Samuel Oddy

Sam Oddy (1813-1876)
Samuel, or more usually Sam, Oddy was the oldest child of William Oddy (1786-1820) who had married Elizabeth Tetlow (c.1794-1817) at Barwick-in-Elmet on 31st August 1812. Sam was born on 5th February 1813 and baptised at Barwick-inElmet on 13th April 1813, and his sister, Sarah, was born on 2nd February 1815 and baptised at Barwick-in-Elmet on 26th March 1815. This indicates that the family was living at Barwick-in-Elmet from 1812 to 1815 or 1816. However, when the third child, George, was born on 7th October 1816 and baptised at Gildersome on 1st December 1816, the family had moved from Barwick-in-Elmet to Gildersome, where William had probably been born. This household removal is confirmed by the burials at St Peter Gildersome of baby George on 24th May 1817, his mother, Elizabeth, on 27th August 1817, aged 23, and his father William on 21st June 1820, aged 33.
At the time of his death, William Oddy (1786-1820) was a publican in Gildersome, but it is not known whether he was also a publican when living in Barwick-in-Elmet as his father was a cooper by trade. The inventory of his house contents, however, did include coopering tools.

From 1820, the responsibility for Sam and Sarah devolved onto their paternal grandfather, George Oddy (1752-1822), and they presumably went to live with him and his wife, Mary (née Ainsworth?) (c.1747-1824). George died in June 1822 and Mary in February 1824 and it is not known for certain what happened to the children then, but it is from the life time of Sam Oddy that ‘living memory’ has passed down fragments of family history into the second half of the twentieth century. In 1959, Sally Oddy (1877-1962), (grand-daughter of Sam Oddy (1813-1876), wrote to her nephew, William (Bill) Oddy (19051985), as follows:

Heaton Road
Saturday 12 Sept [1959] Dear Bill
Do you take the evening paper (T&A) if you do you will find a picture of Low Moor House that was the house Grand father Oddy lived at when he was a boy and if you look at that paper I gave (apprentice[ship indenture]) you, you will find the name The Rev. Mr. Lamplough Wickham Hird. He was the Gentleman that paid for Grandfather to be a painter and gilder. I’ll tell you all the tale when I see you Love to you all from Aunty Sally

Sally Oddy had said on another occasion that William Oddy (1786-1820), the father of Sam, was the coachman to the Rev. Mr. Lamplugh Wickham Hird who was, she thought, the vicar of Low Moor. After Sam and his sister Sarah were orphaned the Rev. Hird planned to apprentice Sam to the Low Moor Iron Works, where he had family connections through his first wife who was the daughter of one of the founders of the company, but Sam had other ideas. He wanted to be a painter and decorator and thus, at the age of 11 he was, with the consent of his uncle, Samuel Blakey, apprenticed to John Wilson Anderson of Bradford on 9 July 1824. The apprenticeship fee of fifteen pounds was put up by the Reverend Lamplugh Hird

Sam Oddy’s indenture of apprenticeship as a painter and gilder bound him to John Wilson Anderson, with whom he presumably went to live, until the age of 21, which would have been on 5 February 1834, and in that year he then started up in business on his own. In 1837 Samuel Oddy was listed as a painter with premises at King’s Arms Yard, Bradford, but by 1845 Samuel Oddy was a painter and gilder operating from 19 Ivegate, Bradford, and in 1853 Sam Oddy was described as a ‘painter and paper hanger’ of 19 Market Street, Bradford where he was still in business in 1856 and 1863. According to William Tingle Oddy, Sam’s great grandson, the Market Street property was leased. Sam Oddy’s memorial inscription at Undercliffe Cemetery describes him as a “Decorator Market St Bradford” and so these must have been the premises taken over by his son, William.

