Odell-Andrews House

1999

(Below in italics is from the 2004 National Register listing; not verified for accuracy by this author.)

Mrs. Clara Odell House. 2-story side-gable Colonial Revival-style house with exterior end chimneys, a recessed door with fanlight, paneled reveal and arched surround, and flanking bay windows with metal casements. Other windows are 8-over-8 sashes and metal casements. Flanking 1-story wings (at right is an original sunroom). Vinyl siding. Clara S. Odell, widow of William R. Odell, was the owner-occupant in 1940.

(Below in italics is from the Historic Preservation Society Plaque Application for the Odell-Andrews House)

The 1550 Hermitage Court lot was purchased in 1927 for $60 by New Hope Realty. In 1928 it was purchased by Stacy and Clyde Wade for $500. In 1930, the parcel was auctioned and purchased for $2500 by Mrs. W. R. (Clara) Odell. Mrs. Clara S. Odell, along with her husband, W. R. Odell were deeded the property on August 24, 1930 (Book 102, page 13). William and Lois Branson purchased the property on November 26, 1935. Josephine Alexander purchased the property on December 20, 1951. Frank Scott and Laura D. Bono purchased the home on October 31, 1994.

First Home Owners - Clara S. and W. R. Odell 

Anecdotally, we know that the Odell's contracted to build the home in 1930 and the house was completed in 1932. They were the first home owners. We have been told that the house is a George Watts Carr home but we've been unable to obtain the original plans. It has the characteristics of many other Carr homes in the Forest Hills area: understated small entrance porches and balanced flanking side porches. 

Mr. W. R. Odell was a prominent businessman that was originally from Cabarrus County. With his father John Milton (J. M.) Odell and brother J. A. Odell, he co-owned the Odell Manufacturing Company of Concord, Greensboro and Durham. There were many plants throughout North Carolina with the years of operation from 1887 through 1933. Some of the plant names associated with the Odells were the Forest Hills Plant (Concord), Kerr Bleachery (Concord), Buffalo Cotton Mill (Concord), Southern Cotton Mill, Durham Cotton Manufacturing Company and the Odell Manufacturing Company. 

The three Odell men were prominent in Greensboro society, education and politics. They were majority stock holders and all on the Board of Directors of Greensboro Female College (now Greensboro College) in the late 1800's/early 1900's serving with B. N. Duke, O. W. Carr, and Julian Carr (The architect George Watts Carr's father). (1) 

In fact, W. R. Odell (the owner of the Hermitage Court property) was President of the Greensboro College Board of Directors from 1898 through 1903. His wife, Mrs. Clara Sergeant Branson Odell was a longtime officer of the Greensboro College Alumni Board serving from around 1890 until 1914. She has a memorial scholarship at Greensboro College in her name, the Mrs. Clara Sergeant Branson Memorial Scholarship. (2) W.R. Odell also has a scholarship in his name at the Duke University Divinity School.(3) 

In 1905, W.R. Odell was elected as a State Senator for North Carolina and served until 1907. It is unknown when Mrs. Clara Sergeant Branson, married Mr. W. R. Odell but anecdotally it is believed the year was around 1908. It is known that they lived in Cabarras County for many years as W. R. Odell managed several Odell Cotton Mills there along with the Kerr Bag Manufacturing Company (also an Odell holding) in the Concord area. 

Odell served as Chairman of the Cabarrus County School Board from 1913 until his death in 1938 and has a school named in his honor in Concord, NC called the W. R. Odell Elementary School, at 1885 Odell School Road, Concord, NC. 28027. His childhood home on Church Street directly across from the Odell Forest Hills Plant is a North Carolina Historic Landmark in Concord as well as his home at the corner of Church and Buffalo Streets. 

Second Owners but never occupants: William H. Branson, Jr. and Lois Stamey Branson 

The Odells were mother and step-father to William H. Branson, b. 1894, prominent attorney in Durham and buyer of tobacco for Leggett Meyers. 

