Pottawatomie County, Ks. Marriage Records Book 2 April 17, 1867 - Jan 15,
1872
26 sep 1867: O'Daniel, James F. 27 to Spaulding(Spalding), Julia
Pottawatomie twp 18 by John Collins on 3 Oct 1867 at my residence
[Merrie Pinick's database]

[Source: A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled
by William E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical
Society, Topeka. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, copyright 1918;
transcribed October, 1997.
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1918ks/bioo/odaniejf.html.
Image of pages with Stephen D. Williams, aka sdw]
JAMES FRANKLIN O'DANIEL. The reader of modern Kansas history learns of
the wonderful development of the state, of its wealth and resources, of
its great educational institutions and its culture, and of its enterprise
and reform legislation. Back, however, of all these truthful and
encouraging records exists a vital and more interesting page of history,
and only by linking the past with the present, may justice be done to
all. A half century in the great cycle of Time means little, but it
sometimes covers an entire individual life. There are men in different
sections of this great state to whose labor, courage and resolution
through the last half century. Kansas owes a great debt, for they were
the pioneers along every line in which she now stands pre-eminent among
the states.

James Franklin O'Daniel, one of Riley County's representative men, came
to Kansas with the pioneers of 1859, at that time being a sturdy and
ambitious youth of eighteen years. He was born in Larue County, Kentucky,
October 22, 1840, and his parents were James and Margaret (Howell)
O'Daniel. By birth they were Kentuckians but they were of Irish and
German ancestry. Of their twelve children, James Franklin was fifth in
order of birth. In 1852 they removed with their children to Platte
County, Missouri, and resided at Parkville until 1859, in which year they
became settlers in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, settling on Rock Creek,
near Westmoreland. At that time James O'Daniel was a poor man but he was
industrious and with the help of his sons prospered as a farmer and
stockraiser in the Sunflower state and in the course of time acquired a
half section of land in the county in which he had located. Here his
death occurred at the age of sixty-six years, having survived his wife,
who was a woman of many virtues and noble qualities which her children
see reflected in each other.

At the age of eighteen years many youths have completed their period of
school attendance but circumstances had been such, in his parents'
pioneering life, that James Franklin had been unable to secure even usual
school advantages. A believer in education, Mr. O'Daniel felt this
somewhat of a handicap but it is doubtful if any one other than himself
ever discovered it, for in his many years of active business life, he
capably filled every position, including that of bank president and
director, and on many subjects of public importance his judgment is
sought and his advice followed.

On October 3, 1867, Mr. O'Daniel was united in marriage with Miss Julia
Ann Spalding, who was born in Knox County, Illinois, December 19, 1848.
Her parents were Elisha L. and Lucinda (Brown) Spalding. Her father was
born in South Carolina, coming of an old American family, and her mother
was born in Illinois and was of English lineage. They were married in
Illinois and in that state Mrs. Spalding died, leaving three children.
Some years later Mr. Spalding married again, his choice being Margaret
Young, who died after the birth of two children. Subsequently Mr.
Spalding married Margaret Wilson for his third wife and they had three
children. During the Civil war he was a soldier in the Union army,
serving in Company K, Eleventh Kansas infantry. Farming was his
occupation and he carried it on for some years in Pottawatomie County and
then removed to Russell County, Kansas, where he lived until his death,
when aged seventy-two years.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. J. E. O'Daniel settled on a farm in
Pottawatomie County. They were poor in worldly goods but rich in hope and
resourcefulness and they set about with commendable determination to
secure a permanent home. In this they were finally eminently successful,
although many were their trials and arduous their early years. Many
seasons of drought brought discouragement, the grasshoppers came and in
leaving left little vegetation behind them, money was scarce,
transportation poor and social life negligible. They never gave up,
however, and one by one these hardships and visitations passed and
through men like Mr. O'Daniel, law and order prevailed, conditions
improved, more settlers came. Land values increased, capital became
plentiful, and through his industry and good business management Mr.
O'Daniel gradually advanced from a small to an extensive farmer and
stockraiser and now pays taxes on 5,000 acres of land in Pottawatomie
County.

It was in 1868 that Mr. O'Daniel located on a part of this land and lived
there for thirty years, at first in a humble dwelling but later their
home was the finest country residence in Pottawatomie County. This was
built a number of years ago, with modern comforts and equipments, even
luxuries, and it was so fitted with the expectation of being the
permanent family home. However, when the children advanced; from
childhood into ambitious and intelligent youth, Mr. and Mrs. 0'Daniel
determined to afford them every possible educational advantage and that
meant leaving the beautiful home in Pottawatomie County and removing to
Manhattan. This was accomplished in 1898 and they now reside at No. 1000
Leavenworth Street, but still retain the old home in the country to which
they are bound by many tender ties.

Mr. and Mrs. 0'Daniel have reared seven children: Emogene, who is the
wife of C. C. Jackson, a farmer of Pottawatomie County; John Willis
(Willie), who died at the age of twenty-four years, married Nannie Cave;
Mary Lorena, who is the wife of John Scott, assistant director of the
Government experiment station at Gainesville, Florida; Elizabeth, who is
the wife of William Scott, a farmer in Pottawatomie County; Anna Luella,
who is the wife of E. M. Amos, a printer at Manhattan; James Frederick,
who married Evelyn McLaughlin, is residing on and managing the O'Daniel
homestead in Pottawatomie County; and Lucinda, who is the wife of Alvin
R. Springer, a prominent lawyer of Manhattan.

For several years Mr. O'Daniel was president of a bank of Westmoreland,
Kansas, and is now a director of the First National Bank of Manhattan. He
has never sought political honors and has never allowed politics to
absorb either his time or attention to any extent. Mrs. 0'Daniel is a
inember of the Baptist Church but Mr. O'Daniel has never formally united
with any religious body although he has given generously in support of
religion as well as education. His life has been exemplary as a business
man, honesty, fairness and justice prevailing in all his associations
with his fellow men, and he has always manifested a spirit of public
enterprise ever being willing to co-operate in promoting movements for
the general welfare. He is a valued member of the Riley County Old
Settlers (Historical) Society.

1. LDS IGI,
2. LDS Pedigree Resource File,

1. Cemetery: KS, Pottawatamie Co, Admantha/Jenkins Cemetery, "O'DANIEL. Ina May 3/30/1875 8/16/1877"

1. Cemetery: KS, Pottawatamie Co, Admantha/Jenkins Cemetery, "O'DANIEL, Alice M. 10/18/1868 3/02/1869"