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Try . . .
. . . researching the history of the college and of your family in tandem. Was the college in existence when the ancestor was named? Who or what was the college named after? Did anyone in your family attend the college?Hope that helps :-)I agree with Miss Claire about Oddie, it could be a nickname for any of these:Odalis / Odalys
Odelia
Odessa
Odetta / Odette
Odila / Odile
Odilia
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Dear Christine
I have now got a web site for the college but it's in French will have to see if there is an English version.
Oddie is not a nick name it is a surname. Beauharnios married my great great grandad and they lived in Oswaldtwiste in Lancashire, England so I don't think they would have gone to the college if it existed.
As she was born in 1828 it is more likeley her father James Oddie went over to France, possible during the Napolionic wars and brought the name back.Josephine was called Beauharnais, her surname, but the college in Canada is Beauharnios, which still sounds like a surname so possible he heard it but didn't realise it was not a firstname.
Regards Barrie
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