|
(Note of Editor, Don Smith: I have
place italics from time to time to clarify meanings.)
This
is an open letter. I just jotted things down as I thought of them.
I
met Tom and Aunt Lucy’s (Thomas Rogers Smith and Lucy Minerva Anne Thurman)
eldest daughter Marguerite and her two adopted girls out at Romoland, California many years ago. They were very unfriendly and
really didn’t want to meet Earl (Earl David Smith) and me and wouldn’t
tell us the girls’ names.
I
knew very well the next one, Mary Alice Smith Hendrix, and her daughters Patty and Judy.
When Earl (Bee’s husband, Earl David Smith. Death: Sep 1978)
died so suddenly, Mary’s husband Sam (Samuel Allen Hendrix. Death:
Nov 1978) was in shock and died within a month in Sunnyvale, California, and was buried in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The same thing happened to Ray Lawrence (Raymond
Leslie Lawrence, son of Margaret “ Maggie” Smith and Leslie Lawrence). He
was in shock over Earl, they said and died about the next month (Death:
JAN 1979). Three in a row.
Mary
had such a Southern accent. She said Ain’t Emmer and Uncle Ermel – Aunt Emma
and Uncle Elmer she meant. Hershel’s name is not William; it is Willard
Hershel Smith. I’ll go over your book and proofread it as you requested.
Looks pretty good to me, though. Great job, especially the history. I haven’t
put the history parts into my work. I was doing well in those days to get all
the lineage that I did. With 5 kids and a pastor’s wife and sometimes having
to hold a job. And in the early years, I also taught Sunday school. So I
grabbed a minute where and when I could. Then when Earl decided to go back to
school (Bible College),
I worked the same as Mary, at Fairchild semi-conductor plant, located
sort of between Sunnyvale and Mountain
View, California, near the Bayshore
Freeway. Next I worked for Syvania. Also I was office
manager for Kishmir Carpet for Earl.
Uncle
Tom’s middle name was ROGERS with as “s”. He told me because the family, either
the Williams or Smith family, was related to the Rogers family. The same name was given to Hershel’s son Richard Rogers Smith.
There were Rogers in Union City, Obion County, Tennessee where they were from.
Sally
(Sarah Ruth “Sally” Smith Sweicki) said when the Smiths left Tennessee because of the Night Riders, they went to Missouri. Tom and Elmer (Thomas Rogers Smith and Elmer B.
Smith, Sr.) both said that they went to Oklahoma, somewhere near El Reno in the Oklahoma City area, as they had family there. I have never
been able to figure out who. I’ll try the 1930 census some day to see what it
offers. I’ll first check my notes to see when the family left Tennessee. I think Mattie (Mattie Lee Smith) and her
family came to California in a truck, with Paul? (Paul Roger Brooks)
driving. They had a flat-bed truck with rails. All the older kids rode in the
back, she said. Earl said that Henry (Robert Bernard Henry Brooks)
used
to
eat with his knife, English style. One of the boys, probably Orville (Orville
William Brooks), sharpened the edge of his knife and it cut Henry’s
mouth. Ruth Brooks, Paul Brooks and Lois, John D. Smith’s daughter all
married Sanders. Juanita L. Smith and Ralph Smith (children of Elmer B.
Smith, Sr.) married Frenchs. Now, back to the Brooks, Tom (Thomas
Rogers Smith) told me that Pascal (Unknown person) (I’ve called her Pat)
was snarling about the family and claimed they were no kin or some
such thing, and he told her “Well you weren’t born on a stump!” He was great;
I wish you could have known him. When the Brooks boys came to visit, he said,
you had to have everything glued down. Ha. Do you have any info on Bob Brooks
(Robert Earl Brooks)? I have none. I went to school with him until he
dropped out. Apparently, he was behind as Pat (Patricia Ann Brooks)
was in in my class; also, she was older.
We
spent our wedding night at my sisters’ house in San Jacinto, California. The next morning Earl went by to tell Aunt Mattie
(Mattie Lee Smith/Brooks) goodbye. Lucille (Lucille Mell Brooks)
asked for me to come in. All the girls were twittering. Lucille asked me how
I liked married life (referring to sex). I said just one night doesn’t mean
married life; it is day in and day out living, caring for each other and having
babies and showing how you car, etcetera. Aunt Mattie said, “That’s
right”. Pat said that she would want to be in the family if there were
a famous person in the family, so that she could brag on it. Dorris (Dorris
Darlene Brooks) was the best one of Aunt Mattie’s family; it’s
ashamed she died so young.
