Sunday's Obituary - Howard Mathis Wilson

Howard Mathis Wilson

Sports Center Saturday - Chicago Cubs - John Ralph "Jack" Warner

My grandmother, Doris Wade Smith,  always talked about her favorite aunt, Wave Bruce Warner, who was married to a baseball scout, Jack Warner, but I never had the pleasure of meeting either of them that I remember.  After my grandmother died in 2005 and we cleaned out her apartment, I  took a number of  things from her apartment including letters, mementos, etc.  Recently I delved briefly into the genealogy of her aunt, my grand-aunt, and her husband, John Ralph "Jack" Warner and I was able to purchase this baseball card for Jack Warner on E-Bay. .  My grandmother always spoke fondly and with pride of her Aunt Wave and Uncle Jack who lived in Los Angeles.  Wave sent her correspondence and gifts on many occasions.

Wave Bruce Warner

Jack Warner was born in Evansville, IN on 29 Aug 1903.  I don't have much information yet on how or when Jack and Wave met up, I assume he moved to Mt. Vernon, Il at some time between his birth in 1903 and about 1928 when I believe they were married.  They were living together in the 1930 Jefferson County, IL census with Wave's parent's Frank and Eva Talley.

At some point, Jack went on to become a major league baseball player (see Wikipedia) for eight seasons in the major leagues playing first for the Detroit Tigers (1925 -28), then the Brooklyn Dodgers (1929 -1931), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1932).  When his playing career concluded, Jack became a scout for the Chicago Cubs in their farm system and spent twelve seasons as a coach for the Los Angeles Angels.  He died on 13 Mar 1986 at age 82 in Mt. Vernon, Il and is buried next to his wife Wave in Memorial Gardens Cemetery.  I wish I had the chance to meet and talk to Wave and Jack, but am glad to be able to have this chance get to know them through the wonderful world of the Internet!

Advent Calendar Day 3: Christmas Ornaments & Triggered Memories

Me (Teresa) Ted & Tracy Christmas 1968

I don't remember us ever having any special ornaments when I was growing up, but when I was perusing old Christmas pictures I noticed a few things about this picture of Christmas 1968.  One is that I am sure this was another artificial tree, but it was bigger and it was green!  The second is that there are two garlands on the tree, one is made out of popcorn and the other of interlocking construction paper strips.  This triggered a memory of sitting at the kitchen table with my Mom, brothers & sister, making these garlands.  Funny how you forget these things, but they are still there buried somewhere.

 

Me & My 2 Brothers, Sister & 4 Wilson Cousins

I remember other things about this Christmas; I was in the eight grade and was excited because our cousins from Ohio were coming for the Holidays.  We lived in what we thought was a really cool house on a hill on Stanley Avenue in Mt. Vernon, IL (looking back that house was a nightmare - maybe more stories about that later).  My Mom was busy cooking and getting the house ready.  We always had a wonderful time when our cousins came for a visit.  Christmas is always special when spent with family. 

Advent Calendar Day 2: Chocolate and the Christmas Elf

Amazingly enough with all the wonderful family Christmases we celebrated when I was growing up, I don't remember any special foods.  I think we just always had the typical - what I call mid-western fare - turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green-bean casserole, cranberry sauce (yuk), etc. to name a few.  But, the one thing that always sticks out in my memory is the big platter of Brach's chocolates that my paternal grandmother Alpha Wilson always had at her house in Bonnie, IL.  She would buy bags of just about every kind of Brach's chocolate and the platter had divided sections for each type of chocolate.  She placed this on her coffee table and it was oh, so tempting to little, budding chocoholics!

Teresa Christmas 1958 Age 3

Here's another picture of me, at three years old, in costume like a Christmas elf, slyly sticking my hand in for another chocolate caramel after being told I couldn't have any more.  Are you starting to see a pattern here with me in the holiday get-ups?  This was totally my mother's fault! She obviously had some sick obsession with dressing her only child up in cutesy Christmas garb for the entertainment of others.  I don't miss the costumes, but I do miss my Grandma and her chocolates!

