General Notes

William Odell, the son of William Odell and Elizabeth Talbot, was born in about 1740 in Baltimore County, Maryland.  He was later married to a woman named Asenath Owings, the daughter of John Owings and his second wife, Asenath.   Although no record of their marriage has been found, it is thought to have taken place in about 1762 in Baltimore County.  Asenath, who was also a native of Baltimore County, is believed to have been born there in about 1744.

This William Odell is believed to be the same William Odell who was later found in the deed records of Baltimore County leasing 50 acres of land from a man named Walter Smith on 27 September 1765.  This same William also leased another 60 acres of land from Mr. Smith on 11 February 1767.  William, who was described in the documents as being a planter and farmer, was to build a dwelling and plant a 200 tree orchard on the earlier lease.

William and Asenath eventually left Maryland and moved into the State of Virginia, where according to the 1782-1787 list of Virginia taxpayers, they were residing in Hampshire County (now part of West Virginia).  On 12 August 1783, William purchased two tracts of land in Hampshire County from a man named John Kyger.   These tracts, consisting of 453 total acres, were situated along Chestnut Ridge on Allegheny Mountain.  William and Asenath eventually sold these tracts on 20 October 1806, with one going to James and Benjamin Dawson, and the other to Philip Goode.

Shortly after this, William and his family moved to the State of Ohio where they settled in Ross County.  William and his son, Caleb, purchased 80 acres of land in Ross County in 1812, and it is believed that William resided on this farm with Caleb for the remainder of his life.  Although William shows up on both the 1820 and 1830 census returns for Ohio, Asenath does not.  As such, it can only be assumed that Asenath must have passed away prior to 1820.  William, who was shown as being between 90 and 100 years of age on the 1830 census, is thought to have died in Ross County in either late 1830 or early 1831.