Sally
brought Uncle Tom and her young son, Jeff, to visit us here in
Oklahoma about 1977, less than 3 months before Earl died. I was
so
glad Earl got to see Uncle Tom again. Tom’s last trip – he was not too well.
When
Earl was a little boy, he had rheumatic fever and it damaged his heart
valve. Also he had scarlet fever. Elmer didn’t call for a
doctor as they prayed for him. Neighbors said they’d repo him if he didn’t
call a doctor, so he did. The doctor checked Earl over and said that
he was dying. And he died. The doctor verified his death as still
there, and pulled the sheet over Earl’s head. Mom Mrytle (Earl’s mother, Mrytle
Della London) couldn’t accept that, so she scooped Earl up into her arms
and went to rocking him in the rocking chair. She began to pray and
ask God to save her son as God had told her he (God) had a work for Earl. She
kept praising the Lord and Earl began to move. A little arm threw back the
sheet and a little voice said, “I’m hungry, Mom.” His fever had been so high
that his hair turned red. Uncle Tom and Aunt Lucy took him home and took care
of him. Tom gave haircuts and cut off all of Earl’s red hair. The blonde hair
came back.
Hershel’s
(Willard Hershel Smith) wife was a London. She was a first cousin to Myrtle, Earl’s mom and
Elmer’s wife. Myrtle’s father was Thomas Napoleon London and he married Amanda Henrietta Williams (Her
first husband was Luke Lee Smith, Jr., who died in 1896). Hershel’s
wife’s name was Virginia Ollie London. Joshua was Virginia’s dad. Her older sister, Ruth London Mooney, lived
and died last year in Fredericktown, Missouri. Uncle Jim London stayed in a little cabin on Rod
Mooney’s (Husband of Ruth London) farm. He liked to take a nip and
then. He was a jeweler in his day. If Rod caught Jim drinking, Jim would say,
“We’ll just put in up here on the shelf and later on we’ll all take a little
nip”. He knew Rod never drank. He and Ruth were Christians. Jim had his
funeral money. His only son wanted him to live with them in Southern California, so Jim went. His son learned that Jim had the
funeral money and he borrowed it. Then Jim died suddenly. Their son had
called Virginia
one morning and told her that he was bringing Uncle Jim home for her
and Hershel to care for and went there to Sunnyvale before lunch and flew
back to L.A. So when Jim died we all
chipped in to help with the funeral expenses. Jim was good to keep the
plastic plant in the corner of the living room watered. He was faithful. For
awhile Virginia couldn’t figure out what smelled. Ha. He would
forget where he was and who we were. None of us ever heard form Jim’s
daughter-in-law or her son again. I had a new pair of black suede shoed that
I wore to the funeral. I stepped into a freshly covered grave nearby and
Hershel grabbed me and pulled me out and he got stuck.
Did
you know Elmer married the second time? He went to Alabama with Brother Sherrill for a tent meeting. He was
lonely after mom died. In Birmingham he met Mexie Smith (Not related) and they married.
They were together a few short months. She made draperies. Everyday at noon all her kids, wives and husbands and their kids
came there for noon dinner. He got tired of the setup and came back to Missouri. Earl and I met her in Fredericktown when Mexie
came up to visit Elmer. I recall I set her hair for Sunday for church. They
never got together again. a few years later Earl got a call from her. She was
getting a divorce and wanted to be sure Elmer would not contest it. Earl told
her that Dad would accept whatever she wanted to do, that he didn’t want
anything from her. She was pleased and hung up. We never heard from her
again.
The
house were Earl was born was “Polie” London’s (unknown person), more like a tiny cabin.
When Earl was a boy, he was in the living room taking a bath in a wash tub,
by the wood stove. Someone knocked on the door. Earl flew out of there and
skidded across the floor and just barely missed sliding into the stove. There
was Dessie’s “hole” or Aunt Alice’s “hole”. Alice was Virginia and Ruth’s mother. Hershel and Virginia
brought Aunt Alice to California on a trip before they moved there. Alice had a bad heart and they were worried about her.