William H. Branson, (b. 1894) purchased the home from his mother (Clara Branson Odell) in 1935; however Mrs. Odell continued to live in the home until 1951. She died December 13, 1952. (4) 

Clarification of four men sharing the name William Branson (first is the husband to Clara, the second is the son of Clara): 
1. William Branson, b. 1860, d. 1899 - Cotton manufacturer 
2. William Branson, Sr. b. 1894, d. 1976 - lawyer and Leggett Meyers tobacco buyer 3. William Branson, Jr., b. 1929, d. 1995 - lawyer 
4. William Branson, III, b. 1950's, photographer 

Miss Clara Sergeant of Greensboro (her father, B.E. Sergeant owned Sergeant Manufacturing Company)(5) was married to William H. Branson (b. 1860) in 1885. Orphaned at the age of 12, Branson was shortly thereafter taken from Durham to Greensboro and raised by Mr. J.A. Odell (1850- December 26, 1918) and his wife Jennie Prescott Odell, who was also Branson's half sister. He worked for a while at the Odell Hardware store on Main Street in Greensboro. As the Odell Manufacturing Company grew, so did Mr. Branson's duties. He became a very prominent business man of Greensboro serving with J. M. Odell, J. A. Odell and W. R. Odell (later would a step- father to his son) on the Board of Greensboro Female College; and in Durham where he served as the Secretary-Treasurer and then Plant Supervisor of the Durham Manufacturing Company and the Pearl Cotton Mills Company. These two plants were Odell Manufacturing holdings. 

Sadly in March 1899, only 14 years into their marriage, the elder William Branson died of an accident at the young age of 39. According to a Branson Biography, a 12 inch steam pipe burst at the Durham Plant and scalded Mr. Branson who was trapped in a small room and unable to escape before a larger explosion blew out the walls. It was reported that he endured hours of agony before passing away. He left his widow, Clara Sergeant Branson, their four-year-old son, William (b. 1894) and Anna, an even younger daughter. Anna also endured an untimely death on her honeymoon after her marriage around 1921 to tobacco merchant and close Duke family friend, James A. Thomas. Anna was buried in the crypt at Duke University Chapel and has a parlor dedicated in her memory on the East Duke Campus named the Anna Branson Parlor. 

Third Owner and Second Occupant - Josephine Alexander Andrews 

William H. Branson and Lois Stamey Branson sold the home to Josephine (Sophie) Alexander on December 20, 1951. Sophie was the daughter of Durham Prominent Businessman, Parks Alexander of Alexander Ford Lincoln-Mercury Dealership. The second Parks Alexander Home in Forest Hills is the large, beautiful Tudor style home at 24 Oak Drive. 

Soon after the 1550 Hermitage Court purchase, Sophie Alexander married Samuel Andrews, a jazz musician and Supervisor for the State Employment Security Commission. Anecdotally, it is believed he was also an employee of Duke University. They lived in the house during their entire marriage. They added a very large addition in the back of the house adding a family room, laundry room, bathroom and two bedrooms for their growing family. They had four children who spent their entire childhoods in the house. Their names are: Sam, Alexander, Betty and Jo (short for Josephine). Sam Andrews died in the early 1980's. Sophie died in 1997. (6) 
Fourth Owner and Third Occupant - F. Scott Bono and Laura D. Bono 

Josephine Sophie Alexander Andrews sold the house to F. Scott Bono and Laura D. Bono on October 31, 1994. F. Scott Bono was born in 1959 in Alexandria, VA. Laura was born in 1959 in Gaffney, SC. 

Scott is a State Farm Insurance Agent in Durham. Laura is a Director of Marketing for a company in Northern Virginia. 

Scott and Laura have three children: Twin daughters, Ashley M. and Dillan F. Bono and a son, Jackson A. Bono. 

Sources
1) Brock Historical Museum, Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27401-1875. 336-272-7102 (Director: Lindsay Lambert) 
2) Greensboro College Records. 
3) Duke University Divinity School Scholarship listings. "The W.R. Odell Scholarship was established in 1946 by the Forest Hills United Methodist Church, Concord, NC to honor Mr. Odell, a distinguished layman." 
4) Maplewood Cemetery. 
5) Samuel Kipp. Old Notables and Newcomers: The Economic and Political Elite of Greensboro, NC 1880-1920. 1977. 
6) Anecdotal.