Hello,  I have not had alot of experience to genealogy either.  My family has been working on this for many years.  I can remember my mother talking about not knowing anything about her dad's (Obed) family because he would never talk about it. Now we are trying to put together as much as we can on our family tree but we stop at Obed.  His birth records or any link we may of had burned in a courthouse fire in Iowa a long time ago.  My grandma (Bernice) never new any names of any family members including his parents.  I know my grandma was very young when they married, I think 14.  I don't know if we have enough info to confirm your Obed is actually the same Obed, my grandfather.  The only info that we have is that he was born in Hamburg, Ia Oct 26, 1875.  He married Bernice Freda Howell , 1914, in Oklahoma.  He died November 3, 1952 and buried at West Plains, Mo.  It is so exciting thinking that maybe we are finally getting closer to a link to his family.  Please email back if you think this info fits and any info you may have.  I do have a couple of pictures of grandpa when he was older but nothing when he was young. He was a tall thin looking man. 

Anxious for your email, Julie