Advent Calendar: Me and The 1960 Christmas Tree

Me (Teresa) Age 5 December 1960

Not a great picture, but I wanted to show off the scrapbook page I made of myself in front of our small tinsel Christmas tree in December 1960.  For some reason we almost always had artificial trees when I was growing up, I'm not really sure why, but it didn't take away from the magic of the season.  This particular Christmas I remember vaguely.  I had a new four month-old baby brother, Ted who I was not too fond of since I had been the only child for five years.  I remember the house we lived in - it was a small, new, two bedroom house.   It is still there on the outskirts of town and occasionally when I go home to visit my parents I will drive by it, but I don't really have a lot of memories from that house.

I'm sure my Mom probably put up the tree as my Dad worked a lot of hours, maybe that is the reason for such a small, artificial tree.  Every year we followed the same tradition; Christmas Eve we went to my maternal grandparent's house -  Grandma and Grandpa Smith to open presents.  Then on Christmas day after opening our presents at home we would drive out to the country to the old family farm in Bonnie, IL to my paternal grandparent's Grandma and Grandpa Wilson.  There all my cousins would converge and we would spend a grand day opening presents, playing games and eating a big dinner.

I guess in a child's mind it's not the size of a tree or how it's decorated, but the promises of treasures to come and the memories it leaves behind.

100th Edition of COG - There's One in Every Family - The Baby Daddy Ancestor Who Skipped Town!

Submitted for the 100th Edition of Carnival of Genealogy - Topic "There's One in Every Family

Grandpa Sherman, you sure have led me on a merry chase!  When I first caught the genealogy bug in 1993, I asked my maternal grandmother about her family.  She told me a story about her mother’s father, Sherman Banks that had my eyes rolling.  It seems that Sherman had courted her grandmother, Sarah Eva Talley in Wabash County, Illinois in the early 1890’s, they married (maybe), had a daughter (her mother Charlotta Ruth Banks) and due to hard times he left for California to earn his fortune.  He was supposed to send for them once he was settled and making money.  According to Grandma, Sherman did quite well, became rich and even became the mayor of Los Angeles!  Now I am quite a skeptic (I get that from my father’s side of the family), but I loved my grandmother dearly and didn’t want to hurt her feelings so went along with the story.  Evidently unknown things happened and they were never able to join him and all contact with him was lost.  He and Sarah Eva divorced and she went on to marry Frank Bruce and have four more daughters in southern Illinois.  Sherman was never heard from again.

This was pre-Internet days when I first heard this story, but I was able to track Sherman to Los Angeles using census records.  His beautiful daughter Charlotta was born in 1895 and I don’t know when or why he left Illinois, but I suspect it was to escape the binds of marriage and fatherhood. 

Charlotta Ruth Banks Age 9

I found Sherman in Los Angeles living in a hotel in 1900 at age 29 working as a motorman.  In 1910 he was living with his wife Katherine and her family, and listed his occupation as policeman.  His marriage was listed as his first marriage which I was beginning to believe was true.  His former love interest Sarah Eva who had married (remarried?) Frank Bruce listed her marital status on the 1910 Randolph County, Illinois census as her second marriage.  I have never been able to find a marriage record in southern Illinois for Sherman and Sarah Eva.  Additionally, when I requested Charlotta’s birth record it listed her father’s name as Banks and her mother’s name as Talley, not her married name.  All the other entries on the page listed the mothers’ married names, then their maiden names.  My grandmother was a very proper woman who was always concerned about what other people would think and she would be mortified with me for telling this story; she would also vehemently deny every word of it.  When I discovered this information I was not about to break the news to her that her mother was born on the wrong side of the blanket!

Charlotta Ruth Banks Birth Record

Sherman was also found in the 1920 and 1930 census in Los Angeles still working in the humble, but noble profession of policeman – a far cry from mayor of Los Angeles!  In recent years I have found him in numerous Los Angeles City Directories listed as a Republican.  Just this year I was finally able to find his death date (12 Apr 1947) and ordered his death certificate.  I now know where he was buried (Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale, CA) and have requested a picture of his headstone through Find-A-Grave.  It appears that he and his wife never had any children.  How sad that he left his only child thousands of miles away in Illinois and never knew her and that she never knew him or what happened to him.  In 2005 my grandmother died and I flew home for her funeral.  I helped my mother and aunt clean out her apartment and among the many mementos she had saved, carefully stored in a small envelope, I was so excited to find this yellowed, torn and frayed note from Sherman to Sarah Eva which says:

                Mt. Carmel, Ill.  Sep. 12, 1891.  Miss Eva Talley, Kind friend I am coming up tonight and I will let you know so that you will look for me.  Yours respectfully, Sherman.

