William Odell

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 2482

Notes:

Williams parentage in England has led to much confusion and various on-line genealogies which are unproven. We have two clues as to where Williams family lived in England.

In Newport Pagnall, Buckinghamshire, England on 17 Apr 1639 William Odell and Edward Hartley were in a fight in a churchyard. Odell ended up being stabbed in the arm. They both ended up being cited in the church records for the fight. The conclusion to the church record was entered on 17 Oct 1639 "Absunt Nova Anglia" meaning that both parties were absent in New England. As there was only one William Odell known to be in New England in this time period, we must conclude that the gentleman in this fight was our William Odell. This also tells us that William left England between 17 Apr 1637 and 17 Oct 1639.

Clue # 2. Benjamin and Mary Turney were with William in both Concord and Fairfield. Benjamin Turney and Mary Odell were married 12 July 1630 in Salford, Bedfordshire. Therefore we conclude that William Odell and Mary Odell are somehow related and that Williams family lived in or near Salford or Newport Pagnell (which two localities are about 6 miles apart). We know from Mary's genealogy that she had no brother named William, but she did have 3 uncles Richard, Thomas and William either of whom could be Williams father. Both Richard Odell and John Odell in Newport Pagnell, Bedfordshire had a child named William, but both Williams had children in England after 1640 thus eliminating them. There are numerous Odell families in this area and time period. The Baptism registers have many other William Odell's listed and to pick one out would just be a guess.

Therefore, our only conclusion is that William came from either Buckinghamshire or Bedfordshire, probably either Salford or Newport Pagnall or close by.

(Citations for the above are The American Genealogist 1937 P224-228 and 1938 P55-57.)

According to TAG Vol7, P12 William Odell, along with Benjamin Turney and many others are on a list of settlers who left Concord and moved to Fairfield. The list is dated 1645 and states that these people had recently moved.

To summarize, William left England by 1639, he lived in Concord and in 1644 or 1645 moved to Fairfield.

We have no record of his wife Rebeccas last name.


Birth:
Bedfordshire or Buckinghamshire

Family/Spouse: Rebecca Unknown. Rebecca was born about 1583. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. James Odell was born on 2 Jan 1639/40 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA; died on 4 Apr 1641 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA.
2. Rebecca Odell was born on 17 Jul 1642 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA.
3. John Odell was born in 1643.
4. William Odell was born about 1644.