Los
Angeles County
Biographies
SAMUEL W. ODELL
Broad experience has ripened the
ability of Samuel W. Odell, who has been a legal practitioner for more than
forty years and is a member of the Los Angeles firm of Tanner, Odell &
Taft. Endowed with more than one talent,
Mr. Odell has not only won success and prominence in his profession but has
also become well known in the field of literature and is the author of a number
of interesting books. He was born in
Hampton, Illinois, November 4, 1864, a son of John P. and Sarah (Neilson)
Odell, the latter of Scotch descent. The
father was descended from ancestors located in Yorkshire, England, and was born
in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. John P. Odell were
the parents of nine children and six are now living, five sons and one
daughter.
Samuel W. Odell, the eighth in order
of birth, was a lad of six when the family located in Scott County, Iowa, where
his elementary instruction was obtained.
At the age of thirteen he accompanied his parents on a trip in a covered
wagon to Cloud County, Kansas, where he attended school for a year, and then
returned with the family to Illinois.
While living in that state he enrolled in Port Byron Academy, graduating
with the class of 1885, and was next a student in the Illinois Wesleyan
University at Bloomington, where he received the degree of LL. B. in 1887. Admitted to the Illinois bar in 1887, he
opened an office in Moline, where he practiced continuously until 1903, with
the exception of one year, 1898, which was spent in Santa Cruz,
California. He ranked with the leading
representatives of his profession in Moline and was city attorney there for one
term. In 1903 he returned to California,
becoming a resident of Santa Monica, of which he was city attorney in 1907, and
has since made his home in Pasadena, but his offices are at 210 West Seventh
Street, Los Angeles, and 602 Bay Cities Building, Santa Monica,
California. He was a member of the firm
of Tanner, Taft & Odell until 1912, when Mr. Taft was elected to the
superior court bench, and the present style of Tanner, Odell & Taft was
then assumed, Harris W. Taft, a son of Judge Taft, being the junior
partner. Later Judge Taft again became a
member of the firm. Composed of
attorneys of high standing, this is considered one of the strongest legal
combinations in the state.
At Port Byron, Illinois, on December
20, 1888, Mr. Odell was married to Miss Clara J. W. Morgan, also a native of
that state, and they became the parents of three children. The eldest, Morgan S., who was born in 1894,
graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles and next attended the
University of Southern California, which awarded him the M. A. degree. Later the degree of Ph. D. was conferred upon
him by the University of Chicago. He is now
professor of philosophy in Occidental College.
Enlisting in 1917 for service in the World War, he was assigned to
section 565 of the Ambulance Corps and as top sergeant of his company was on
duty along the fighting front in Italy.
He is married and has become the father of three children. Donald, the second son, who was born in 1896,
entered the service of his country in 1918 and was in training at Camp Kelly,
where he became an aviation pursuit pilot with the rank of second
lieutenant. He was stationed in various
flying fields in Texas and was mustered out April 7, 1919. Resuming his studies at Occidental College,
he was graduated from that institution in June, 1919, later graduated from t he
University of Southern California Law School with the degree of J. D., and is
now associated with the law firm of Tanner, Odell & Taft. He has a wife and two children. Margaret, the third in order of birth, is the
wife of L. B. Bangham of Albany, California, and the
mother of three children.
Mr. Odell is a member of an
independent Congregational Church and his political support is given to the
Republican Party. He belongs to the
Masonic fraternity, the Sierra Club, the New Century Club of Pasadena and the
City Club of Los Angeles. A man of
scholarly attainments, he has done considerable editorial work and is an author
of recognized ability who has written a number of books for young people. His published works include: “Atlantaneus;” “The
Unequal Four;” “Princess Althura”, a story of the
time of Kings Cyrus and Darius; “Sampson;” “Delilah;” biographies of Ulysses S.
Grant and Robert E. Lee; and “The Last War,” in which he predicted many of the
features of the World War, although the book was written in 1898. The airplane, television and other modern inventions
were among his prophesies.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. III, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages
97-99, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles,
Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPIES