Clan William: Mary Ann Munson and William Custer Smith, Part 2

See Part 1 here.

William and Mary Ann Munson Smith set up house in Fennimore, Grant County, Wisconsin. The couple farmed during their time in Wisconsin. On 19 Sep 1854, they had their first child, Walter Clarence Smith. The next surviving child was Mary Madora "Dora" Smith, born in Hazel Green, Grant County on 23 Jul 1850. The third, was Harland Smith, born 02 Nov 1861 in Grant County. Finally, the fourth Wisconsin baby, Eva Elvira Smith was born on 05 Apr 1864 in Fennimore.

Butler County, Iowa Fremont Township Plat Map, 1895

In 1866, the Smith family packed up and moved to Fremont Township, Butler County, Iowa. On 16 Sep 1866, their fifth child, Ella Mae Smith was born in Fremont Township. The Smith's then purchased a farm one mile west of the town of Plainfield, in Butler County, from the widow of former Horton postmaster Amos Head. Head had cleared the land and made it livable. The Smith's purchased 140 acres of prime farm land for $800.00 on 01 Nov 1866. The farm was right on the county line between Butler and Bremer county. The couple worked together to build their house and barn. They had a large family to house and more were on the way.

In addition to the children, the couple also housed William's mother "Cathy"  and his mentally disabled brother, Isaac, and spinster sister, Sara. Along came sons Edwin (06 Jun 1869), Parker (01 Sep 1872), Mirt (09 Sep 1875), and baby John, born 09 Jun 1879 and died 28 Sep 1881. This would complete their family.

The house is the one William & Mary Ann Munson Smith
built. The people are the next family who lived there.

The couple completed their house and barn and as the older ones grew, they married off.  

The original farm and farm today. The house is long gone. The Dieke family have owned
the property for over 100 years and the farm is recognized as a Centennial Farm.

By 1880, William's mentally disabled brother, Isaac, was living in Wisconsin again, with another Smith brother, John. Mother Cathy is believed to have died in Fremont Township before 1880 and was probably the reason Isaac was sent to the oldest brother. Sister Sarah Jane was finally married off to a widower with a disastrous marriage record and history of alcohol abuse and violence, Francis "Frank" Doole, on 27 May 1887 in Floyd County. She did not get a happy ending.

Oldest son Walter had married Isabell Monteith in 1876 in Plainfield. Isabell was one of three Monteith sisters who married into the greater Smith family. The Monteith's hailed from Scotland and settled in Wisconsin.

Daughter Dora married a young businessman originally from Somerset, Pennsylvania, but had moved to Waterloo, Iowa on 21 Jun 1878 in Janesville, Iowa. His family made an indelible impression on the City of Waterloo through the next several decades. The couple would reside in Waterloo and husband Claude Lichty would build a manufacturing company which ran successfully during his lifetime.

Son Harland and Fannie had been married in a double ceremony with Harland's next younger sister, Eva Elvira on 21 Aug 1881. Son Harland and William loved to race horses and built a horse racing track on the property at it's southern side. They traveled the state racing horses and held races on their property. Harlan and his wife Fannie Magoon lived on the farm with the Smith's after their marriage in 1881. Fannie fed the chickens and worked the farm. She did the laundry in a vat on the lawn. Harland, reportedly, was far from industrious and just wanted to race his horses.  

Eva Elvira, who married farm laborer Arthur Marion Bryce on 21 Aug 1881 in a double ceremony with her brother Harland and his wife Fannie. The Bryce's moved on to Fort Dodge and then returned to Plainfield, where Arthur died young in 1886 and Eva did not remarry.

Daughter Ella Mae married farmhand and later railroad man Howard Cunningham on 30 Aug 1885 in Bremer County. They moved to Moberly, Missouri, one of the hubs of the Wabash Railroad.

Plainfield, Bremer County, IA sometime between 1874-1880

William and Mary Ann seemed to have a lot of friends in both Nashua and Plainfield, though Plainfield was where they went most often. Their mail was delivered to the Plainfield post office and that's also where they saw the doctor and did their shopping. Plainfield and Nashua were both thriving farm towns, with just about everything a family could need in those days in the 1880s.  

In 1888, Mary Ann took sick. She was expected to recover and though she was sick, no one expected her to die. She died on 24 Sep 1888. She was 51 and her youngest child, Mirt, was 13 years old. 

Life would change for the Smith family after Mary Ann's death. Family lore would prove false after a long research road.

Part 3 - After Mary Ann Munson Smith

Click these links for more stories about William and Mary's families.

How My Dog Got Her Name

SMITH, JACOB > SMITH, WILLIAM CUSTER > SMITH, WALTER m Isabelle Monteith > SMITH, FRANKIE m (1) Lloyd Baltzer (2) Tom Tamen

Frankie & Lloyd Baltzer

I learned so much about the Walter Smith family on my recent visit to his youngest daughter's home this year. And, I was at last able to see the person who provided the name for my dog.

