Nyla Gair Cartwright

The O'Dell Family of the Ozarks: Job O'Dell and His Descendants Nyla Gair Cartwright

Job O'Dell was born around 1792 in what is now Tennessee. He migrated to the Missouri Ozark mountains around 1840. Twenty years after his arrival in Missouri, the state was embroiled in the Civil War. Some of his Job's sons fought in the civil war, while one son, Tompkins, was killed by guerrillas. During reconstruction after the war, Carter and Reynolds Counties where the family lived as farmers were still in turmoil. Women held tough during that time and after. They had large families to care for. A few women homesteaded after their spouse died; doing farm work as well as care of the many household chores. For years, Job's descendants worked hard taking care of their farms. It wasn't an easy life. Things were changing by the 20th Century. Job's great-grandson, Edgar O'Dell and sons worked in the timber industry in Missouri and in Jackson County, Colorado. There are many of Job O'Dell's descendants who live in the same area that Job settled.