Sam Oddy (1813-1876) prospered as a painter and decorator and in 1858 he had his own portrait painted by John Hunter Thompson, of whom a memoire has also been preserved by Butler Wood:

John Hunter Thompson was born at Belfast in March 1808. His father, an UIsterman of Scottish descent, was a mechanic by trade. He removed with his family to Scotland when John was but a year old, and shortly afterwards settled for a time in Bingley, and ultimately in Bradford. Here the lad was apprenticed, like Geller, to house painting, an occupation which led in Thompson’s case to painting of a higher order. During his apprenticeship he was sent to decorate several rooms at St. Ives, Bingley, and so well was the work done that he gained the esteem and friendship of Major and Mrs. Ferrand. He was instructed about this time in a course of Anatomical drawing by a Bradford doctor whose name does not transpire, and he ultimately placed himself under the tuition of Mr. William Robinson, of Leeds, the drawing master of the Brontë family. This gentleman taught Thompson the art of portrait painting to some purpose, for we find that the latter soon established a reputation in this branch of art. It was during Mr. Robinson’s tuition that Thompson became acquainted with Branwell Brontë, who, after having failed to obtain a Royal Academy Scholarship, was sent to Mr. Robinson with a view of his adopting portrait painting as a profession. Between the two students an acquaintance was struck up which afterwards ripened into a warm friendship. After studying for some months in Leeds, Branwell took apartments in Bradford with the object of setting up as a portrait painter. Here he and Thompson worked together, the latter often Sam Oddy (1813-1876). Painted by John giving the finishing touches to Branwell’s work. The inherent Hunter Thompson in 1858 (?) restlessness and instability of Branwell’s character soon asserted themselves, for we find that he gave up his work in Bradford, where he does not seem to have given universal satisfaction, judging from a letter to Thompson dated May 17th, 1839, and quoted in Leyland’s Brontë Family (VoI.1 p.176). Thompson kept up his acquaintance with Branwell for some time after the latter’s departure from Bradford to Haworth, the two often exchanging visits. Thus ended the Brontë episode in Thompson’s career, and although he would not think of the matter at the time, it is probable that his claim on the attention of posterity will depend quite as much on this connexion as upon his own life’s work, however important this may be.

Thompson was genial and sociable to a degree, and being a good raconteur was naturally in great request in his own circle of friends. When Mr. Sam Oddy kept the Queen Hotel in Bridge Street, a company of artistic people were wont to congregate there, none being more welcome than Thompson, whose stories and jests were greatly appreciated by the frequenters of the place. In 1858 he painted the portrait of Mr. Oddy: an excellent likeness according to those who knew him well.

The Marriage of Sam and Mary Oddy

On 14 May 1836, Sam Oddy (1813-1876) married his third cousin, Mary Oddy (1816-1892) at Batley. Mary and Sam had a common great great Grandfather, Richard Oddy (†1731). Mary was the sixth of the ten children of George Oddy (17831858), rope maker and innkeeper, and his wife Mary, née Booth (1784-1848), who were themselves second cousins, each descended from a different son of Richard Oddy (†1731).

Family tradition has preserved very little about the married life of Sam Oddy (1813-1876) and Mary Oddy (1816-1892). In 1841 the family was living in Ivegate, Bradford, presumably above or near the painting business at no.19, but they are not visible in 1851! In 1861 they were living at 7 Horton Road with the four youngest children and in 1871 they had moved to 6 Manor Row and had their unmarried daughter, Harriet, and a grand-daughter, Mary Connell, aged 3, living with them.

