Mary O’Dear Great Grandma and her relatives
Mary Odear is my Great Grandmother. She was very sweet. She loved listening to the Chicago Cubs on radio. She was a devout Christian. She was VERY active in the Methodist Church.
I never knew her as young woman. I never knew my Great Grandpa, Mary’s husband, Elzie A. Odear. Family history has said that Grandpa Odear had Cherokee/Native American Ancestry. I have not been able to verify through the Dawes registry or census info.
I do have a history for Grandma O’Dear’s side of the family.. she had several sisters. Her mother was either partially or totally blind from the time Mary was born. Her father Henry Smith (Alia’s Enos Byers) fought in the Civil War and was left for dead on the battlefield due to a shot that had “grazed” his skull. It’s been said to have created permanent part in his hairstyle. He was captured and taken to a Andersonville confederate POW camp. If I remember correctly his father died in the prison. Enos/Henry returned home after the civil war. He more than likely was suffering from what we now know would be a TBI, PTSD, Anxiety, Adjustment disorder, etc.
That is how the name Enos Byers (aka Henry Smith enters the picture. Henry/Enos traveled around with Enos/Henry either telling incorrect stories about his family life.
I never knew her as young woman. I never knew my Great Grandpa, Mary’s husband, Elzie A. Odear. Family history has said that Grandpa Odear had Cherokee/Native American Ancestry. I have not been able to verify through the Dawes registry or census info.
I do have a history for Grandma O’Dear’s side of the family.. she had several sisters. Her mother was either partially or totally blind from the time Mary was born. Her father Henry Smith (Alia’s Enos Byers) fought in the Civil War and was left for dead on the battlefield due to a shot that had “grazed” his skull. It’s been said to have created permanent part in his hairstyle. He was captured and taken to a Andersonville confederate POW camp. If I remember correctly his father died in the prison. Enos/Henry returned home after the civil war. He more than likely was suffering from what we now know would be a TBI, PTSD, Anxiety, Adjustment disorder, etc.
That is how the name Enos Byers (aka Henry Smith enters the picture. Henry/Enos traveled around with Enos/Henry either telling incorrect stories about his family life.
