Individual Details

Obediah CHILDRESS

(15 Oct 1792 - 5 Aug 1852)

SPECULATION AS TO MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME
DAR Mag., July 1923, Vol. 57, #7, p. 433
"10861 CHILDRESS - Obediah...married Celia Ayers. Their children were William; John; Obediah; Bettie; Polly; Minerva and Elizabeth (MJB question 2 girl children 1 names Bettie and one named Elizabeth - doubtful). His mother's maiden name was Snow and his father was married twice, as there were half brothers and sisters. Moved with his family from North Alabama about 1836/7 to Choctaw County, Mississippi. According to tradition the Childress family lived in East Tennessee prior to settling in Alabama." (JPC Note: "East Tennessee" may equate to Franklin County, Tennessee, since Obed Childress is listed as being a witness to an Ayres deed there. Perhaps Obediah's father William Childress married the "Snow Widow" in Franklin County circa 1800. This would be a good county to research. See William Childress notes for more discussion about Obediah's mother's name.)

WITNESS TO DEEDS
Franklin County, Tennessee Deed Book H., page 561
Obed Childress is listed as a witness to an Ayres deed on April 23, 1819.
Franklin County, Tennessee Deed Book H., page 245
Obed Childress was witness to a deed, dated July 21, 1813 and proven January 24, 1815.

JUSTICE OF PEACE, 1828
Jefferson County, Alabama - Vol. X, Book 1, page 130. Meredith Childress married Sirinia Hamon on February 2, 1828. Jesse Meek married Mary Rogers on February 9, 1828. Both vows solemnized by Obed Childress, J.P.

1840 CENSUS
Choctaw County, Mississippi
males: 10-15, 1; 15-20, 2; 40-50, 1.
females: <5, 1; 5-10, 2; 10-15, 3; 30-40, 1. Total of 11 family members and 15 slaves.

1850 SLAVE CENSUS
The October 1850 Slave Schedule in Choctaw County, Mississippi reflected the fact that "Obey" Childress owned over 30 slaves.

1850 CENSUS
Choctaw County, Mississippi
Childress, Obed, 58(SC), blind farmer; Sarah, 56(SC); Edward, 23(AL); Mary, 15(AL); Elvia, 14(AL); Obed, 24(AL); Jemima, 21(AL) (wife of Obed, Jr.). Assets worth $16,000.

(Note that Obediah, Sr. is listed as "blind" in the above census. This suggests that he may have had diabetes, just as his grandson Caleb likely had and just as Caleb's grandson John Franklin Childress, Sr. (my father) had. It has been claimed that diabetes typically strikes every other generation of male descendants.)

BUILT HOME IN ACKERMAN, MISSISSIPPI
According to archives in Jackson, Mississippi, the home built in Ackerman by Sr. was sold to Jr. in 1852, who sold it to brother Edmond in 1872, since Obediah, Jr. left for Texas with his wife Jemima and father-in-law, Caleb Barron. Edmond's wife Martha left it to Mrs. Fred Rhodes in 1920, granddaughter of Edmond. Located at crossing of Louisville, Greensboro, Columbus and Winora Roads, known as White's Road. The old Childress Home was known as a hotel place for travelers.

In 2010, I received a note from a Childress descendent, Geraldine Sharpe. Ms. Sharpe sent an image of notes taken during the WPA days. The note covers the earlier construction of buildings in Choctaw County, Mississippi: "Antebellum homes - One of the first houses built in Choctaw County was the home of Edmond Childress, Sr. this house, which is now (1936) the home of J.F. Rhodes, was built in 1836 of logs pinned with wooden stobs. The original house still stands but additions have been made. The additions, of course, are of finished boards. The house was located at the crossroad from Greensboro to Louisville and from Winona to Starkville."

Another note stated, "The Rhodes Home - In the Northwest part of Ackerman about one half mile from Main Street stands one of the oldest homes in Choctaw county, known form more than one hundred years as the Obid Childress home. This home was built in 1836 by Obid (Obed) Childress and in 1852 was sold to Obid Childress, Jr. In 1872 he sold to Edmond Childress. In 1904 Edmond Childress died and his wife, Martha Childress, fell heir to this property. In 1920 she divided the property and Mrs. Fred Rhodes, granddaughter of Edmond Childress, fell heir to the old home.

This house was built of old hewn virgin logs pegged together. In 1885 part of this old house was torn down and a more modern structure erected, but the chimney and two rooms of the original house still stand. One of the rooms is 20 X 20 feet and the other 12 X 20 feet.....this house was known as a noted place for the wayworn traveler to stop over for the night."

PERSONAL EFFECTS
Archives, Jackson, Mississippi. Mrs. A.B. Horn and Mrs. R.L. Wheelock visited John Hunt's home in June, 1944 and viewed, among other things, a walking stick and chair for Obed Childress, Sr., Mr. John Hunt's grandfather. Mr. Obed Childress weighed 330 pounds, so the chair is very large. The chair was over 150 years old in 1944, so it would have been made around 1800. (The dating of this chair seems suspicious, since Obed, Sr. was born circa 1792. As an update to this chair location, I noted in the "Early Choctaw Families" book in Jackson, Mississippi library that this chair is owned by one Robert Hunt, living in Chicago, as of 1998. I (JPC) plan to follow up on this lead.)

EPITAPH ON TOMBSTONE
"In Memory of Obed Childress who died August 5, 1852. Aged 59 years 9 months and 20 days. He was a pious member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His spirit fled and reigns above, in realms of Joy of Peace and Love, and death has done her part."

Events

Birth	15 Oct 1792	Fairfield, South Carolina, United States
Miscellaneous	21 Jul 1813	witnessed signatures on deed - Franklin, Williamson, Tennessee, United States
Marriage	Est 1815	Lawrence, Arkansas, United States - Sarah Selah Celia Ayres
Miscellaneous	23 Apr 1819	witnessed signatures on Ayres deed - Franklin, Williamson, Tennessee, United States
Miscellaneous	15 Aug 1826	was Justice of the Peace - Jefferson, Alabama, United States
Residence	1830	Jefferson, Alabama, United States
Residence	1840	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Miscellaneous	1840	paid property tax on 440 acres - Springfield, Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Residence	1841	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Miscellaneous	27 Feb 1841	owned 80.48 acres - Columbus, Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Residence	1845	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Residence	1850	Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Death	5 Aug 1852	Ackerman, Choctaw, Mississippi, United States
Burial		Ackerman, Choctaw, Mississippi, United States

Families

Spouse	Sarah Selah Celia Ayres (1794 - 1867)
Child	Elizabeth CHILDRESS (1816 - 1882)
Child	William Carter CHILDRESS (1816 - 1893)
Child	John CHILDRESS (1816 - 1859)
Child	Obediah CHILDRESS (1825 - 1878)
Child	Edmond CHILDRESS (1827 - 1904)
Child	Minerva CHILDRESS (1830 - 1904)
Child	Mary Jane CHILDRESS (1832 - 1906)
Child	Eliza/Elvira CHILDRESS (1835 - )

Father	William CHILDRESS (1750 - 1834)
Mother	Sarah Izabel Ayres (1777 - 1851)
Sibling	Mary CHILDRESS (1790 - 1860)
Sibling	William CHILDRESS (1801 - 1853)
Sibling	David CHILDRESS (1802 - )
Sibling	Levi CHILDRESS (1805 - 1879)

Individual Details

Obediah CHILDRESS

Events

Families

Endnotes