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• Residence: 1820, Wayne, Mississippi
• Residence: 1830, Wayne, Mississippi
• Residence: 1850, Cherokee, Texas

Notes:

Malachi Odom (1) (Born circa 1770, S. C.) was one of a long line of Odoms with Biblical names and a dedication to the Biblical admonition to "be fruitful and multiply." By 1792, he was in Burke Co., Ga., where he married Mary Russell (Born circa 1770-1780, died before 1850) circa 1796. Malachi and Mary stayed in Georgia about five years and their first three children were born there. Then, Malachi began to look westward. He applied for and received a passport from the Governor of Georgia on Jan. 4, 1803, to travel into the Mississippi Territory. Friends recommended him for the passport, stating that they lived in Burke Co., Ga., and "do certify that the bearer, Mr. Malachi Odom, has resided in this County for the principal part of his life and has always bore the character of a sober industrious Man and a good Neighbour And being about to remove into your parts takes with him our best wishes for his future prosperity & happiness." (One signer was "Jno. Davies, Lt. Col. Comdt 1st Regiment Burke Militia.")
The Mississippi Territory, then occupied by Indians, was not a part of the United States. When he left home, he promised Mary that he would be back to get her in "a year and a day." As that time approached, Mary's family, with whom she was staying, were also getting ready to move west. They had all their possessions packed in wagons and were prepared to leave at dawn on the day after the time was up. As they were getting ready to go to bed, Malachi came riding home.
The Odoms and Russells settled in Mississippi Territory in what is now Washington Co., Ala. They were among the earliest settlers and were threatened constantly by Indians. The family just missed the Massacre of Fort Mims by going instead to Fort Stratton. When Mississippi became a state, that area was in Wayne Co., Miss. They were in Washington Co., Mississippi Territory, 1805-1820 (tax rolls, territorial census). In 1820 they were in Wayne Co., Miss. (tax rolls, federal census) and in 1830 they were in Lauderdale Co., Miss. After the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, the Choctaw Indians retreated farther west and Lauderdale County was formed. The families of Malachi Odom and his children were among the first white settlers in this county. They settled at McLaurins Station, now known as Toomsuba, Miss,, on Buckahanna Creek very near the Alabama border and about 10 miles from Meridian. The Odoms stayed there about 13 years.
In December, 1846, 35 Odoms loaded all their possessions in five ox-drawn wagons and started toward the new State of Texas. The party included Malachi and Mary Odom and four of their sons, Ephraim, Randol, James, and Simeon, and their families. They were six weeks on the road and arrived at the Mount Comfort community in Cherokee County about the middle of January, 1847, where they struck camp, bought land, and went to work to remove the heavy growth of pine trees which covered the land. Although only Ephraim remained in Cherokee County until his death, many descendants of all the brothers are still living in the area, The log home built by Randol and James appear on 1846 tax records in Cherokee County. Malachi appears on the 1850 census in Cherokee County in the household of his son, Simeon. Mary must have died soon after they arrived in Texas. From History of Texas by B.B. Paddock, 1922,: "He (Simeon) had brought with him to Texas his father and mother, who wanted to stop in Cherokee County and go no further. Here Simeon remained until both had died, and then, in 1852, sold his interests and brought his family to Johnson County." It is not known where or when Malachi or Mary died or where they are buried, but likely they are buried in the Odom Cemetery near Maydelle, Cherokee County, although their graves are not marked.
Because many of the early Mississippi records have burned, information about Malachi's and Mary's children is sketchy. There may have been three other daughters, born between 1806 and 1820, as the 1820 census of Wayne Co., Miss., shows three more females than can be accounted for Malachi's and Mary's known children. - Cherokee County History Book of 1986, published by the Cherokee County (Texas) Historic Commission, researched and contributed by Dorothy Odom Bruce and Virginia Singletary

Malachi married Mary Russell in 1796 in Mississippi Territory, Georgia. Mary was born in 1775 in Burke Co., Georgia; died in 1850 in Mt. Comfort, Cherokee Co, Texas. [Group Sheet]

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