Frankie Smith was the last of Walter Smith and Isabelle Monteith's biological daughters. Betty, their adopted daughter and biological great granddaughter would join the family when the rest of kids were in middle age. Frankie was born in March of 1890. According to Betty Smith, Frankie most likely got her name because Walter tired of waiting for a boy child. Though, he was proud as could be of all of his daughters.

Frankie married Nashuan Lloyd Lendo Baltzer on 04 May 1914 in Mitchell, Iowa. Lloyd was the son of Arthur E and Viola Baltzer and was born 27 Mar 1888 in Nashua. Lloyd was originally a harness maker, but then took up employment with the telephone company that served Rudd, Rockford, Lakota, Hampton, and Mason City (area towns). Frankie and Lloyd lived in Rudd and then Lakota for many years. Eventually, the couple divorced and Baltzer married Mabel Orr in December 1932.

Smith Sisters

Thomas "Tom" Tamen was born 27 May 1889 in Parkersburg, Butler County, Iowa. He had married Clara Augusta Beyer on 15 Mar 1914 in Winnebago, Iowa. They had two children: Clara Beverly "Beverly" Tamen and Frederick Thomas Tamen. The Tamen's resided in Lakota when Mrs Tamen, a long time Buffalo Center resident, hanged herself in the attic of their home, being found when daughter Beverly, then 13 years old, returned from school. Mrs Tamen was 40 years old and had been "troubled with nervousness for some years"and may have been troubled by illness.

Tom was formerly an implement dealer in Lakota, but his shop burned down in 1930 and since that time, he had been selling real estate. He was out of town on business when his wife was discovered. It was 20 Apr 1932 when Tom and Frankie went to Galena, Illinois, and married.

Tom got a job as an instructor at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois, and the family resided there until Tom's retirement, when they moved to Nashua. Tom's son Fred married and had a number of children and resided in Carbondale, Ill. Tom's daughter Beverly Van Rossum died in 1966, preceding her father in death.

In the final years of Tom's life, Frankie and Tom loved to winter in Florida. Tom died 11 Nov 1969 in Iowa (there are conflicting reports whether it was in an Independence, Iowa hospital or at Iowa City Medical Center in Johnson County).

Frankie continued on for many years after Tom's death, wintering in Florida and summering in her beloved Iowa. She survived until just past her 100th birthday, dying 06 Jul 1990. All of her sisters reached their 90s, but Frankie was the final surviving biological daughter of Walter and Isabelle.

We sat in the car on the way to pick up our new Iowa Collie and tossed around various "old-fashioned" names for the puppy. Some included Mabel, Ruth, and finally, I said, "Frankie" as I had just been discovering her story in my work. Here is the little face that ended up with Frankie's name.

Frankie

The Smiths: The Very Best Kind of Day

Yesterday, I drove up to Nashua to meet a cousin on the Smith side, Betty Jane Smith. There with her for the meeting were two of her kids and their spouses. I felt like I had been dropped into my own family, without all the expectations! Very nice, wonderful people. We told stories and shared photos. Betty is 94 years old and I spent time giggling with her - giggling - and laughing and smiling. She shared the most awesome family photos and filled in blanks in my knowledge about her father and mother, Walter Smith & Isabelle Monteith. At the end of the day, we had a piece of homemade pie, made by Betty, who had skipped church in order to provide the delicious treat for me - a virtual stranger. Did I mention how much I love Iowa?

Here is a beautiful photo of Isabelle, from her youth. As you might recall, Isabelle was one of three Monteith sisters who married Smith men. Jessie and Elizabeth married Walter's cousins, Alexander and Jacob.

Betty was adopted by Walter and Isabelle Smith after her birth. They were her biological great grandparents. She lived in the same house since she was born - the house Walter & Isabelle had lived in since they had "moved to town" sometimes around the turn of the 20th century.

The lovely Betty Jane Smith

Betty continued to live there after Walter and Isabelle died. Her adopted sister Maude moved in with her and finished raising her after Isabelle's death. When Betty married widower Leland Hahn, the family of Lee's two kids and their own two kids made the house their home. After Leland died, her second husband also lived in the home. Ninety-four years in the same house!

This is a particularly great photo of the Smith boys Mirt,  Rev Parker, Harland, Edwin, & Walter and sister Dora (Eva and Ella both died in 1924, so I'd put this photo at between 1924-1933):

They were at some kind of picnic - looks like some kind of pavilion behind them - perhaps the Nashua fairgrounds?

This is the boys and their spouses, except Edwin's wife, Kate Smull, This also includes sister Mary Madora "Dora" Smith and her husband BF Lichty, who lived in Waterloo.