 

This broke my heart…. this note was the only thing my great-grandmother ever had of her father, no pictures, no mementos, no letters from him, only this short note to her mother and it had been kept all these years, first by her mother, then by her, and finally by her daughter.  Now it is in my hands.  Does this prove without a doubt that he was her father…..no?  Do I believe without a doubt he was her father….yes.  Oh, Grandpa Sherman, what you missed out on!

Thanksgiving 2010 - I'm Thankful for.......

I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my pets, that I can still get up every morning, and all of those that came before and paved the way for all of us. Thank you, thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Tombstone Tuesday - Surprise Grandfather - Gilbert Hayse

Ancestors can just pop up where you least expect them.   While on my annual visit to see my parents this summer, I asked my father to take me to the usual family cemeteries to take pictures of the ancestor stones I may have missed in the past.  Dad is pretty good about visiting these cemeteries to make sure that our family member headstones are kept up and he was in a talkative mood and told me some stories I had never heard as we drove around.  I also pointed out to him in one cemetery his great-great grandparents' stones and he was not even aware that they were his great-great-grandparents!

Family Farm in Bonnie, IL

As we left that cemetery he continued talking as we drove along the back country roads and showed me the sights including his old home site in Bonnie, Illinois which I was very familiar with - it was built by my great-grandfather Otis Green Wilson.   He then pulled into a small cemetery I had never seen before called Cubb Prairie Cemetery.   I thought I had heard of all the cemeteries in Jefferson County so I was pretty surprised.  We got out and walked around and I noticed a few stones with some familiar names, but they didn't really ring too many bells so I took a few pictures and we left.  When I got home to Florida I uploaded all the pictures I had taken and have gradually over the past few months been sorting and processing what I had taken last summer.

Just a few weeks ago, for some reason I was looking at my father's ancestry, in particular his 3x great-grandfather Gilbert Hayes (Hayse) and bells started going off in my head!!!  I opened up my photo program and sure enough, there was a picture of his headstone in Cubb Prairie Cemetery.  My mouth just fell open in shock that I had been standing there in front of that grave and didn't even realize who that was!  I have researched every cemetery in Jefferson County using the local genealogical society website and somehow have missed that.  It just goes to show that you  never know what you will find!

Now for a little background history - Gilbert Hayes born about 1783 North Carolina, married to Frances A. (unknown), came to Jefferson County, Ill from Rutherford County, TN with his wife and family sometime between 1840 and 1850.  His son John, was the father of my civil war great-great-grandfather George Washington Hayes who I discussed in a previous post.  Gilbert Hayse died 15 May 1854.  I can't wait to go back to Illinois next summer and take another look at that cemetery!

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Thank You to All My Veteran Ancestors

I have quite a number of military ancestors from World War II all the way back to the Revolutionary War.  This is my thank you to them for making it possible for me to be born and live in this great country of ours.  I salute you!

Wednesday's Child - Samuel & Josephene Hayes

My great-great grandparents George Washington and Margaret (Howard) Hayes were the proud parents of nine children, but sadly as often happened in those times, only three lived to adulthood.  Brutus, Bristol, Dollie and Ollie all born between 1866 and and 1872 died as infants and if there are headstones they have not been found.  Samuel died at age 2 and Josephene at age 6.  It is unknown how these six children died, and as parents of the twenty-first century we can only imagine the grief and horror of losing six children so young and tragically.  They are buried at South Hickory Hill Cemetery in Jefferson County, IL.