She said if the trip caused her death it would have been worth it. She came
to our new home we built in Palo Alto. I served coffee. She said, “Now, that’s real
coffee!” Instant coffee had just come out and min was fresh perked. Mom Myrtle
would look all over the house for her glasses. “Alice, have you seen my glasses?” “Well, have you looked
on your head?” They were slid up onto her hair. Then, they’d both laugh. They
were good friends. We made lots of trips to Fredericktown, so I knew all the
family.
On
one of our trips we decided to take Elmer and Myrtle toTennessee to see all
of Walters family. This was after he died. Aunt Mae (Mai Bell
Armstrong/Smith, wife of Walter Lee Smith) called in all her family and
filled the table with food. “Now, ya all just take out and help yourself”.
And we did. Her grandson, George, says, “My name is George Lee!” He was a
little boy and he spelled it out real fast. Sure cute. All the girls brought
food and we had fun.
Elmer
had two funerals, one in California for family there. My girls went to it. Then Betty
and Juanita flew him to St. Louis and on to Frederick-town, Missouri. He was buried by Myrtle there in Masonic Cemetery. My boys and I went to the funeral. Betty, Juanita,
Sally, Miriam Jane, my boys, Ruth and XXX (unknown word) – we were eating
dinner and Miriam said, “Oh, I got gravy on my blouse. Do you know the
product “Shout?” So Ruth spoke up, “Honey, why don’t you scream it out?” We
all roared. Gary was in the Air Force and was at Montgomery, Alabama. I had to call so that he could get home and come
to the funeral. All the way from Joplin, Missouri to Ruth’s house we had to keep putting in water in
the radiator. We got a motel late and then on to Ruth’s house. After
the funeral, we drove home at night (cooler) so we didn’t have to stop so
much for water. We got back to Joplin at 5:00 a.m. It took about 8 hours; we played 8 track cassettes
all night.
Do
you like Mexican food? I make a mean enchilada as well as other stuff. All my
family loves it. I make chicken, or turkey Olé too, which
removes a lot of the calories. Ha.
I
only met Emma and John (Emma Deller Thurman and John D. Smith) once in
Mountain View, California. Do you know how Irma (Irme Jean Meyer/Smith)
is doing?
Work I Have Done
SMITH FAMILY:
Myrtle
Della London, Taylor, Lathrop (To England on most)
Meek
to Wales 14 or 15 generations
Rouse
to1617 – Germany, Batvaria
Tinley
to England
Alsas
to Lorraine (I am 10th generation)
Chalker
to England, to Ooto Asia Minor
Addison to England
Allen
Frasor/Frazier
T.
S. Williams
My
T. J. Williams, Carroll (Bible)
Allen,
Winstead, Pate and other names
Hill
(My Grandpa James Wesley Hill Birth: 1858)
Through
all this, I have run across some comical stuff. One guy (London line) bought a new farm, loaded wagon and kids,
wife said no, she wouldn’t go. He started the wagon and before he was off the
property, she had pulled all the kids out of the wagon; he kept on
When
I find it, I’ll make a copy of Amanda for you. It is in storage. I don’t
recall all I have.
Found
lots of Hills in census. Grandme born in Vestal, Broome County. He was born in another town. Moved to PA. He was
called Wes.
Earl
and I traveled a lot. I checked the phone book at motels, newspapers,
genealogy helper and cemeteries. Even put up a concrete headstone that was
knocked over. There was a man in Fredtn, MO
named Willie Green London, related to the Londons, also Nellie Mauser to Myrtle London. Never had a chance to check it out. Thomas
Napoleon “Polie” London’s first wife was buried where they put in Lake Wappapello, Missouri, so they had to move the graves. I was unable to find out to where
they were moved.
Hershel, Virginia, Earl and Ifished all day on a boat there. Earl-0,
Virginia-0 and Hershel-1. I got 1. But, we had fun. Than we went to Couler City (a wide spot in a road) up near St. Louis for chicken dinner all-you-can-eat, picnic style.
There was an army surplus store. We went in. They had a whole 50 gallon
barrel of dentures (false teeth). The next year, we went in and it was
reduced to a dish pan full. Now you know how to get a bargain. It really
stormed. As soon as we got home, Hershel had a call to go back with a tow
truck, just pouring hard rain.
|