| There were three Bedfordshire Baronies dating to the time of William the Conquerer (1066). Walter was the son of one of the Flemish adventurers from the Continent, who helped the Norman Duke William conquer England. By 1035, Walter had located his headquarters on a high area overlooking the Ouse River. Most of Bedfordshire is 280 feet above sea level with one place being nearly 800 feet above. The area Walter chose was one of the higher spots, though apparently not 800 feet above the sea level, and was known as Wahull. Wahull is an old English descriptive place name — some researchers have defined it as a high, wooded place. Walter’s castle was constructed on a rock of considerable height with a steep ascent. He and his family became known as Walter de Wahulle. Others have said the area was called WoadHill after the plant woad, which was cultivated as a dye in Saxon days. The name has seen many changes. Among them are: Woodhull, Wodhull, Woodhall (1300’s), Wodell, Odell (1500’s) and Odell soon after. At no time in English sources has it ever been O’Dell. In America, Odell, Odle, and O’Dell were sometimes used in the same family. Poor penmanship and poor spelling habits could be a cause, so also could be the fact that their names would be written for them on records or legal documents. The name Sturrock originated in Angus, Scotland, and literally means sheep farmers or storemasters (farmers). First mention of the name in Scotland was in 1448 when Laurentius Sturrok, chaplain of Aberdeen, was recorded. In 1676 one John Sturrock in Dundee was charged with being a "schismatik" and a disorderly person. Records in the Scottish Registry show many entries of the Sturrock surname. The family of William Sturrock and Ann Swan (daughter of William Swan and Agnes Kerr) came from an area about five miles north of Dundee, Scotland in the County of Angus (or Forfar, as it was formerly known.) The records at that time were kept in the churches, which were designated by Parishes. There are many records of Sturrocks, Kerrs, Mudies, and some Swans in the Parish of Monikie (north of Murroes) going back to the early 1600's. The Sturrock family probably left Scotland from Greenock in 1830 for New York. It is not certain that William and Ann Sturrock accompanied their children to America. Agnes Sturrock Gellatly, the eldest child, was appointed guardian of her two younger brothers, James and John. Other members of the Sturrock family on the trip were Isobel, Betty, William Jr., and Margaret. Isobel married John Ferguson in Saratoga Co., New York, and her sister, Betty, married Charles Dallas at the same place. The Fergusons went to Red Oak, Iowa, where they are both buried. Robert and Agnes Gellatly, Margaret, William, James and John Sturrock headed south, possibly overland, or by boat to New Orleans, then up the Red River to Natchitoches, LA, where Margaret met Simon Weiss, a customs agent for Santa Anna. Possibly one of Weiss' ships brought the Sturrock family to their new home in east Texas (Tyler, Nacogdoches, Sabine counties) in 1836. Descendants of the Scottish Sturrocks live all over the U.S. and abroad. The annual Sturrock reunion is held on the first Saturday in October at the Colmesneil Community Center in Colmesneil, Tyler County, Texas. The Sturrock Family Association publishes a quarterly newsletter ($5 for a year's subscription); email bodell@houston.rr.com for more information. |
The Odell/Sturrock Family of Baytown, TX
Updated December 21, 2006 |
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Brenda Kay Odell 3400 Surrey Lane Baytown, TX 77521-1959 A-United States 281-424-2466 bodell@houston.rr.com |
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