Delta Atlas (Delta, Ohio), June 28, 1917, page 1

Death Certificate of Harriet E. Zimmerman O'Dell

"Delta, Fulton County; Harriet E. Odell female white b. 8 Feb 1833; age 84y 4m 11d; widowed b. OH; retired housewife; father: John Zimmerman b. PA; mother: Hannah McQuillin b. PA; informant: Mrs. George Planson of Delta; died 19 Jun 1917; cause: apoplexy; buried: Greenlawn Cemetery, Delta 21 Jun 1917; undertaker: Neville Planson Co., Delta, OH; filed 21 June 1917."

p. 490-492

"John Odell, M.D.—At the venerable age of four-score years, and after an average lifetime devoted to the arduous and self-abnegating duties of one of the most exacting of professions, Dr. Odell is now living practically retired in a pleasant home In the attractive village of Delta, and his extended circle of friends in the county gives evidence of the popular appreciation of his character and his labors.

Dr. Odell is a native of the Buckeye State, having been born in Windham township, Portage county, Ohio, on the 10th of March, 1825, and being a son of Roswell land Mary (Pedicord) Odell, the former of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in South Carolina, and both families were founded in America and the Colonial era. The father died in Lorain county, Ohio, aged fifty-five, and his wife attained the very venerable age of ninety-three years, passing her latter days in Barry county, Mich. They became the parents of four sons and three daughters—Elizabeth, Nathan, John, William, Roswell, Mary Ann, and Caroline. Aside from Dr. Odell, subject of this sketch, only one is living. Nathan, who maintains his home near Hastings, Barry county, Mich. When Dr. Odell was about fourteen years of age his parents removed from Portage to Lorain county, and in the latter he was reared to manhood, being able to gain more than the average youth from the somewhat meager advantages afforded in the common schools of the locality and period. A receptive mind and a rare power of assimilation aided him even in his rudimentary study. From the age of twenty-one years to the age of twenty-three he farmed in Lorain county. In 1848, in pursuance of his ambition to enter the medical profession, he entered the Cleveland Botanical Medical College, where he secured his technical training, having previously studied in a private way, under the effective preceptorship of Dr. Marshall Chamberlain, his brother-in-law, and he had practiced for two years in Lorain county. In 1850 he located in Delta, Fulton county, the place being at the time a small hamlet in a section which was to a large extent yet unreclaimed from the forest wilds, and his was the lot of the average pioneer physician, in that he was compelled to make his way over almost impassable roads, in summer's rains and winter's snows, pursuing his humane mission with marked unselfishness and oftimes at great personal discomfort. He continued in active practice for more than half a century, and he now has the distinction of being the oldest physician in the county, even as he is one of its most honored pioneer practitioners. The Doctor recalls with appreciation his early and Herculean struggles with the all pervading ague, or "chills and fever," and in the early days his practice extended for a radius of from twenty-five to thirty miles from Delta, and he did his best to overcome the ravages of the ague and other human ills, and first mentioned being largely due to the swampy condition of much of the land in this section—land which is today as fertile and productive as can be found in the State. For many years he made his visitations almost exclusively on horseback, as the roads, if existing at all, were impassable for vehicles much of the time, in many cases being mere bridle-paths or blazed trails though the virgin forest. The Doctor was successful in his profession and also in the accumulation of property. In the early days Dr. Odell stood at the head of his profession in this section in the matter of treating certain prevalent types of disease, following the Eclectic system largely in his practice.

Dr. Odell has always been known as a public-spirited citizen, and from the pioneer days to the present his aid and influence have been given in the promotion of those enterprises and undertakings which have conserved the general welfare of the community. Through industry, economy and good judgment in the making of investments, Dr. Odell has accumulated a competency, though he has never been concerned in any speculative enterprises. He has contributed to the up building and civic advancement of his home town and county, and in the summer of 1905 he gave the latest exhibition of his progressive spirit by erecting a handsome business block on the principal business street of Delta, the same being an ornament to the town, a monument to his memory and a source of definite and merited income to him during his declining years. The Doctor has been identified with the Republican party,, as a stanch supporter of its principles, from the time of its organization to the present, and while he has never sought office, he served several years as coroner of the county, and for twelve years was a valued member of the municipal council of Delta. Of him an appreciative acquaintance has written as follows: 'Dr. Odell is independent and liberal in his religious views the deepest reverence for the spiritual and ethical verities and his belief emphasizes only the cardinal principles of right and justice, without the formalities of creeds, dogmas or public professions. He believes that the Golden Rule embraces within its scope all religious essentials, both for personal guidance and salvation and for judgment of the motives and actions of others.' It is needless to say, in view of the foregoing, that he is broad, tolerant and charitable in his views, and his life-record stands as the best evidence of his kindly helpfulness. His cherished wife, through a period of more than half a century, has proven a devoted companion and helpmeet, and mutual love and sympathy have brightened their pathway as they passed along through the uncertain journey of life. Mrs. Odell has long been a faithful and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and her gentle and gracious personality has endeared her to all who have come within the sphere of her influence. Dr. and Mrs. Odell have an attractive home in Delta, and the golden evening of their days is being passed under most grateful surroundings.

In Fulton county, in 1852, Dr. Odell was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Ellen Zimmerman, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio in 1833, being a daughter of John and Hannah (McQuilling) Zimmerman, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. Her parents came from Homes county, Ohio to Fulton county in 1839 and here passed the remainder of their lives, having been honored pioneers of Pike township. They became the parents of twelve children, all of whom attained maturity and five of whom are still living. Dr. and Mrs. Odell became the parents of three children: Dencie is the wife of Wesley J. Clizbe, of Chicago, and they have three sons: Roscoe J., Floyd Odell, and Harry John; Ida May, the second child, died at the age of twenty-one years, unmarried; John L. Married Miss Bell Boughton and they reside in Chicago, having no children, but by a former marriage he as one daughter, Marguerite, who now resides in Wauseon, Ohio."