ODILLION B. HOBBS, MIDN, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Odillion Hobbs '61

Date of birth: October 13, 1841

Date of death: October 1, 1860

Age: 18

Naval Academy Register

Odillion Barrett Hobbs was admitted to the Naval Academy from New Hampshire on September 26, 1857 at age 16 years 0 months.

Loss

Odillion died on October 1, 1860 in Ipswich, Massachusetts of phthisis pulmonalis (tuberculosis) "while away on leave". He was an "Acting Midshipman" at the time.

The Register of Alumni gives no other information but lists him as a non-graduate (because he died prior to graduation).

Other Information

He was born in Maine, but appointed to the Naval Academy from New Hampshire.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Odillion was born in Newfield, Maine, as his father John was in 1813. His father was a cotton broker, his mother was Lydia (Donnell), his brother was Vallorus, and his sisters were Vandelia and Annette. By 1850, they lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts. In 1857 Odillion began his studies at the Naval Academy.

The family was together for the census on July 28, 1860. Odillion became ill and died there three weeks later on October 1. He was 18 years, 11 months, and 18 days old. During the Civil War, his father was a captain in charge of Company I, 23rd Regiment, Massachusetts. After suffering a head injury, he returned to Ipswich and bought a house at 6 Agawam. This is a historical house still known as Captain Hobbs’ house.

Spelling of First Name

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

Memorial Hall Error

Illness is not a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall. Also, his rank should be "Acting Midshipman," which was distinct from "Midshipman" listed in Memorial Hall.


Class of 1861

Odillion is one of 3 members of the Class of 1861 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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