Mary Ann Odell's Rejoinders
Mary Ann's first husband, Charles Root Dana, died in 1868 at age 66, leaving her a widow at age 34 with four young daughters, ranging in age from one year to nine years old. Less than a year later she married a second time, again as a plural wife, to Thomas George Odell, a prominent Ogden citizen, and the Mary Ann's family went to the Odell home to live. She was 35; he was 45. The following year, 1870, her last child, Joseph Odell, was born. Less than three years later Mr. Odell died suddenly of a stroke. He was only 50, and Joseph only a child of three.
The following stories were recorded by Mary Ann's daughter Sarah Helen Dana, in a history of her mother written as if to her own granddaughter Judy Thomas.
Mother never married again and when asked the reason, replied: "I have had two smart men; I shan't marry any fool now."
There was no will and mother, being a plural wife, received no part of her husband's estate. The law awarded to the first wife two thirds of the property, and the remaining third was divided among the three children—the first wife's two and Joseph. As a part of Joseph's share, a four-room cottage was provided for the family near mother's sister, Aunt Eliza. The remaining portion came in monthly installments of five dollars from the time of the settlement until Joseph's fourteenth birthday. Then, the payments ceased.
It was an unjust settlement. A few years later, a lawyer, a former judge, then practicing law in Ogden, came voluntarily to mother with the proposition that she allow him to take the case into court and make a fight for a share of the property. He said he would charge no fee, and, whether the case was lost or won, it should not cost her a cent; and, if the court should make an award, it would all go to her. Mother thanked him and said: "No, we be all good friends now and I wouldn't do anything to make feelings."
Mother's circumstances were better than in her first widowhood. She still had her farm [and its income from her first marriage, though she did not have to live there alone, as she had done after Charles died].
Forthright, mother made no compromise with sin and never stooped to subterfuge. With her a lie was a lie; never a tiny fib to be condoned. Even tempered, seldom if ever angry (Oh yes, once very, very angry. It was so funny I must tell you about it—later) but very sorry if we did wrong.
Two brothers, of whom we were buying, were systematically cheating mother. She suspected it, and I set to work to find out. Mother was right. First it was I, then my brother, then my other other brother that had bought the disputed items. So, we settled on their estimate and took our trade elsewhere.
Of course, they were angry and one of them insinuated that I was dishonest. That they had cheated her mattered not at all, but my honor had been questioned, and mother was very, very angry.
Mother did not hunt him up to tell him what she thought of him but, a little later, the opportunity came to her, when he came to the house to ask me to take part in a play they were getting up in the ward.
I was not at home.
"What did you say to him, Mother?" I asked.
"Oh, I told him he ought to be ashamed of himself, he had his cheek to come, etc., etc. and I told him to get out."
"Mother! You did?"
"Yes, I did."
"And what did he say?"
"Say? He said nothing. He got out."
And, from the way mother told it, I fancy he got out in a hurry.
It may interest you to know, Judy, that I was not the only one to find him out—but the law also. A year or two later, he served a term in the Utah Penitentiary for embezzlement, and his brother, his partner, kept him company there on conviction of slander.
Source: Sarah Helen Dana Thomas. untitled history of Mary Ann Cato Dana Odell, 57 pages, undated, predating 1943, in the possession of George Evan Stoddard.