This website contains historical and genealogical information about the Odling, Odling-Smee and closely related families.
The Odling family of interest here is the one descended from Charles Odling (1751-1836) of Buslingthorpe, Lincolnshire. The site seeks to cover his ancestors and many of his descendants. The ancestors of some of the women who married into this Odling family are also covered. The Odling-Smees are descended from one branch of Charles Odling’s family. They too are covered here, as are their Smee ancestors who are descended from Joseph Smee (1646-1717 or 1718) of Sudbury.
The list of names of people in the family trees and some biographical notes are available to all visitors to the site. Family members who register will also have access to the whole site, which includes basic information about over 2000 people and their relationships. It also contains four histories of the Odling family, the Smee family, the Hahn family and the Scottish families from which Katharine Hamilton Odling-Smee (née Aitchison) was descended.
The focus of the information is on the centuries up to and including the 19th century. Some basic genealogical information relating to the 20th century is included, but no attempt has been made to be comprehensive or fully up-to-date. As this is not so far in the past, it is expected that other family members will be better placed to collect the relevant information and record the histories of their branches of the family.
Registration and Contact
Registration is free. Once you have registered, you can log onto the site. You can contact me by email at Contact@OdlingFamily.com.
Additions and Corrections
The site is a work in progress. New information is added as it becomes available. Family members and others are encouraged to submit new information, corrections and stories (click on Contact to send a message). Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate. However, more reliable information becomes available from time to time, and errors that have crept in have to be corrected. Additional information about a few people is available on request (click on Contact).
Sources
The documentation of the sources of the information is incomplete. Visitors to the site who would like further details about particular sources should contact me.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Elizabeth Dumas and Anne Hughes, the daughters of William Odling (1909-97), and Barrie Hughes, his son-in-law, for providing access to the information about the Odlings collected by William Odling. I am also indebted to Pete Smee who has carried out a huge amount of research on Smees worldwide and generously makes it available at www.thesmeefamily.com, as well as being ready to help with specific questions. Other family websites that have been helpful are www.bucktonfamily.co.uk (for Buckton family members) and a site managed by Ron Goose that is now closed (for Ray family members).