Johnathan Smull: Katie Smull

PETER SMULL > JOHNATHAN SMULL > KATHERINE MABEL SMULL m Edwin Smith

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Katie was born 27 Sep 1873 in Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois and came to Bradford,

Kate Smull Smith, 1940s

Chickasaw County, Iowa with her parents in 1876. Her father, Jonathan Smull, a Civl War veteran, died in 1885 on their farm. Mary Jane Cooper Smull, Kate's mother, moved the family to Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa after his death - Plainfield is the next town over. She married Edwin Smith, son of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson on 11 Jun 1890. Edwin was born 06 Jun 1869 outside of Plainfield on the family farm.

Unlike his father, he was not a farmer and did various manual labor jobs during his lifetime. He died of a heart attack on 10 Jan 1939 in Plainfield. Katie lived with daughter Evelyn until Evelyn and her husband, Marvin Ripley, a career Navy man, took a posting in Ohio as a recruiter. Kate lived on her own, then briefly with daughter Verlie, then, as was described by Evelyn's daughter, "Checked herself into a nursing home in Waverly." It was while there she suffered a stroke and died on 04 Mar 1956.

They had twelve children:

1. Marie Adaline "Mary" Smith. You can read about her here. 

2. Harold Raymond Smith:  Born 16 Aug 1893 in Chickasaw County, he married Edith Elizabeth

Young Harold Smith

Blum on 23 Dec 1915 in Allison, Butler County. Edith was the daughter of Carl Blum and Katie Halm in Illinois on 13 May 1896. Harold was a buttermaker who learned the trade at the old Plainfield Creamery at age 16. He went to Ceylon, Minnesota from 1916-1929 and then to Lotts Creek Creamery near Lone Rock, where they lived until 1930. "Ill health forced him to give up his occupation," according to his obit. He held various jobs in Plainfield until his retirement. They had five children. Harold died 23 Jul 1976 in Clarksville and Edith 13 Apr 1983 in Mason City.

3. Bernice Lorraine Smith:  Pronounced, "Berniss," she was born 05 May 1896 in Plainfield. She married Andrew Jackson "Andy" Beckage on 14 Apr 1917 in Nashua, Chicasaw County. At that time, Bernice was working as an operator for the new telephone exchange in Plainfield. Andy was the son of John Beckage and Marie Moore and was born in Olyphant, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania on 09 Jan 1894. Andy worked for the Illinois Central railroad and had a good career with them, taking various postings across Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota before moving to Waverly. They had one daughter, Shirley, who married and moved to California. It was while returning from a visit to their daughter that Andy was struck with a heart attack at the Kansas City train station. He died there on 01 Aug 1947.

Bernice in California, late 1960s

One of the interesting things in researching Bernice is that I remember her ever-so-little from childhood. She went by Beckage and was buried a Beckage - yet, she had a second marriage that no one in the family discussed later. On 21 Aug 1948, she married Frank Holiday, of Orinoco, Minnesota. He was working as a cheesemaker for Hy-Grade Food Products in Plainfield. After their marriage, he quit his job, they packed up their stuff and sold their household goods, and moved to California to be near Bernice's daughter. By December, they had returned to Plainfield, he got his job back, and they moved into an apartment in Albina Boveia's house. They still visited California regularly.

The last joint reference in the newspaper to the pair was in early 1951. According to my uncle, Harold Ripley, he believed that they quietly divorced and that Frank remarried and returned to Minnesota.

Bernice lived until 20 Oct 1973, when she died in El Cajon, California. She had lived with her daughter for several years.

4. Madge Lucille Smith:  Born 17 Jun 1898 in Plainfield. She married Glenn Wesley Scoles on 19 Apr 1920 in Waverly, Bremer County. He was the son of James Francis "Frank" Scoles and Ada Tracy, born 29 Feb 1896 in Pearl Rock, Chickasaw County. Glenn was a farmer. They had nine children, two of whom died in infancy. You can read about the life of one of their twins, who married a man who survived the sinking of the USS Arizona and subsequently died in a battle at sea, here. Glenn died in Nov 1953 and Madge 27 Feb 1977, both in Charles City, Floyd County.

5. Howard N Smith:  Born 22 Jun 1900 in Plainfield. Married Gyneth Marie Boveia on 08 Jul 1921 in Floyd County. She was the daughter of Albert Boveia, born 17 Nov 1904 in Iowa City, Johnson County. Howard worked in the Plainfield area his entire life, the last 18 years working at Schield Bantam in Waverly. They made heavy equipment. Howard had four kids. He died 03 Aug 1977 in Waverly and she 15 Jan 1983 in Plainfield.