Sam Oddy made his will on 13th February 1875. He bequeathed “to my dear wife Mary such part of my plated articles furniture linen glass china pictures ornaments and other household effects as she may select as being necessary to furnish for her a comfortable house” together with the sum of £50. He left £500 to his son, William, together with his stock in trade, and £20 each to his daughters Sarah Connell, Elizabeth Oddy, Harriet White, widow, and Margaret Holgate. He left the rest of his money, investments and real estate in trust to his executors, William Oddy, son, Richard Holgate, son-inlaw, and Thomas Johnson of Bradford, joiner and builder. The trustees were to pay Mary Oddy £200 per year and each of his daughters £20 per year. On the death of Mary Oddy, her son William was to receive the shares in the Bradford Old Bank and the rest of the estate was to be divided equally between his four sisters. The will was proved at Wakefield on 20 October 1876 and valued at under £8000. Sam Oddy died in
1876 and was buried on the main terrace of Undercliffe Cemetery, Bradford, in what became a family grave. In 1881 his widow, unmarried daughter, Elizabeth, and grand-daughter Mary Connell were living at 14 Thorncliff Square, Manningham. By 1891 they had moved to 8 Hannover Square but Mary Oddy died the next year (on 28 November) and was buried with her husband at Undercliffe.

In Affectionate Remembrance of Sam Oddy Decorator Market Street Bradford who died September 18th 1876 Aged 63 years.

Also of Mary Oddy widow of the above who died November 28th 1892 Aged 76 years. Elizabeth Oddy Daughter of the above Died Oct 25th 1924 Aged 83 years.

Mary Oddy (1816-1892) made her will on the 5 November 1892 leaving most of the contents of the house to her daughter, Elizabeth, except for the piano which went to Mary Connell, together with the furniture in Mary’s bedroom. The residue was to be divided equally between her other children. The executors were her son, William Oddy (1840-1908), and her friend, Edwin Sam Baxter, Pattern dyer, of Wakefield. The gross value of the estate was £149.13.6

It is known, however, from the memoire of the artist John Hunter Thompson by Butler Wood, that at some time “Mr. Sam Oddy kept the Queen Hotel in Bridge Street, [where] a company of artistic people were wont to congregate, none being more welcome than Thompson, whose stories and jests were greatly appreciated by the frequenters of the place. It seems probable that Sam and Mary Oddy’s venture into the licensing trade lasted for only a few years in the late 1850s.

Two Daguerrotype images exist of 19th century Oddys. By comparison with the oil portrait of Sam Oddy, one is certainly of him and so it can be presumed that the second is of Mary Oddy, but as they are differently mounted it is probable that they were not taken at the same time. The Daguerrotype came into use about 1840 and was most popular between 1845 and 1855. By 1860 the process had been superseded by other forms of photography.

The Family of Sam and Mary Oddy
The marriage of Sam Oddy and Mary Oddy produced six children, five of whom survived childhood.
The eldest child was Sarah Oddy who was born on the 12 August 1836. On 9 August 1860 she married James Connell and had seven children: Jane (c.1861), William (c.1864), Samuel (c.1866), Mary (c.1868), James (c.1869), Harry (c.1872), and Sarah (c.1876). In 1881 the Connells were keeping the Bishop Blaize Inn at 57 Westgate, Bradford, but James Connell died on 16 November 1889. Of the other children of Sam Oddy (1813-1876), only Margaret, William, and Elizabeth survived into the 20th century.

Samuel Oddy 1813-1876 and probably Mary Oddy, nee Oddy, 1816-1892

Elizabeth (1841-1924) remained a spinster and was living in the parental household at 7 Horton Road in 1861 when she was a dressmaker. She was not living with her parents in 1871, but was living with her widowed mother at 14 Thorncliff Square, Manningham, in 1881 and at Hannover Square, Bradford, in 1891. In 1901 she was living in lodgings at 29 Victoria Street, Bradford, and was described as “living on own means” She was known as Aunt Lizzie to her great nephews and nieces and William Tingle Oddy (1905-1985) remembered going with his father to visit her in lodgings at Whetley Hill and pay her money from the family business. Elizabeth Oddy died on 25th October 1924 and was buried in the family grave at Undercliffe with her parents.