Samuel Carey Hayes (Son of George W. & Margaret)

Josephene Hayes (Daughter of George W. & Margaret)

Tombstone Tuesday - George Washington Hayes

George W. & Margaret (Howard) Hayes - South Hickory Hill Cemetery, Jefferson County, IL

Military Monday - George Washington Hayes - My Civil War Gr-Gr Grandfather

George Washington Hayes

Born 4 Jul 1841 Rutherford County, TN

Died 14 Oct 1927 Jefferson County, IL

Parents - John and Rebecca (Mathis) Hayes

George W. Hayes 1861

My 2nd Great grandfather enlisted as a Private in the 15th Illinois Cavalry on 10 Dec 1861 at the age of twenty, under the service of Col. Bacon, Company E, Capt. Hutchins.  In the spring of 1862, they moved with the army from Cairo up the Tennessee river to Fort Henry and later participated in the battle of Shiloh. In the spring of 1863, the companies were organized as the 15th regiment and during the following year did post duty and severe scouting. By expiration of term of service it was mustered out Aug. 25, 1864, and the recruits who were enlisted in 1862, were consolidated with the 10th Ill. cavalry.  They fought in the following battles:

5 Feb 1862 at Fort Henry, TN.
4 Jun 1862 at Hickman, KY.
29 Jul 1862 at Anthony's Lane, TN.
10 Apr 1863 at Greenville, MS.
23 Jan 1864 at Vicksburg, MS.
Fought on 21 Mar 1864.
Fought on 12 Apr 1864.
14 Apr 1864 at Helena, AR.
24 Jul 1864 at Atlanta, GA.
6 Aug 1864.
19 Oct 1864 at Trenton, AR.²

George mustered out on 26 Jan 1865 at Brownsville, Arkansas.  He was referred to as Big George although I am not sure why; his pension papers state that at enlistment he was 5' 6'' tall with light complexion, blue eyes and dark hair.  His occupation was farmer.  This picture was taken at the end of his service:

"Big" George Hayes 1865

  

After returning home to Spring Garden, Jefferson County, IL, he married Margaret Howard on 24 Oct 1865.  They had nine children, but sadly only three lived to adulthood, Lillie Dora (my great grandmother), Willie Arthur and Charles.  They later lived in the new town of Bonnie, IL, four miles southeast of Spring Garden, which was created when a rail depot was built there and George donated some of the land for the new town to be built.³ 

When George died on 27 Oct 1927 he was receiving $72 month in pension for his Civil War service.  In 1920 at age 79, "Declaration for Pension" papers filed state he suffered from "very poor eyesight, can hardly see his way, must be led most of the time if he gets away from the house.  Unable to dress or undress himself, requires aid in eating and dressing.  Very hard of hearing, can only hear loud sounds.  Very feeble.  Totally unable to do any kind of physical labor, bothered much with rheumatism."  When he died he was the last Civil War Veteran residing in Bonnie.

George Washington Hayes 1920's

¹ The Union Army, Vol 3.

²Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Regiments [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Original data: Data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA from the following list of works. Copyright 1997-2000
Historical Data Systems, Inc.
PO Box 35
Duxbury, MA 023.

³Personal family history and Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie,_Illinois. 

Those Places Thursday -"Early 30's Garage - Mt. Vernon, IL"

My Great-Grandfather's garage in Mt. Vernon, IL - Robert (Bob) Calvin Smith

Source unknown, clipping has been in the family for some time, but most likely the Mt. Vernon Register News.

Tombstone Tuesday - Otis Greene Wilson - Jefferson Co, IL

My paternal great-grandfather, buried next to his ex-wife (my great-grandmother), Dora Hayes Wilson Moore and their son Leslie Wilson.  Otis was born in Jefferson County, IL on 23 Apr 1872 and died 16 May 1958 in Napa, CA.  Dora was born 20 Sep 1873 in Jefferson County, IL and died 19 Jan 1941 in the same county.  Their son Leslie was born 18 Sep 1906 and died 14 Jun 1938, both in Jefferson County, IL.  They are buried in South Hickory Hill Cemetery.

Military Monday - WWII - Howard M. Wilson - Of Great Character

My paternal grandfather, Howard Mathis Wilson, was a kind, quiet, hardworking man who was born on a farm in Bonnie, IL on 12 Apr 1909.  He held a number of jobs in his lifetime including farmer, deputy sheriff, and security guard.  He raised his family in Bonnie and when World War II began he wanted to do his part.   In 1943 at age 34, even though he had a wife and four children, he enlisted to do his patriotic duty.  He entered the service as a Private First Class and was assigned to duty clearing roads.  According to an interview with my cousin, Vickie Kane, he felt that he wasn't doing enough, so he lied about his age and tried to get in the paratroopers.  He was turned down and sent to Burma, where he cleared roads and built bridges, an honorable and necessary service.  He told my cousin that he never saw action, but heard gunfights close by.

