John Odell, Sr., was born in 1728 in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland. He was the son of Thomas Odell and his wife, Margaret (Beall) Odell. Although this Maryland family generally spelled their name "Odell" as one word, it was sometimes spelled "O'Dell". The earliest Odells came to America from Bedfordshire, England, but there is still some controversy over whether the Maryland-based Odell family descends from a Henry Thomas Odell of Derbyshire and Boston, Massachusetts, New England, or from a Thomas Odell, who emigrated directly to Virginia or to Maryland sometime after 1660.
John Odell Sr., was the 4th and youngest son of his parents who were substantial and influential planters in the English province of Maryland. It is possible that he had a first marriage (to "Eleanor Duckett" ?) but the earliest substantiated one is that with Eleanor "Nellie" Hendricks, b: 1744 in Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1764. [2] The couple married in Maryland and had their first 3 sons there. Then, in 1768, they moved to the 96th District of South Carolina with John's parents, following various Hendricks, Linville and Odell relatives that had settled in central South Carolina as early as 1750. [3]
Nellie and John O'Dell Sr. had seven children: [4]
On November 10, 1768, John & Nellie Odell had a 200-acre plantation surveyed for them which was situated in the 96th District on land that became part of Laurens County in 1785.
Apparently, originally a "Tory," (supporter of English King George against the American colonists), John changed his mind and served as a Private in the South Carolina Militia under General Thomas Sumter during the American Revolution. "John Odell, Sr. served as a Rev. soldier from S. C., to which he migrated [from Maryland] in 1768...probably with his father."[5]
Even after the British defeat in 1783, passions between Tories and "Whigs" (Colonial supporters) ran high. It is said that John got his nickname "Hopping John Odell" by being shot in the leg. Apparently, he and a neighbor (who had remained a Tory) had adjacent cornfields on their plantations along the Enoree River. They use to steal corn from each other, which led to a gun battle. John was shot in the leg and "hopped" or limped the rest of his life, hence the nickname "Hopping John" [6]
"Hopping John" Odell died on his plantation, located on the border of Laurens and Newberry Counties, on February 5, 1794.[5] He did not have a will but the Newberry County court appointed his widow, Eleanor "Nellie" Odell and his oldest son, James Odell (this indicates that if he did have an earlier 1st marriage, there was no issue from it) as Executors on May 19, 1794. The final disbursement wasn't made until May 6, 1795. Widow Nellie (Hendricks) Odell received the standard "widows third," and the remainder was divided equally among John Odell's surviving children. [7]
Passed away at Enoree River plantation (Odell's Ford), Newberry County, South Carolina,
See also:
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John is 22 degrees from Herbert Adair, 20 degrees from Richard Adams, 16 degrees from Mel Blanc, 22 degrees from Dick Bruna, 18 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 30 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 16 degrees from Sam Edwards, 14 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 16 degrees from Marty Krofft, 14 degrees from Junius Matthews, 10 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 15 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
John "Hopping John" Odell was born bef. 1740 in Prince George's County, the son of Thomas and Margaret (Beall) Odell, m. Eleanor "Nellie" Hendrix (ibid., p. 584). Their children were James (p. 586), Eli (p. 587), John (p. 589), Sarah (p. 595), Martha (p. 595), Ruth (p. 595)... [continued below]
Both men migrated from MD to SC, according to the same source.
Though there were several marriages between the Odell and Rogers families, Doliante makes no reference to anyone named John "Rogers" Odell. I remain skeptical about a name only sourced from to someone's rootsweb message board post.