Harriet Oddy (1843-1894) was living in the parental home until her first marriage to John Edward White which was registered in Bradford in the September Quarter of 1871. John Edward White died, aged 24, within a few weeks of the marriage. In 1880 Harriet White married a widower called Joseph Ramsden, who was a policeman, and at the 1881 census Joseph and Harriet and two small sons were living with Joseph’s widowed mother, Norah, in Horton. By this time Joseph was an inspector in the West Riding Constabulary. In 1891 they were living in their own home at 81 Victoria Street, Bradford, and had three sons, Joseph aged 12, Sam [Oddy] Ramsden aged 10 and George aged 5, and a daughter, Beatrice, aged 3. Harriet Ramsden died on 10 March 1894 and Joseph Ramsden subsequently married for the third time. In 1901 he has a wife called Miranda and was retired from the police force.

The youngest child of Sam and Mary Oddy was Margaret who was a bonnet maker in 1861. She married Richard Dobson Holgate, a stuff warehouseman, in 1868 and had seven children. In 1871, 1881 and 1891 the family was living at various addresses in Horton, but in 1901 the widowed Richard was living in Bradford with the two youngest children as Margaret Holgate had died on 22 March 1901, aged 55. Richard Dobson Holgate died, aged 59, towards the end of 1904.

Sarah Oddy (1815-1888)
Two people are missing from this account of Sam and Mary Oddy and their family, the eldest son, William (1840-1908) (for whom see below) and Sam’s sister Sarah (1815-1888) who was five years old when she was orphaned in 1820. It is not known where she lived for the next 15 years, but possible that she was living in the household of the Rev Lamplugh Hird, perhaps after the death of her grandmother in 1824 and the apprenticeship of her brother in the same year when he went to live with his master to whom Rev Lamplugh Hird has paid the apprenticeship fee. Sarah Oddy remained in service with this family until after 1871. Before 1881, Sarah Oddy (1815-1888) retired and went to live in lodgings at 4 Manor Street, Bridlington. Sarah Oddy presumably lived at Bridlington for the rest of her life and died there on 17th August 1888, aged 73. She made her will on 6th December 1887 and appointed her niece, Elizabeth Oddy (1841-1924), as her sole executor. Sarah Oddy left £70 to her niece, Sarah Connell, £40 and various effects to her niece, Elizabeth Oddy, £20 each to Margaret Holgate, Harriet Ramsden, Jane Johnson and William Oddy, a brooch to her sister in law, the widow of
Sam Oddy, and the residue of the estate to Mrs George Pollard, her former employer. Elizabeth Oddy of 8 Hanover Square, Bradford, was granted probate on 3rd September 1888 when the estate was valued at £254.5.10. The only evidence to show how much Sarah Oddy kept in touch with her brother, Sam, and her nephew and nieces is the will which suggests that she had more contact with Sarah Connell and Elizabeth Oddy than with the others. She was buried in the family grave at Undercliffe.

William Oddy (1840-1908) and Eliza Margerison (1840-1926)

William Oddy was born on 19 February 1840, the third child and only son of Sam and Mary Oddy. His birth certificate shows that he was born at Bradford, presumably at the family home at Kings Arms Yard, Westgate. The 1851 census return cannot be located and as no documentation or tradition has survived to indicate with whom William served his apprenticeship it is likely that he joined his father in the family painting and decorating business on leaving school. This certainly happened to William’s own sons. In 1861, aged 21, he is described as a ‘painter’ and was living in the parental home at 7 Horton Road, Bradford.

In the absence of any other brothers, William Oddy must have soon started to play an important role in the family business and in 1864 he married Eliza Margerison (1840-1926), the daughter of James Margerison (1816-1897), a coal agent of Bradford, who subsequently became a coal merchant.

William and Eliza Oddy and family

The Marriage of Willam Oddy and Eliza Margerison took place on 9 July 1864, probably at Bradford Parish Church, which was to become a cathedral in 1919.
The newly married Mr & Mrs William Oddy set up home at 21 Annison Street, Bradford, next door to the bride’s parents who lived at 19 Annison Street with their two youngest children. The Oddys immediately started to produce a family, Mary Hannah being born on 14 April 1865. She was the first of ten children, three of whom died in infancy.
By 1881 William Oddy and his growing family of six children were living at 6 Manor Row, Bradford, and by 1891, when the family was complete, they had moved round the corner to 6 Manor Street. This house remained the family home until Mary Hannah Oddy died in 1951 when the house was sold and the contents were auctioned by Raby’s of Bradford. The pictures fetched more than the auctioneers expected!