6. Grace Olive Smith:  Grace was born 06 Aug 1902 in Plainfield. She married Jesse Gulick, son of

Grace's 80th

Steward Gulick and Sarah Jane "Julie" Parker, on 09 Feb 1920 in Waverly. Jesse was born 21 Jan 1896 in Iowa. I also remember Grace as being just that, full of grace. Kind, warm, and loving. When she was six months old she had the "grip" (flu), which she survived. At age 9, she fell at school and broke her foot, keeping her out of school for six weeks. Grace and Jesse moved to Mount Vernon to farm, putting her quite a distance from her large family. The Gulick's had two sons, one of whom had a son who is on the city council in Cedar Rapids. Grace died 10 Jun 1984 in Cedar Rapids and Jesse died 14 Dec 1989 in Vinton. 

7. Nila Fern Smith: Born 15 Jan 1905 in Plainfield. Married Ralph Chester, son of Frank Chester and Anna Walter on 19 Dec 1923 in Waverly. They had one son, Lee, who married Lorraine Lynes of Plainfield. Ralph died 21 Nov 1976 in Plainfield and Nila on 06 Sep 1994.

Young Claude

8. Claude Erwin Smith: Born 15 Dec 1907 in Plainfield. He married Bertha Lucille "Lucille" Grapp on 11 May 1929 in Janesville, Iowa. She was born to William F Grapp and Augusta Mary Seiling on 14 Jan 1909 in Chickasaw County. Just two years previous to his marriage, Claude had taken a position in a drug store in Apple River, Illinois. Lucille worked at the telephone exchange as an operator in Plainfield. After his marriage, in 1931, he was working as a salesman at Boyd's Bargain Store, owned by Frank Boyd, another relative!  The Smith's took various rooms and apartments for the first few years of their marriage. Claude became a mason, paper hanger, and carpenter for the remainder of his life. They belonged to the First Baptist Church in Plainfield. The couple had two daughters. Claude died 05 Feb 1981 in Waverly and Lucille died 31 Oct 1999 in Maynard, Fayette County.

9. Verlie Lynette Smith: Born 14 Mar 1910 in Plainfield. She married first Rasmus Theodore "Ted"

Young Verlie

Michaelsen of Cedar Falls on 06 Nov 1927. They had four children, all of whom were later adopted out when the marriage failed. You can read a little more about that here.  The Michaelsen's in the early days of their marriage, lived in an apartment over the butcher shop in Nashua and then had a series of rented rooms and apartments, or houses as they added to their family, always trying to stay one step ahead of eviction. Verlie met Leo Linsey and they cohabitated as a married couple from about 1937, having three more children. The couple finally married in 1965, but separated in the late 1970s. Verlie died at Ravenwood Nursing Home, under the loving care of her granddaughter, who worked there, in Nov of 1986. 

10. Vivian Katherine Smith: "Aunt Viv" as we all called her, was born 07 Jul 1912 in Plainfield. She married Leland Barr, born 02 Nov 1906 in Shell Rock, Bremer County, on 03 Jul 1938 in Plainfield. Leland was the son of  William P Barr and Mabelle Hufstader. Leland died 13 Jan 1979. Vivien died 07 Dec 1986 in Wavery. They had no children, but were loved by all of their nieces and nephews. I'm going to do a separate post on Vivian.

11.  Evelyn Joyce Smith:  Born 25 Apr 1914 in Plainfield. Married Marvin Guy Ripley, son of Frank Ripley and Goldie Sperbeck of Charles City. He was born 15 Jan 1914 in Carrville, Floyd County. They had one daughter. Marvin, a career Navy man, died 16 Nov 1990 in Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio. Evelyn died 17 Dec 2002 in Convoy, Van Wert County, Ohio. I'm going to do a separate post on Evelyn.

12. Baby Boy Smith: Unknown date of birth/death. Died as infant.

William Custer Smith Family: Rev Parker Smith

JACOB SMITH > WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH m Mary Ann Munson > PARKER SMITH

Parker Smith was born on 01 Sep 1872 in Butler County, Iowa, near Plainfield (Bremer County) where his parents, William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson farmed. Parker was the seventh Smith child and took a completely different path in life from his siblings.

His mother died in 1888 and his father in 1895 and after that, he managed the family farm while it was still in family hands* and did some local traveling as a revivalist fire-and-brimstone Southern Baptist speaker. 

On 26 Nov 1896, he married Estella Irene "Stella" Pierson, in Horton, Bremer County. She was the daughter of Charles Pierson of Sweden and Eliza Rickel originally of Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio. The elder Pierson's were married in 1868 but divorced prior to 1894 when Charles married Nancy "Anna" Phillips.

