A Time Line for Catherine Odom

 Family Search sent me an email today with a timeline for my 2nd great-grandmother, Catherine Odom Harrell.  This is interesting information, and I thought it would make an excellent blog post.  I support any way to get my family stories out there.

This is my connection to Catherine Odom Harrell:

Liz (that's me!)

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Gilbert Earl Tapley, 1928-2008 (my father)

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Nealie Vermell Drake Tapley, 1895-1970 (my grandmother)

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Emma Vermell Harrell Drake, 1867-1935 (my great-grandmother)

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Catherine M Odom Harrell, 1841-1875 (my 2nd great-grandmother)

Time Line for the life of Catherine M. Odom Harrell  

1841 Age 0	Birth	26 Jul 1841 Emanuel County, Georgia
1846 Age 5	Historical Event	U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War, including California and New Mexico.
1850 Age 9	Residence	Emanuel County, Georgia
Bet. 1858-1859 Age 17-18	Marriage	31 Dec 1857 Married Lawson Y. Riner (1837-1863)
1860 Age 19	Residence	Emanuel County, Georgia
1860 Age 19	Birth of Child	Roan Perry Riner was born in 1860 in Johnson County, Georgia.
1861 Age 20	Historical Event	Civil War: “Some 11,000 Georgians gave their lives in defense of their state - a state that suffered immense destruction. But war’s end brought about an even more dramatic figure to tell: 460,000 African-Americans were set free from the shackles of slavery to begin new lives as free people.”
1863 Age 21	Death of Spouse	Lawson Y. Riner died in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia on 11 Jan 1863.
1863 Age 21	Historical Event	The Battle at Gettysburg 01 Jul 1863 - 03 Jul 1863 “The Battle of Gettysburg involved the largest number of casualties of the entire Civil war and is often described as the war's turning point. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers lost their lives during the three-day Battle. To honor the fallen soldiers, President Abraham Lincoln read his historic Gettysburg Address and helped those listening by redefining the purpose of the war.”
1864 Age 23	Historical Event	Arlington Cemetery  “Arlington Cemetery is a military cemetery. It was originally a plantation owned by George Washington Parke Custis. This is the location of Robert E. Lee, 16,000 Civil War soldiers, William Howard Taft, John, Jackie, Robert, and Edward Kennedy. The tomb of the unknown soldier is also located here it was dedicated on November 11, 1921. It contains the remains of those soldiers unknown from WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.”
1865 Age 24	Marriage (2nd)	Married William Robert Harrell on 21 Dec 1865
1867 Age 26	Birth of Child	Emma Vermell Harrell was born 04 Sep 1867 in Emanuel County, Georgia.
1868 Age 27	Historical Event	The Fourteenth Amendment “As one of the Reconstruction Amendments, the Fourteenth Amendment addresses the rights and protections that all citizens of the United States have. The amendment also limits actions of state and local officials in all states.”
1869 Age 28	Birth of Child	Nancy Jane Harrell was born 10 Dec 1869.
1870 Age 29	Historical Event	The Fifteenth Amendment “Prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It was the last of the Reconstruction Amendments.”
1870 Age 29	Death of Parent	Her father, Elijah Samuel Odom (1816-1870) passed away at the age of 53.
1873 Age 32	Birth of Child	James Milledge Harrell was born in 1873 in Emanuel County, Georgia.
1875 Age 34	Historical Event	A New Civil Rights Act “During the response to civil rights violations to African Americans, the bill was passed giving African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation, and to prohibit exclusion from jury duty. While many in the public opposed this law, the African Americans greatly favored it.”
1875 Age 34	Death	Catherine M Odom Harrell passed away on 11 Sep 1875 in Emanuel County, Georgia.
1875	Burial	Harrell Cemetery Norristown Junction, Emanuel County, Georgia

 Interesting stuff, right?  Thank you, Family Search, for the idea and the historical event information.  (All items in quotation marks are directly from the Family Search time line they sent me.)  Our dates didn't always align, but I worked it out.  

I do not know what took Catherine's life so young.  As her obituary says, she left 4 small children.

I cannot even imagine being 21 years old, in the middle of a civil war, with a small child, and finding out that your husband has been killed.  Then when the war finally ended, getting a second chance at happiness with a new husband and 3 more little ones, just to have it all snatched away at 34.  Obviously, she touched many people's lives during her short time on this earth.