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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Greene County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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John Odam is of the mercantile firm of McConnell & Odam, Paragould. In scanning the sketches of Greene County, Ark., one fact must strike the reader with peculiar force: the high standing attained by its business men. It is known to have a thoroughly qualified business population, and Mr. Odam is a leading light among the number. He was born in Hardin County, Ill., August 5, 1832, and received such educational advantages as the schools of those days afforded. Until thirty-three years of age he assisted his father on the farm, and then went to Crittenden County, Ky., where he was engaged in the hotel and lumber business for about ten years. After this he went to Dyer County, Tenn., there following saw milling, having a mill built on a steamboat, and taking the timber from the river. He was also occupied in merchandising for about four years. In January, 1888, he came to Paragould, Ark., where he bought his present property and immediately embarked in the mercantile business under the present firm name. He carries a good stock of general merchandise and has a thriving trade. He was married in 1862, but lost his wife the following year. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having joined that order in 1862. Mr. Odam’s parents, Cleyburn and Mary (McConnell) Odam, were natives of Middle Tennessee and Maysville, Ky., respectively. The mother emigrated from Kentucky to Illinois in 1816, when the last named State was a Territory, and the father came to the same State about 1820. They were married there and located in Hardin County, where the father successfully cultivated the soil. He died August 5, 1834, of Asiatic cholera. In their family were two children: John and Sarah, wife of Thomas McConnell. After the death of her husband Mrs. Odam married Mr. Commodore P. Tadlock, by whom she had five children, three now living: Edward J., Jonathan L., and Nancy J. The mother died in 1858.

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This family biography is one of 120 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Greene County, Arkansas published in 1889.  View the complete description here: Greene County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Greene County, Arkansas family biographies here: Greene County, Arkansas Biographies

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