#52Ancestors: Catherine Kerr Oder

So, I just found out about the #52Ancestors challenge yesterday, so I'm a little late to the game. But I had to jump on the bandwagon because this is a great idea! So, my first ancestor to write about will be:

Catherine Kerr Oder

1830-1897

 

 

Catherine Kerr Oder, or "Kate", is my 3rd great-grandmother on my paternal grandmother's side. Kate was born in 1830 probably in Harrison County, Ohio, to James and Martha Morrison Kerr. In a short biography about her father, it says that he moved from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Harrison County, Ohio in the spring of 1805. In this biography it also reads that James, with his family, moved to a farm near Bellefontaine, Logan, Ohio in 1836, making Kate around 6 years old at the time of the move. She met her husband, Marshall Oder, in Bellefontaine, and they were married in 1849. They couple likely spent the rest of their lives in the area, as they are found in Bellefontaine in the 1880 census. Marshall and Kate had four children: George, Elmer, Charles, and Ella. Her son Elmer Kerr Oder, is my great-great grandfather. My grandmother, Mary Holsclaw Andrews, lived with Elmer and his wife for most of her young years, and she has shared many fond memories of him with me.

 

Catherine with her son, Elmer c. 1866

 

This photo is likely of Marshall and Catherine in their later years. The unmarked photo was in an old Victorian album passed down to me by my grandmother.

 

Catherine passed away in January 1897. Her obituary in the Daily Examiner reads:

 

   Mrs. Marshall Oder, aged 65 years, died at about 7 o'clock Sunday evening at College Corners, Ohio, where she had gone for treatment. The cancer from which she had suffered had been entirely removed, and death resulted from prostration.

   Deceased was a great sufferer but bore her affliction with patient fortitude and died firm in her faith in the Savior's promises. She was a true Christian woman, a loving wife and mother and was beloved by all who knew her.

   George, Elmer and Charles Oder and Mrs. James Milner, the sons and daughter, were present when their mother's spirit took its flight.

    The bereaved husband and family have the sympathy of all.

 

Catherine is buried in the Bellefontaine City Cemetery in Bellefontaine, Ohio.