the cares and anxieties
of active business life. While engaged in farming he was known as a progressive
and energetic agriculturist and his fields yielded abundantly.
Mr. Odell was married in 1873 to Miss Sarah J. Webster,
who was born in Ashland, Ohio, February 22, 1854, and is a daughter of Isaac and
Mary (Brandt) Webster, natives of Pennsylvania and Wayne county, Ohio,
respectively. In 1867 the family removed to Iowa and located upon a farm in this
county, where the father passed away. The mother is still living at the age of
eighty three years. To their union were born five children, namely: Mrs. Odell;
D. C., of Springfield, Illinois; John A., of Independence; Ida, deceased; and
Effa C., the wife of F. S. Marshall, of Idaho.
Mr. Odell is a republican in his political belief and
has served four terms as township trustee, his repeated reelection to that
office proving the acceptability of his work. He has also been a member of the
school board for a number of years. His wife is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and takes an active part in the
various phases of church work.
Fraternally Mr. Odell is a Mason and has crossed
the sands of the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His blue lodge
membership is in Lodge No. 225, A. F. & A. M., of Greeley. He has been a
resident of this county for over six decades and practically his entire life has
been spent here as he was but an infant of one year when brought here by his
parents. He passed through practically all of the experiences of pioneer life
and although there were many inconveniences and hardships there also
were many compensations and he looks back upon the
days of his childhood and youth with pleasure. However, he appreciates fully the
advantages of the present day and takes great satisfaction in the thought that
he aided in the development of the county from a pioneer section to the
prosperous agricultural region of today. His fellow citizens recognize his worth
and splendid qualities of manhood and give him the respect which only true merit
can command. |
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