19 | Meet John, Henry’s Oldest Son

John , Henry’s oldest son, was born in Maryland, lived in Ohio, and finally migrated to Kansas in 1880- the Odaffer who started what has come to be known as TheKansas Branch of the Odaffer family.

John married Hester (Hettie) Foust in 1840. Their children were Joseph Odaffer(1841) and Caroline Odaffer (1847) Hester Foust Odaffer died in 1849, slightly less that 30 years old. Not long after that, their children, John and Caroline went to live with Hester’s parents, and Hester’s father, David Foust, and her mother took care of them. This abbreviated chart gives a look at John and Hettie’s descendants.

Joseph’s family of 9 children were the nucleus of the Kansas Branch of the Odaffer family. Joseph came to Bush City, Kansas, or near it prior to 1876, when his son Elmer was a boy. Many of the Odaffers lived near Garnett, Kansas. The chart above gives more information about this branch. More data on this branch can be found in Descendant Chart 5a.

After Hester’s death, John married Elizabeth Camp in Pennsylvanina in 1852. In 1860 she and John lived in Pickaway Co., Washington Twp, Ohio. John and Elizabeth had four sons and a daughter, Adeline. Their oldest son, William Allen, never married. Their second son, Lewis C., had one daughter, Maude, and two sons, Ray and Charles. See Descendant Chart 5b. Charles had no children, and Ray had two sons, neither of which married.

Charles said in a letter that all of his father’s folks left Circleville and went to Kansas before he was born. They left in 1880 and he never “got acquainted very well.” John’s third and fourth sons, Charles and Arthur, also never married. This abbreviated chart gives a graphic look at this branch.

Court records show that on March 27, 1862 John Odaffer and Elizabeth became the guardian of two wards, 20 yr old Joseph Odaffer and 15 yr old Caroline Odaffer. It appears that John legally took custody of his children with Hester Foust, after their guardian, Hester’s father David Foust, died. As a result of this website, I had the privilege of communicating with Karen Feisel, who is a descendant of Caroline Odaffer. Karen’s research, and her interest in Caroline’s family history, has helped clarify the genealogy for this branch. For more detailed information about John Odaffers descendants, see Descendant Chart 5