Edward Boyd Monteith: Father of the Smith Wives

ANDREW MONTEITH > EDWARD BOYD MONTEITH m. Agnes McCubbin

Click on image to enlarge

Edward Boyd Monteith was born 12 Mar 1822 in Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland to Andrew Monteith and Isabelle Hendry. The elder Monteith was "ag lab" or agricultural labor on the Merton Hall estate, owned then by William Boyd, then his son Edward Boyd, in Newton Stewart parish in Penninghame. This was hard work, with few financial rewards and it's totally understandable that the adult children of Andrew and Isabelle would start trickling over to the US for a better life.

The Edward Boyd Monteith & Agnes McCubbin Family

Edward and his wife, Agnes McCubbin, who he wed in Scotland, first stayed in Vermont for three years beginning in 1848 and then moved on to the budding frontier in Wisconsin. First, they stopped in Jefferson, Ohio, then on to Janesville, Wisconsin, then moved on in 1854 to Platteville. Edward was a stone mason by trade and helped build the State Normal School building in Platteville. They had a small farm in Liberty Township and eventually, purchased a farm in March 1869 from James McCubbin in Section 30 in Wingville Township, near Monfort, Grant County. In 1877, the plat maps shows he owned 193 acres. They later moved to Fennimore.

Edward died on 12 Nov 1911 in Fennimore. Agnes was born on 05 Apr 1823 in Scotland. She died 25 Jan 1913 in Fennimore, 

Elizabeth

Edward and Agnes had seven children:

1, Elizabeth: Born 19 May 1847 in Wigtownshire, Scotland. She married Jacob Smith on 15 Nov 1866 in Fennimore, Grant County. Jacob was born 04 Feb 1843 in Jefferson, Ohio to James Smith and Susanna Johnston, Jacob served in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, Company H, with three of his uncles. He was mustered out on 13 Jul 1865. The family retains his Civil War musket. The family moved to the Polk Township, Bremer County, near the town of Plainfield in the 1860s, along with other family. They spent the remainder of their lives there with the exception of four years spent in South Dakota. They had three children. Jacob died 08 Jul 1916 in Bremer County. Elizabeth Monteith, well loved by those who knew her, survived until 16 Jan 1943 in Plainfield, where she died at the home of her daughter, Agnes Smith Hinmon.

2. Jessie: Born 25 Sep 1851 in Barnet, Caledonia, Vermont, she married Alexander Smith on 25 Dec 1866 in Grant County. Alexander was the son of James Smith and Susanna Johnston. He was born 16 Jun 1845 in Steubenville, Ohio to Jacob Smith and Catherine Randolph. They had a life full of pioneer adventures which are outlined here. Alexander died 24 Aug 1925 in Brook Park, Pine, Minnesota and Jessie died 21 Jan 1939 in Princeton, Mille Lacs, Minnesota. They had three children who settled in Minnesota and Canada.

3. James Robert ("Jim"): Born 31 Jan 1853 in Janesville, Rock, Wisconsin. Elizabeth A. Barger was born on 28 Dec 1854 in Wingville, Grant County. They married 24 Nov 1875 in Montfort, Grant County.  They had 12 children, two of whom died in infancy. One of the surviving children, Fred, died tragically in a drowning which also took the life of his sister's husband. You can read about it here. Elizabeth died 20 Oct 1923 and Jim died 30 Jul 1949 in Fennimore. 

James Robert Monteith Family

4. Isabelle:  Born 25 Oct 1854 in Grant County. She was married to Walter Smith, son of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson, on 29 Oct 1876 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. You can read about Isabelle and her family at the Walter Smith link above. Isabelle died 27 Oct 1938 in Nashua, Chickasaw County and Walter died in Nashua on 23 May 1930.

James Woodward
Preston

5. Martha: Martha was born 09 Aug 1857 in Grant County. She married James Woodward Preston on 24 Dec 1877 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. James was part of the sprawling Preston family of Grant County. I wrote about his half-brother, Matthew Preston, here. Martha and James resided initially in Grant County, then moved to the Duluth, Minnesota area and farmed there. Martha's sister Jessie and husband Alexander also lived in this area. James died 06 Nov 1932 in Duluth and Martha died 16 Nov 1946 in Proctor, St Louis County, Minnesota. They had one child, Willie, who died as an infant.

6. Mary Agnes: Born in 1860, she married John Thompson Preston, brother of James. They moved to Howard County, Iowa after 1880. They had two children, Edwin James and Jessie Maud, before Mary died  in 1886 in Howard County. John lived with his brother and sister-in-law, James and Martha in Duluth in 1900, but moved to Proctor in St Louis County by 1910. He died 18 Oct 1927 in Proctor.