Joining the service was a hardship on his family; they had to leave their family home and stay with relatives while he was away serving his country.  He never talked much about his war service, but after his death his my aunt related this story to my cousin about his character.  He observed his Sergeant beating one of the native workers who helped out the American troops.  My Grandfather, who had a very strong sense of right and wrong, stepped in to stop the abuse and for this he lost his stripes.  He died on 11 Nov 1994 and his family remembers him with great love and remains very proud of his service and caring attitude.

Sunday's Obituary - Doris C. Wade Smith

My Maternal Grandmother - Doris Charlotte Wade Smith

Tombstone Tuesday - Diamond M. & Doris C. Smith

My Grandparents - Diamond Milton and Doris (Wade) Smith

Diamond Milton Smith
Born 28 Mar 1910 Mt. Vernon, Jefferson Co., IL
Died 11 Aug 1997 Mt Vernon, Jefferson Co., IL

Doris Charlotte (Wade) Smith
Born 27 Aug 1913 Mt. Vernon, Jefferson Co., IL
Died 18 Feb 2005 Mt. Vernon, Jefferson Co., IL

This post partners with my previous post about  my grandfather's skill as a mechanic.  When he died, a headstone was purchased with a old car etched on the stone in tribute to his many years as a mechanic.  The words on the right read, "Going Home."

Talented Tuesday – Mechanic in the Making

My Grandfather - Diamond Milton Smith

 My Grandfather, Diamond Milton Smith’s destiny was to be a skilled auto mechanic - a trade he worked at his entire life.   He was born on the 28^th of March, 1910 in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, Illinois to Robert Calvin and Verna Ann (Merritt) Smith. His father, Robert (Bob), owned and ran, for a number of years,  one of the first auto mechanic shops in Mt. Vernon.  My grandfather, as well as several of his brothers, worked with their father and learned their trade in the early beginnings of the automobile business.

 I just love this old picture (circa 1920) of my grandfather as a young boy posing in front of an early car.  In the 1960's, he and my grandmother, Doris, moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL where he continued his trade at Slaton Chevrolet on Federal Highway until his retirement in the mid 1970's.  About 1975 they moved back to their hometown in Mt. Vernon, Illinois where he died on 11 Aug 1997.

Madness Monday - Scottish Genes?

Okay, I am finally going to ‘fess up to my genealogical madness.  I want Scottish roots!  Yes, really, that is probably the main reason I started my search in 1993 – I love everything about Scotland.

In fact, the header bar of my blog is from a picture I took from a cemetery on the south side of Loch Ness in Scotland last year.

 
Have I found any Scottish ancestors?  No, not for certain, but I have a couple I think are of Scottish heritage, but as yet I have no proof.  I have one great-great-great-grandfather I am obsessed with, Joseph McDonald Scott.  Sounds Scottish, right?   His father comes through Tennessee from North Carolina and may or may not be descended from Cherokee Indians.   Sigh....

There are a couple more ancestors of interest, but so far nothing has panned out, but while undertaking this crazy, mad search, along the way I have discovered a lot of important things; one being that I come from a long line of hard-working, family-loving people.  The second is that most of my people have been in this country for a long time, most of them dating back well before the American Revolution.  The third is that I really love genealogy; I love the hunt and the excitement when I discover a new clue or fact about these elusive ancestors.  Getting a genealogical document, like a death certificate, land document or will, makes my heart beat faster. 

What could possibly add to my madness?  Last year – finally - my dear husband Jim took me to Scotland for twelve days – I was in heaven.  I felt like I had come home at last.  The Scottish Highlands including the Isle of Skye are the most beautiful places I have ever seen!  My husband, who hates to travel, had the most wonderful time, and felt a connection to this beautiful country as well.  About six months after we came home, I decided to research his family history, after many years of talking about it.  I discovered so much information about his family in Pennsylvania and Trenton, NJ as I have discussed in my other blog, Rogers Family History. 

