David Odaffer
As told by Gertrude Odaffer Oakes, William’s daughter and David’s grandaughter.
David mortgaged all the horses, cows and calves and farming equipment when he decided to divorce Amanda and marry Julia Frazer. The sheriff came one day and drove off with everything. Uncle Lem, the “hot head” , fought the sheriff and threw rocks at him. Bill Odaffer often talked of this bitter day, which they never forgot.
David came from Ohio pretty well off and Amanda wanted him to buy 1000 acres at $1 per acre near Monticello. Of course David would not hear to that and fooled all the money away.*
David’s boys were hard workers. They bought a corn shelling and thrashing outfit and went all over the country shelling corn, etc. for people. They always thought Abe died of TB because he had breathed too much dust. George died of typhoid fever.”
* The abstract in the court house in Monticello, IL, says that David ODaffer bought 69 acres from John Dove on Jan 2, 1864 (lots 1, 2, and 4 in Secs 13, 14, township 18, range 5.) for $1360 dollars and sold them Nov 16, 1868 to Joseph G. Foster for $1800.
David’s wife, Amanda Kinser Odaffer, was the youngest of four Kinser sisters — Sally, McHailey, and Teena were her sisters’ names. When Amanda was a few weeks old, her mother died. She and the family had gone out quilting. On the way back they got caught in an April shower, the mother came down with pneumonia, and died soon after.
A woman, who Amanda always called “Mammy” took Amanda and raised her. Amanda got married to David at age 16. She was later described as “a very strong person and had what it takes to get by — with all the hardships she had to face.” Relatives say that she stayed with Bill Odaffer during the time David was leaving her.
She is purported to have locked herself in an upstairs room when David came to Bill’s house, and threatened to jump out the window if he came near her. When Amanda died in 1916, she owned two homes, one in Weldon and one in Clinton.
Amanda’s sister Sally Kinser was married to John Ramon, and settled around Monticello. They had 5 children: John, George, Maggie, Alice, and Kate. John Ramon deserted his family a week after David Odaffer deserted his.
Kate never married — her cousins called her “Aunt Kate.” Maggie married a man named Tull, who ran Tull’s clothing store inFarmer City. Maggie died young and left children.