By Jared L. Olar
December 2018
The first wife of our ancestor Richard Odell (c.1540-1611) of Salford, Bedfordshire, was named ELIZABETH PIERCE. In her marriage record, Elizabeth's maiden name is spelled "Perst," apparently an older variant spelling of "Pierce," which in turn is a patronymic surname that derives from "Piers" or "Pierre," a form of the prominent Christian name "Peter." Thus, somewhere in Elizabeth's paternal male-line ancestry was an Englishman named Piers or Peter. Elizabeth's parentage is uncertain, but it has been proposed that she was a daughter of Henry Pierce and Joan Lyverich, who married in Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire in 1542. Assuming that is correct, Elizabeth's family would be as follows:
1. HENRY PIERCE, born circa 1515 probably in Bedfordshire, England. Henry married on 19 Nov. 1542 in Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, England, to JOAN LYVERICH, born circa 1520 probably in Bedfordshire, England. Joan's surname is derived from a Staffordshire place-name that came from the Anglo-Saxon Leofriceshrycg ("Leofric's ridge). Henry and Joan were possibly the parents of:
-- ELIZABETH PIERCE, born circa 1544 probably in Salford, Bedfordshire, England.
2. ELIZABETH PIERCE, born circa 1544 probably in Salford, Bedfordshire, England, died Nov. 1580 in Salford, Bedfordshire, burial 14 Nov. 1580 in Salford, Bedfordshire, possibly daughter of Henry and Joan (Lyverich) Pierce. On 15 Sept. 1565 in Salford, Bedfordshire, Englad, Elizabeth married RICHARD ODELL, a husbandman (i.e., farmer), born circa 1540 in Buckinghamshire or Bedfordshire, England, died March 1611 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England, buried 31 March 1611 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England. Richard and Elizabeth had two daughters and three sons, including our ancestor John. About two months after Elizabeth's death, Richard remarried on 22 Jan. 1581 in Salford, Bedfordshire, to ANN ROGERS ("Agnes"), died in late June 1621 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England, buried 1 July 1621 in Salford, Bedfordshire. Richard and Agnes had three sons and five daughters.
The 1938 article, "Turney - Odell," published in The American Genealogist (April 1938), vol. 14, page 226, provides this information about Richard Odell:
"Richard Odell, buried at Salford, 31 Mar. 1611; married first, 15 Sept. 1565, Elizabeth Perst [perhaps Pierce], who was buried 14 Nov. 1580; married second, 22 Jan. 1580/1, Anne [Agnes] Rogers, who was buried 1 July 1621."
Paul W. Prindle's Ancestry of Elizabeth Barrett Gillespie (1976), page 350, has this to say about Richard and his second wife Agnes, providing details from Agnes' will.
"No will by Richard has been found. That of 'Agnes Odle of Hulcot in the county of Bedford, widow,' was dated 21 Jun 1621 and proved 24 Jul 1621 in the Archdeaconry Court of Bedford. It provided that "my house which is one room in Hulcot, I desire that my daughter Margaret and my daughter Susanna shall have it between them [and] . . . my wood, timber, beer and other moveables in and about my yard.' To her eldest son, Richard, she bequeathed £8; to her son Thomas, £8 and to his child or children, 20 s.; to her son William, £4, and to his children, 20 s.; to her daughter Ann, £4 and to her children, 20 s.; to her daughter Dorothy, £4, and to her child, 20 s.; to her daughter Margaret, £12; to Alice Finson, wife of Thomas Finson, 20 s., and to their son John, 3 s. 4 d.; to her son Richard's daughter, 15 s., and to his son, 5 s.; to Gabriel (Gertrude?) Odle, eldest daughter of John Odle of Salford, 20 s. and to the rest of his children, 10 s., and to Henry Feild of Salford, 3 s. 4 d. To her daughter Margaret, a chest with linen and other things therein, and to her daughter Susan, her bed and all her other goods, she to be sole executrix. Mr. Thomas Bingley, Mr. Henry Butterfield and John Odle were appointed overseers of the will, each to receive 12 d."
"Turney - Odell" shows this list of children born to Richard Odell by his two wives Elizabeth and Agnes:
Children by first wife:
Alice, bapt. 19 May 1566; m. 14 Oct. 1589, Thomas Vinson or Finson. She and her son John were mentioned in the will of her step-mother.
Henry, bapt. 3 June 1568; no further record.
Elizabeth, bapt. 10 Oct. 1569; m. 10 Feb. 1594, Thomas Flyede [Feild?]. She may have been mother of the Henry Feild named in her step-mother's will.
John, bapt. 24 Mar. 1574/5; bur. 19 Apr. 1575.
John, b. [say 1577-8]. He was head of the next generation of Odells at Salford, and is placed as son of Richard Odell (probably the eldest surviving
son) because a legacy was given to John's eldest daughter and other children in the will of Richard's widow. He named children Richard and Isabel [Elizabeth] for his parents.
Children by second wife:
Richard, bapt. 25 Nov. 1581; m. and had a son and a daughter in 1621.
Thomas, bapt. 14 Apr. 1583; m. and had a child or children in 1621.
William, b. [say 1585]; named in mother's will; m. and had children in 1621.
Ann, bapt. 9 July 1587; m. and had children in 1621.
Dorothy, bapt. 7 Dec. 1589; m. and had a child in 1621.
Susan, b. [say 1592]; unm. and Executrix of mother's will in 1621.
Margaret, bapt. 8 Apr. 1595; unm. in 1621.
Mary, bapt. 18 Mar. 1598; no further record.
It is noteworthy that the youngest child Mary's surname in her baptismal record is spelled "Wodell" rather than "Odell" or "Odle."
Richard Odell had six sons and seven daughters from his two marriages, all born in Salford, Bedfordshire, England. Following are the children of his first wife Elizabeth:
-- ALICE ODELL, baptised 19 May 1566 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England, married Thomas Vinson (Finson).
-- HENRY ODELL, baptised 3 June. 1568 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England.
-- ELIZABETH ODELL, baptised 10 Oct. 1569 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England, married Thomas Flyede (Feild?).
-- JOHN ODELL, baptised 24 March 1575 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England, buried 19 April 1575 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England.
-- JOHN ODELL, born circa 1577-78 in Salford, Bedfordshire, England.
Pierce Genealogy Resources:
Mindrum Family History, with information on Elizabeth Pierce/Perst. We Relate: Elizabeth Pierce, information and possible parentage. Find-A-Grave Memorial of Elizabeth (Pierce) Odell, with links to her husband and children. Parishes: Houghton Conquest, British History Online. Parishes: Salford, British History Online. St. Mary the Virgin Church at Salford in Bedfordshire St. Mary's Church in Salford