Lemuel Abbott Odom

      Lemuel Abbott Odom born November 18, 1875, Nacogdoches, Texas. His father and mother lived at nearby Maydelle, Texas in Cherokee County in a log cabin built by his grandfather, Randol Odom. His father was Richmond Nollie Odom, and his mother was Elizabeth Peggy Campbell, (Richmond's second wife.)

      He married Ella Barnett of Florence, Alabama circa 1898, and they had 6 children. He died at the age of 89 in November 1964, at Daytona Beach, Florida where they had lived for a number of years.

      Lemuel's mother, Elizabeth Campbell Odom, died August 25, 1878, when he was 2+ years old. His father, Richmond, remarried to Sarah Hughland in 1879, and she raised all of the children, including one of her own, and several more born to she and Richmond.

      The family moved to the Tyler, Texas area when Lem was about 7 years old, and he finished his public schooling in Tyler. In one of his letters to members of his family, he said that he and four of his brothers traveled around Northern Texas and Southern Oklahoma (then the Indian Territory) with a wagon, doing contract work. They visited his sister, Lillian Josie (Peggy) Odom Thompson and her husband, Louis Cemore Thompson in Lone Grove, Oklahoma during the spring of 1892, when he was 16-17 years old.

      After finishing public school, Lem spent most of his life in one form of ministry or the other. Initially, he joined the Salvation Army in 1894, and was sent to Chicago to spend a year in school with 70 Cadets. After finishing the SA school, he was sent to Kansas City, Missouri where he remained for four years. During this time, he traveled to Galveston, Texas to participate in the assisting the victims of the hurricane of 1900.

      Then, he was sent to Montgomery, Alabama where he met and married Ella Barnett of Florence, Alabama circa 1898. Lem and his wife, Ella stayed in Montgomery for twelve years doing rescue work (rescuing young pregnant unmarried women and girls.) Lem and Ella spent 20 years (1894-1916) with the Salvation Army. He switched over to the Volunteers of America, an organization similar to the Salvation Army circa 1916. He has referred to himself as Field Secretary and held the rank of Major.

      His wife, Ella, was also a member of the VOA. They moved to Jacksonville, Florida to establish a home for unwed mothers. He and Ella worked in this field for twenty more years when he left to head up the American Aid Society, circa 1936. He mentioned that he had become interested in this organization during the middle and late 1920's.

      They moved to Shreveport, Louisiana to work for the American Aid Society. He was named National Field Director with Home and Southwestern Headquarters in Shreveport. During this time, Lem wrote a book, "Fifty Years in Rescue Work." It was copyrighted May 1938, and published that year by the Revivalist Press in Cincinnati, Ohio.

      In a letter he wrote to Mrs. J.T. Haynes (his niece) in 1947, he remarked that he had returned to Florida from Louisiana during June 1943. He had re-associated himself with the Volunteers of Florida. He and Ella had established their personal home in Daytona Beach, Florida, south of Jacksonville where the VOA Home or Reservation was located. He remained as a Major and Field Director with the VOA until his death. He traveled throughout Florida doing rescue work and fund raising from 1943 to 1964.

      I remember Uncle Lem's writing to me when he (Lem) was in his late 80's and saying that he was flying to Fort Worth, Texas from Daytona Beach, Florida to visit the Edna Gladney home. This home is still active as The Gladney Center, 2300 Hemphill Street, Fort Worth, Texas,handling adoptions.

      Lem Odom was a prolific letter writer and wrote numerous letters to his relatives on his typewriter. A number of his letters to relatives dated from 1947 to 1964 are available upon request from Charles H. Smith, or Kathy & Jimmy Ray Odom or Karen Whitehead. Many of the letters are copies of originals. Others have been transcribed. All are available as GIFs or in ASCII text. A total of 14 letters have been preserved and are available for viewing on this website. Please Click here to reach the Letters Menu where you will have a choice to view the copies of the actual letters or to read the ASCII versions.

      The children of Lemuel A. Odom and Ella Barnett Odom were:

1. Lily (Sweetheart) Moody Odom (Sep 30 1902 - 1988)
2. Doris Odom Beall ( - )
3. Randle Odom ( - 1974)
4. Eva Odom Newman (Oct 3 1893 - Jan 1983)
5. Lemuel Abbott Odom, Jr. (May 25 1894 - Jul 1969)
6. James Abbott Odom (Sep 26 1895 - Oct 1968)

Sources:

1. Allie Mae Smith
2. Lem's letters to family
3. Karen Whitehead
4. Jimmy Ray and Kathy Odom
5. Lem's book, "50 Years in Rescue Work", published 1938
6. Social Security Death Index
7. JoAnn Mortensen
8. LaVonna Mortensen