Wiliam Oddy inherited £500 and a thriving business when Sam Oddy died in 1876 but he seems to have been more interested in pursuing the life of a gentleman than in applying himself to the fortunes of the family business. According to the census returns, his two daughters, Mary and Sarah, never worked, but four of his sons went into the family business, first as apprentices and then as workmen.

William Oddy (1840-1908) was very possessive of his daughters and frightened off any young men who showed interest in them. As a result they never married but were very fond of the three daughters of their brother, George. Even the three brothers who married did not do so until their late 20s. Both Mary Hannah (1865-1951) and Sarah (Sallie) (1877-1951) were addicted to have their photograph taken.

When William Tingle (Bill Oddy) (1905-1985) joined the family in about 1927 after an apprenticeship with Taylor and White of Bradford, the older workmen used to tell him stories about his uncles going off to the territorial army meetings and then coming home worse for drink late at night. Father William used to lock them out, but his daughters, Mary and Sally, used to go down and unlock the door when they heard the commotion outside. William was a prominent member of the Masonic Order in Bradford. His life is well summed up in his obituary in the local newspaper.

1. William Oddy born 19 February 1840 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. The marriage of William Oddy and
   Eliza Margerison took place on 9 July 1864 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)} and was registered in Bradford in the September Q 1864 {Free BMD}. William Oddy died 31 July 1908 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}.
2. Eliza Margerison born 9 July 1840 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. Eliza Oddy died 18 December 1926 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. Eliza Margerison was the daughter of James Margerison (1816-1897) and Hannah Knapton (1814-1891) {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)} and was born in Rodley {census returns for 1861, 1881, 1891, 1901}.
3. Mary Hannah Oddy born 14 April 1865 and died 28 August 1951 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. According to William T Oddy, Mary and her sister Sarah were not allowed to marry by their father who discouraged all suitors.
4. Sam Oddy born 29 December 1866 and died 16 January 1868 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}.
5. Sam Oddy born 30 October 1868 and died 20 June 1951 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. The marriage of Sam Oddy & Florence Annie Tingle was registered in Bradford in the September Q 1897 {Free BMD}.
6. Arthur William Oddy born 3 January 1871 and died 11 April 1924 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. Arthur William Oddy was known as Jack by the family {William Tingle Oddy}. The marriage of Arthur William Oddy & Amelia Mellor was registered in Bradford in the September Q 1898 {Free BMD}. Amelia Mellor already had a son born in c.1895 {1901 census} called William Mellor who was left a legacy of £30 by Mary Hannah Oddy when she died in 1951 {Will of Mary Hannah Oddy}. In 1901 Arthur William and Amelia Oddy had a one year old daughter, Olive {1901 census}. The birth of Olive Dorothy E Oddy was registered in Bradford in the June Q 1899 {Free BMD}. The death of Olive Dorothy E Oddy, aged 5, was registered in Bradford in the December Q 1904 {Free BMD}. After the death of her daughter, Amelia Oddy became deranged and went into an institution for the rest of her life. Arthur William Oddy returned to live with the family in Manor Street until his death in 1924 {William T Oddy}. The death was registered by brother George whose address was 31 Hampden Street, Horton. Arthur William Oddy was described as a Master painter & decorator {Death certificate}. The birth of Amelia Mellor was registered in Oldham in the March Q 1875 {Free BMD}. The death of Amelia Oddy, age 72, was registered in Wharfedale in the March Q 1946 {Free BMD}.
7. James Oddy born 10 March 1873 and died 24 February 1953 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. James
   Oddy was always known as ‘Jim’. James Oddy joined the army and served in the Boer War. According to William T Oddy, James Oddy was bought out of the army at least once and reduced to the ranks for misbehaviour. In WWI he became a recruiting sergeant. James Oddy never married but had a lady friend in Bradford called Mrs Whittam {see the papers relating to the estate of William Oddy (1840-1908)}. She benefited from James Oddy’s estate and gave Jim’s medals to William T Oddy. George Oddy born 4 December 1874 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}. George Oddy married Ada Florence Hodgson {Malcolm Young}. The marriage of George Oddy and Ada Florence Hodgson was registered in Bradford in the September Q 1903 {Free BMD}. The birth of Ada Florence Hodgson was registered in Bradford in the September Q 1882 {Free BMD}. George Oddy died in St Luke’s Hospital, Bradford, aged 88, on 27 May 1963 {Death Certificate}.
8. Sarah Oddy born 7 March 1877 and died 7 April 1962 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}.
9. Elizabeth Tetlow Oddy born 3 May 1879 and died 28 December 1879 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}.
10. John Charles Oddy born 6 October 1881 and died 11 May 1882 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}.
11. Albert Knapton Oddy born 11 February 1885 and died 4 August 1912 {Family Bible of George Oddy (1752-1822)}.

