The Malachi Odom Family
See Malachi's Chart for links to his children's
biographies.
Malachi Odom (1) (Born circa 1770, S. C.)
was one of a long line of Odoms with Biblical names and a dedication to
the Biblical admonition to "be fruitful and multiply." By 1792, he was
in Burke Co., Ga., where he married Mary Russell (Born circa 1770-1780,
died before 1850) circa 1796.
Malachi and Mary stayed in Georgia about
five years and their first three children were born there. Then, Malachi
began to look westward. He applied for and received a passport from the
Governor of Georgia on Jan. 4, 1803, to travel into the Mississippi Territory.
Friends recommended him for the passport, stating that they lived in
Burke Co., Ga., and
"do certify that the bearer, Mr. Malachi
Odom, has resided in this County for the principal part of his life and
has always bore the character of a sober industrious Man and a good
Neighbour And being about to remove into your parts takes with him our
best wishes for his future prosperity & happiness." (One signer was
"Jno. Davies, Lt. Col. Comdt 1st Regiment Burke Militia.")
The Mississippi Territory, then occupied
by Indians, was not a part of the United States. When he left home, he
promised Mary that he would be back to get her in "a year and a day."
As that time approached, Mary's family, with whom she was staying, were
also getting ready to move west. They had all their possessions packed
in wagons and were prepared to leave at dawn on the day after the time
was up. As they were getting ready to go to bed, Malachi came riding home.
The Odoms and Russells settled in
Mississippi Territory in what is now Washington Co., Ala. They were among
the earliest settlers and were threatened constantly by Indians. The
family just missed the Massacre of Fort Mims by going instead to Fort
Stratton. When Mississippi became a state, that area was in Wayne Co.,
Miss. They were in Washington Co., Mississippi Territory, 1805-1820
(tax rolls, territorial census). In 1820 they were in Wayne Co., Miss.
(tax rolls, federal census) and in 1830 they were in Lauderdale Co., Miss.
After the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
in 1830, the Choctaw Indians retreated farther west and Lauderdale County
was formed. The families of Malachi Odom and his children were among the
first white settlers in this county. They settled at McLaurins Station,
now known as Toomsuba, Miss,, on Buckahanna Creek very near the Alabama
border and about 10 miles from Meridian. The Odoms stayed there about
13 years.
In December, 1846, 35 Odoms loaded
all their possessions in five ox-drawn wagons and started toward the
new State of Texas. The party included Malachi and Mary Odom and four
of their sons,
Ephraim,
Randol,
James, and
Simeon, and their families.
They were six weeks on the road and arrived at the Mount Comfort community
in Cherokee County about the middle of January, 1847, where they struck
camp, bought land, and went to work to remove the heavy growth of pine
trees which covered the land. Although only Ephraim remained in Cherokee
County until his death, many descendants of all the brothers are still
living in the area, The log home built by
Randol and
James appear on 1846 tax records in Cherokee
County. Malachi appears on
the 1850 census in Cherokee County in the household of his son,
Simeon.
Mary must have died soon after they arrived in Texas. From History of
Texas by B.B. Paddock, 1922,: "He (Simeon)
had brought with him to Texas
his father and mother, who wanted to stop in Cherokee County and go no
further.
Here Simeon remained until both had
died, and then, in 1852,
sold his interests and brought his family to Johnson County." It is not
known where or when Malachi or Mary died or where they are buried, but
likely they are buried in the Odom Cemetery near Maydelle, Cherokee
County, although their graves are not marked.
Because many of the early Mississippi
records have burned, information about Malachi's and Mary's children is
sketchy. There may have been three other daughters, born between 1806
and 1820, as the 1820 census of Wayne Co., Miss., shows three more
females than can be accounted for Malachi's and Mary's known children:
(1) Ephraim; born 1797, Burke Co., Ga.,
married Gracy____, (Footnote 1) born 1805, in 1825,
seven children.
(2) William born 1800 or 1803, Burke Co., Ga.,
died after 1850 in
Alabama, married Adis West born 1810, in 1826, had Vincent, Lucinda
Fitzgerald William, Issabell, James, Gracy, Mary Hyatt, Martha, all
born in Mississippi, stayed in Mississippi (1850 census, Choctaw Co.,
Ala.);
(3) John B., born 1801 or 1802, Burke Co., Ga.,
died Oct., 1836, Lauderdale Co., Miss;
married Mary ________ (Footnote 2) born 1811,
in 1830, had John E., Mary M, William A., Eleanor, Elizabeth, and Mary
married second, Trippe Pope on Dec. 25, 1844;
(4) Randol, born Aug. 19, 1804 or 1805,
Washington Co., Mississippi Territory, died Jan.25, 1885, Methodist minister, married first,
Harriet Nollie in 1828 or 1829, nine children, married second, Armelia
Elizabeth Frizzell in 1869, three children;
(5)
James born 1806, Washington Co., Mississippi Territory.,
died 1876, married first Margaret Pickens, born 1815, South Carolina,
in 1830, 12 children, married second Mrs. Susannah Williams.
(6)
Elinor or Eleanor born Jan.30, 1810,
Washington Co., Mississippi Territory., died March 31, 1884, Uvalde Co., Tex., married
John West on Jan. 28, 1834, had Thomas Sterling, William James, Mary
Lavina Hopper, John Jr., Archibald, Margaret Elinor (died at three
months of age), Annie Powe, Vincent, Simeon (died at 10 days old);
(7)
Simeon, born June 1819 or 1820, Wayne Co.,
Miss., died 1864, Nacogdoches Co., Methodist minister, married Sarah L
Ward, born Nov. 30, 1821, died 1890, buried Johnson Co., Tex., on Jan.
18, 1838, 10 children.
Simeon moved his family in 1852 to
Johnson County, five miles east of Grandview. He died at age 45, while going to Louisiana to
look after a sick soldier son. Simeon, a Methodist minister, was a
leading citizen of that area, donated land for a Methodist Church and
cemetery, helped build the first log school and church, and held the
first Methodist services in the county. He supposedly is buried in
Nacogdoches County.
Contributed by Dorothy Odom Bruce and Virginia Singletary.
Note: This information is quoted word for word from the Cherokee
County History Book of 1986, published by the Cherokee County (Texas)
Historic Commission, and the information was researched and contributed
to the book by Dorothy Odom Bruce and Virginia Singletary. The information
is copyrighted by the Commission and by the contributors.
Footnote 1
(Mary Douglass informs us that Ephraim married Gracy Coupland.)
See Ephraim's biography.
Footnote 2
(Marvin Owens informs us that John married Mary Copeland.)
See John's biography.)