Have you figured out where I'm going with this yet?   I discovered, written in a bio about his great-uncle, that Jim’s great-great-great grandfather, Jonathan Rogers, came to the United States from Scotland between 1790 and 1824!!  I have not yet been able to substantiate this fact, but my husband enjoys adding to my madness daily by crowing about his “Scottishness.”  The rat!

Sunday's Obituary - Milton Albin Smith

My Great-Great-Grandfather, Milton A. (Dick) Smith 1863 - 1954

Surname Saturday - Wade - Posey County, IN

Wade Genealogy

1.  My Grandmother – Doris Charlotte Wade was born 27 Aug 1913 in Mt Vernon, Jefferson County, IL.  She married Diamond Milton Smith 31 Aug 1934 in Mt. Vernon; they were the parents of five children. She died 18 Feb 2005 also in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, IL.  Children are:

i.                    Mildred Yvonne Smith 1935 - 2003

ii.                  Living Smith

iii.                Living Smith

iv.                Living Smith

v.                  David Glen Smith 1945 - 2006

2.  Her father was Joseph Washington Wade born 7 Sep 1875 Carmi, White County, IL.  He married Charlotte Ruth Banks, daughter of Sarah Eva Talley and Sherman Banks on 24 Apr 1919 in Chester, Randolph County, IL and he died 14 Jan 1942 in Madison County, IL. They were the parents of three children:

i.                    Doris Charlotte Wade 1913 - 2005

ii.                  Mildred Wade 1917 - 1995

iii.                Hugh Joseph Wade 1919 - 1967

3.  Joseph’s father was Joseph R.H. Wade born 1834 in Posey County, IN, married to Elizabeth Pelt, daughter of James and Elizabeth Little Pelt in Posey County, IN 28 Jun 1855.  He died after 1910 probably in Posey County, IN.  They were the parents of ten children:

i.                    Nancy E. Wade 1856 - 1948

ii.                  William E. “Archie” Wade 1858 -

iii.                James Henry Wade 1860-1931

iv.                Sallie J. Wade 1862 -

v.                  Elizabeth Clarissa Wade 1865 –

vi.                Harriett J. Wade 1867 –

vii.              Cornelius Wade 1870 –

viii.            Mary Victoria Wade 1872 –

ix.                Joseph Washington Wade 1875 – 1942

x.                 John R. B. Wade 1879 – 1906

 
4.  Joseph’s father was Zachariah Thomas Wade born about 4 Mar 1797 in Posey County, IN.  He married Nancy Harriett Underwood, on 5 Nov 1817 in Posey County, IN and they were the parents of eight children:

i.                    Henry Riley Wade 1819 - 1864

ii.                  Thomas C. Wade 1820  - 1877

iii.                Joshua E. Wade 1823 - 1895

iv.                William David Wad 1825 - 1904

v.                  Mary E. Wade 1825 - 1902

vi.                Isaac George Washington Wade 1829 - 1899

vii.              John R. B. Wade 1831 - 1906

viii.            Joseph R. H. Wade 1834 –

ix.                Levi Monroe Wade 1835 – 1913

In 1838 he married Margaret Ann Axton and they were the parents of two children:

x.                   Lucy Ann Wade 1838 –

xi.                1845 - 1868

Funeral Card Friday - Trent Howard Wilson

In Memory of My Brother, Trent Howard Wilson,           2 Dec 1961 - 15 Oct 1988

This is a hard post for me, my brother has been gone for twenty-two years now and it still brings tears to my eyes.  He would have been  forty-nine this December.  He was energetic, fun-loving, loved cars and motorcycles and was well-liked by everyone who knew him.  He is greatly missed by his friends and family. 

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Sign from Grandma

Now, I know that many would think when talking about treasures, you would expect to see old family jewels, or silver, china or even the family bible.  I don't have any of that from my Grandma, Doris Wade Smith, except for a few pieces of newer jewelry, but what really excited me is the sign I got from the beauty salon that she ran from her home in Mt. Vernon, IL in the 1950's & 60's.  When she died, I helped my mom and aunt clean out her apartment and when I saw this sign, I squealed with excitement!  Oddly, neither of them was interested so it went in my pile.