DEATH OF A BRADFORD TRADESMAN (Bradford Weekly Telegraph).
An old and respected Bradford Tradesman passed away on Friday last at his residence in Manor Street in the person of Mr William Oddy, of the firm of Messrs. Sam Oddy and son, painters and decorators. Mr Oddy, who was in his sixty-ninth year, was the son of Mr Sam Oddy, of the Queen Hotel in Wakefield Road, and who in 1834 commenced a business as a painter and decorator. The business, which was carried on in Market Street for over fifty years, is one of the oldest in the particular branch of trade. Finally the Market Street premises were vacated for a place in Victoria Square. Mr William Oddy took over the business himself when his father died in 1876, and in later years he was joined by several of his sons. He retired from business some five or six years ago. Mr Oddy took a keen interest in public affairs, and for many years kept a record of local and national events. He was William and Eliza Oddy in c.1895 in the yard at 6 Manor Street, Bradford.
Back row L to R: one of the original members of the George, Jim, Arthur (known as Jack), Sam Seated L to R: Sallie, Eliza, William, Mary County Conservative Club, and in 1891 Hannah Front: Albert became municipal candidate in the North Ward in opposition to Mr John Maddocks, who put up in the Liberal interest.
Mr Oddy was unsuccessful, but twelve months afterwards he was made a member of the Bradford Board of Guardians, a position which he held for three years. Amongst other things Mr Oddy was a Freemason – in fact one of the oldest in Bradford – and was Worshipful Master of the Airedale Lodge in 888. He was the secretary and treasurer of the Yorkshire Master Painters Association for nineteen years. One of his chief hobbies was that of collecting war medals. His collection numbered between three and four hundred. Mr Oddy leaves a widow, five sons and two daughters. The funeral of the late Mr Oddy took place on Tuesday morning.

The Yorkshire Master Painters’ Association, of which the deceased was secretary and treasurer, was strongly represented, amongst those attending being Mr J E Mareland (president), Mr R Rooms (secretary), Mr H Goodwin, Mr C E Hayley, Mr T F Heaton, Mr H L Byrom, Mr G Spencer, Mr T Charnock, Mr J C Calvert, and Mr C H Powell. The Airedale Lodge of Freemasons, of which Mr Oddy was one of the oldest members, being a Worshipful Master, was represented by Mr F M Jowett, W M, Mr W M Jowett, W M, Mr E Heaton, P M, Mr H Telford, P M, Mr A Bagnall, P M, and Mr H Abbott. Mr J Truelove was present from the Moravia Lodge, and Mr W M Brookes from the Historical and Antiquarian Society.
A funeral service was held at the Parish Church and the interment took place at the Undercliffe Cemetery.

© Andrew Oddy

waoddy@googlemail.com