Parker also attended college, graduating from Southern University in Scotlandville, Louisiana. He was ordained a Baptist preacher in 1899. Finding regular work was sometimes challenging, but from 1899-1903, he was pastor of the Clark Steet Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. He kept his options open though, and did other things to bring in income. In 1900, he and his brother Edwin opened a livery business in the Nashua/Plainfield area, though I don't think that lasted long.

In 1903, the Smith's moved on to his new church in LeMars, Iowa-the First Baptist Church. He would remain there until 1906. At some point during this time, the Smith's decided to foster and raised Stella's niece, Evelyn, whose parents had died.  They seemed to really click in LeMars, based on news reports. With mixed feelings, they took another post in 1906 with the First Baptist Church in Wayne, Nebraska. He would remain there full time until 1911.

In 1914, when his old church in Sioux City completed its new church building, the Smith's were invited to attend and preach. During the period of 1912-1923, Rev Smith substitute preached at Baptist churches in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. The family was living in Parker, Turner County, South Dakota for the 1920 census. 

That same year, he had a little bit of excitement on the road:

PREACHERS JOLTED
Parker SD - The lives of Rev Parker Smith, of this city, and Rev Mr Peterson of Turkey Valley were placed in jeopardy when the steering rod of the auto in  which they were riding worked loose at a point eleven miles from Parker. The auto was traveling at a rate of about twenty-five miles an hour at the time. The steering rod dropped down and struck the road, causing the car to swing violently up into the air and then bob up and down like a jumping jacks. Fortunately, both men escaped without serious injury.
Huron Evening Huronite July 18, 1920

Parker wasn't involved at just the church level, but was actively involved in regional Southern Baptis operations. In 1915, while at the state Baptist convention in Deadwood, SD, he was elected as "Manager for three years," for the organization. 1918's convention had him positioned as vice president. And, in 1919, Rev Smith was elected moderator of the South Baptist Association of South Dakota's next meeting.

In 1923, he picked up a new position with church in Tekamah, Nebraska. In the earlier part of 1926, the Smith's were living back in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa and then for some reason, during the period of 1926-1927, Rev Smith moved to Ravenna, Nebraska, and operated a grocery store. 

In 1928, the Smith's were living in Brownsdale, Minnesota and by 1929 had returned to Broken Bow. In 1931, he was preaching at the Baptist church in Lincoln, Nebraska and would remain there through 1932. In 1933, he was back in Broken Bow, and in 1935, Rev Smith would take his final bow as full-time preacher before retirement there. From then on, he quietly farmed, and most likely did some preaching somewhere. They would later return to Ravenna, Nebraska.

What's not known is if his wife accompanied him on all his various travels, but the couple did get back to the Nashua/Plainfield area frequently to visit family and friends.

Their foster daughter Evelyn was with them through at least 1930, where the census has her working as a bookkeeper in the creamery in Broken Bow. I have not been able to establish this to a certainty, but I believe her first marriage was to a Mr. Diedrichs and second to a Fred Wilkens. I have no other information on Evelyn.

Parker died 29 Mar 1950 in Ravenna. He had outlived all of his siblings by several years. His nephews Harold Smith and Claude Smith went for the funeral (Edwin's sons). Harold named one of
his sons after Parker. Stella would survive until 19 Mar 1955 and also die in Ravenna.

*See information on the family farm here

The Edwin Smith Family

JACOB SMITH > WILLLIAM CUSTER SMITH > EDWIN SMITH (my great grandfather)

Remember that terrible personal interview I went to a couple of months ago? Well, out of that came getting this photo. Although it's a paper copy, it's still far better than nothing. I've now seen them all.

The Edwin Smith Family, very late 1920s, early 1930s.
Madge, Kate Smull Smith, Bernice, Howard (rear), Nila, Evelyn, Harold (rear), Claude, Vivien, Mary, Verlie, Grace, and Edwin Smith

My uncle Harold Ripley, oldest son of Verlie, had never seen this photo. I've never seen Kate so young and never seen Edwin or Mary before this. I also had no idea Harold Smith was so short!

The youngest three are the ones I knew best - Evelyn, Vivian, and Verlie (my grandma). Bernice is pronounced "Berniss" and I get corrected by my uncle every time I forget and call her "Berneece." Mary's story is told here.

Edwin had done a lot of different work, but farming was never for him. Among other things, he was a day laborer, teamster, and carpenter for the railroad.

Edwin died at age 69 of a massive heart attack while working outside, according to Uncle Harold. He died 10 Jan 1939 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. His wife Kate, who reportedly put herself in a nursing home after an unsuccessful stay with her daughter Verlie, died at the Waverly Convalescent Center on 04 Mar 1956, due to complications from a stroke. She was 82.