Eureka! A Big Find!

SMITH, Jacob > SMITH, Catherine

I've been doing this for about five years now. Diligently going back to trees and searching for more information. William Custer Smith, my 2XGG, arrived in the Plainfield, Iowa area via Ohio and Grant County, Wisconsin. I had great luck being able to trace his brothers, James, John, and Isaac, but the daughters were tough.

Eventually, I was able to trace youngest sister, Sarah. Elizabeth, I believe, based on no reference in her sister Sarah's obit, to have most likely died quite young. Catherine had been a mystery.  Until a revisit of the documents and information just last week. This is just the introduction to this family.

There she was, bolder than a Hawaiian shirt at church. Born in Ohio around 1833, moved to Grant County, and marrying Alfred Fuller prior to 1860 in Grant County. They then moved on down to the Plainfield area, where cousins and her brother had settled (WC Smith lived just over the county border outside of Plainfield, in Butler County). Catherine gave birth to at least six kids before her death around 1875 (still working that out). The newspaper in the area didn't start publishing for many more years, so there was no reference to her life, nor her death outside of records.

Her daughters married into local families - the Thompsons and the Smiths (the "other" Smith family in Plainfield). Those children, in turn, continued to connect and reweave our lines with the lines of other long-time families in the area. Two of her sons ended up in Chicago - several of her grandchildren would join Chicago Police Department, a tradition that continued for generations. Milton ended up in mining in British Columbia. George lost his wife in 1914 and eventually moved to Los Angeles County, California.

Alfred remarried almost immediately to Hannah Maria Randall, a native of Platteville, Wisconsin. They had six more children, before he died in 1902 in Polk Township, Bremer County.  Hannah then married Enoch Benjamin Townsend, who died the same year she did (1929), in Oregon.

Here are the children of Catherine Smith and Alfred Fuller:

CLARA MILDORA FULLER born 12 May 1860, Grant Co Wis - 03 Sep 1916, Bremer Co, Iowa married EDWARD A SIMBRIC born 10 Mar 1852 in Germany/Austria - 02 Jan 1929, Waterloo, Black Hawk,Ia

LULU BELLE FULLER born 13 Nov 1865 Plainfield, Bremer, Iowa - 08 Aug 1948 Waverly, Bremer, Iowa married OZEM GARDNER THOMPSON 02 Jan 1882 in Bremer County.  He was born 06 Feb 1862 Horton, Bremer, Iowa - 19 Mar 1929 Plainfield, Bremer, Iowa

WARREN J FULLER born 05 Nov 1867 in Story County, Iowa - 02 Mar 1949, Cook, Illinois, married MATILDA WATTERS 18 Jan 1882 in Bremer Co. She was born 09 Jun 1859 in Hainsville, Lake, Illinois - 06 Feb 1935 Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

MILTON J FULLER born abt 1868 in Bremer Co - 30 Mar 1958, Haney, British Columbia, Canada married KATIE MANNINGO 21 Dec 1893 in Des Moines, Iowa. She was born abt 1874.

FRANK N FULLER born Jul 1870 in Bremer Co - Nov 1953, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, married ANN LOUISE STANTON 08 Jul 1896 in Chicago. She was born 27 Jul 1875 in Chicago and died 06 Mar 1941 in Oak Park, Cook, Illinois.

GEORGE MCCABLE FULLER boron 04 Jun 1872 in Bremer Co - 15 Jul 1954 in Los Angeles County, California. He married OLIVE LUELLA SMITH in 1895 in Bremer Co. She was born 22 Nov 1871 in Horton, Bremer Co and died 22 Aug 1914 in Plainfield, Bremer Co.