There were other treasures gleaned from that day, but those are to be revealed at another time.  It's just a crudely painted sign on a thin old board, but to me it's a wonderful memory of days spent at Grandma' "booty shop".  It's something I will treasure forever.

Wedding Wednesday - Howard M. Wilson & Alpha Laura Neibel

Howard Mathis Wilson & Alpha Laura Neibel 

My paternal grandparents, Howard Mathis Wilson and Laura Alpha Neibel who married in Kankakee, IL 17 May 1930.
 
Howard was born 12 Apr 1909, a son of Otis Greene and Lily Dora Hayes Wilson, in Bonnie, Jefferson County, IL.  Alpha was born 30 May 1910, a daughter of Fred Ulysses and Lucy Jane Hunter Neibel, in Harrisburg, Saline County, IL.  Both were working in the Chicago area when the married.  They later returned to the family home in Bonnie, IL.

Sunday's Obituary - Diamond Milton Smith

My Grandfather - Diamond Milton Smith 1910 - 1997

Surname Saturday - Smith - IL

Diamond M. Smith 1910

Updated March 2018
1.  My Grandfather - Diamond Milton Smith was born 28 Mar 1910 in Mt Vernon, Jefferson County, IL.  He married Doris Charlotte Wade 31 Aug 1934 in Mt. Vernon; they were the parents of five children. He died 11 Aug 1997 also in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, IL. 

i.  Mildred Yvonne Smith 1935 - 2003
ii. Living Smith
iii. Living Smith
iv. Daniel Gale Smith 1945 - 2011
v.  David Glen Smith 1945 - 2006

2.  His father was Robert Calvin Smith born 16 Sep 1888 Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, IL, married Verna Ann Merritt 1909 (IL) and died 31 Oct 1958 in Ft. Lauderdale, Broward County,  FL. They were the parents of eight children:


i.  Diamond Milton Smith 1910 - 1997
ii.  Floyd Richard Smith 1911- 2002
iii. Sidney Robert Smith 1914 - 1916
iv. Claude John Smith - 1915 - 1987
v.  Wilbur Alva Smith 1917 -2005
vi.  Roy Edwin Smith 1921 - 2009
vii. Ralph Smith  1924 - 2016?
viii. Roberta  Smith 1925 - 2017

3.  The father of Robert was Milton Albin (Pappy Dick) Smith born 6 Dec 1863 DeKalb County, IN, married to Mary Frances Scott in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, IL 2 Mar 1886.  He died 9 Mar 1954 in Mt. Vernon, IL, Jefferson County, IL.  They were the parents of five children:

i.  John Smith 1887 -
ii.  Robert Calvin Smith 1888- 1958
iii.  Milton McDonald Smith 1891-
iv. Dollie Ann Smith 1893 - 1923
v.  Fannie V. Smith 1898 - 1980

4.  Milton's father was Daniel Smith born about 1815 in Pennsylvania.  He married Barbara Ann Wade, daughter of Thomas Noble Wade in June 1847 in Ashland County, OH.  They were the parents of eight children:

i.  Mary Jane Smith 1848 -
ii.  Samuel Thomas Smith 1850 -
iii. Anna M. Smith 1851 -
iv. Franklin Pierce Smith 1854 - 1936
v.  James B. Smith 1856 -
vi. William Smith 1860 -
vii. Milton Albin Smith 1863- 1954
viii. Rosa A. Smith - 1866

Daniel Smith died 24 Jul 1896, Barbara died 28 Mar 1892 both in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, IL.  As yet, nothing further has been discovered about Daniel's origins or parents.

My Personal Family History Blog

Well, this is my second blog - I'm sure most people would start their first blog on their own family history, but as I never do things in the usual order, I started my first blog on my husband's family history -  Rogers Family History.  This blog will primarily be to help me sort and document all the information I have on the Wilsons and Smiths, my paternal and maternal surnames and all the other names that are therefore tangled within these names.

My children, my two sons, have up to this point, absolutely no interest in their heritage; however I hold out hope that someday they will appreciate what I have done.  If not, oh well, I have enjoyed the journey!