7. Margaret Ella "Ella":  Born 1862 in Liberty Township, Grant County. She married Miles E Helm on 25 Mar 1880 in Grant County. Miles was born in May 1857 in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. In 1880 they resided with the Edward Boyd Monteith's. In 1882, they were in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In 1885, the couple was living in North Dakota, but by 1888, were back in Grant County. Ella died on 02 Aug 1897 in Milwaukee County. Miles' death date is not known. They had four children. 

8.William: Born in 1863, his death date is unknown and he's believed to have died in infancy.

William Custer Smith Family: Walter Smith

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

Walter Smith was the first born of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson. He was born 19 Sep 1854 in Grant County, Wisconsin and came to Iowa with his family in the fall of 1865. On 29 Oct 1876, he married Isabelle Monteith in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa.

Edward Boyd Monteith & Agnes McCubbin

Isabelle was the granddaughter of Andrew Monteith and Isabelle Hendry of Wigtownshire, Scotland. The Monteith's and their children emigrated to the US at various times in the late 1840s/early 1850s. Her father and mother, Edward Boyd Monteith and Agnes McCubbin had arrived in the US in 1848 and lived in Vermont for three years, then moved to Janesville, Wisconsin. In 1854, they removed to Platteville.

Interestingly, three of the Monteith daughters would marry Smith men. Elizabeth married William Custer Smith's brother Jacob and Isabelle would marry William's cousin Alexander, son of his brother James Smith.

Surviving Smith Kids (missing are Eva and Ella, both died in 1924)

The couple moved from Iowa after the birth of their first child to Grant County, Wisconsin briefly
where their second child was born, and then moved on to North Dakota where their third child was born. They then returned to the Nashua/Plainfield area before the birth of their fourth child. Walter had done some farming but was known in the community for "a little bit of this, a little bit of that," doing anything from working a dray line, delivering ice, to managing the Commercial Club. He was known in town as being friendly and genial and had many friends.

Walter died 23 May 1930 in Nashua. Two of his sisters preceded him in death: Eva and Ella Mae. Isabelle would live until 27 Oct 1938 and also die in Nashua.

Walter and Isabelle would have four daughters and adopt a fifth:

1. Martha J. "Mattie Smith, born 1877 in Iowa. Married Elwood Edward Sutcliffe on 03 Oct 1900, in Waverly, Bremer County, Iowa. Had five children. They lived on a farm near Clarksville until 1943 when they moved into town. They would have five children. E.E. was born 12 Jan 1879 in Butler County and died 07 Spr 1962 in Charles City, Iowa. Mattie would die at the age of 96, 08 Jul 1873 in Waverly, Bremer County.

2. Maude Smith, born 09 Mar 1879, Grant County, Wisconsin. Married Frederick A Hanson 09 Sep 1918 in Owatonna, Steele, Minnesota. They had a child who died at birth and had no other children. Maude worked before her marriage as a clerk at various area stores in Nashua. Fred worked as a butcher and while working at Miller's Meat Market in Nashua he was struck ill and taken to the hospital. Fred, born 03 May 1876 in Nashua, died of complications of a strangulated hernia at the Waverly hospital 21 Mar 1926. He was 49. He was described as kind-hearted. Maude returned to work as a clerk in Van's Bargain Store in Nashua. She was a member of the Royal Neighbors and the Rebekahs, and very active in community life. She lived to the ripe old age of 96 on 10 Mar 1975 in Charles City.

3. Minnie Luella Smith was born on 09 Aug 1881 in North Dakota. She married Charles Alfred Scoles on 21 Jun 1900 in Waverly. They had 11 children adding to the already huge population of Scoles in the Nashua/Plainfield area!  Sadly, two of their daughters died of illness when very young. Charles was the son of John Wesley Scoles and Sarah Jane Huyler and was born 04 Oct 1876 in Floyd County. The Scoles would move to Minnesota in 1901 and live there until 1914, when they returned to Nashua.

He worked at various vocations including a stint at Nashua Lumber at the end of his life. While working, he fell from a roof at the lumberyard coal shed and broke his heel. This left him crippled up and sent him into a spiral of ill health due to the complications from his injury that lasted two years when he was felled by a series of strokes. He was 54 when he died in Nashua on 17 Apr 1931 in Nashua. Minnie, who was very close to her sisters, would travel with them and visit back and forth. She would died at age 91 at home, alone, the way she wanted it, on 23 Nov 1972 in Nashua. She was discovered by her children who had come to get her for Thanksgiving dinner.

4.  Frankie Smith was born in Mar of 1890 in Nashua, Iowa. She married Lloyd Lendo Baltzer, a harness maker, on 04 May 1914 in Mitchell, Iowa. They lived primarily in Lakota, Iowa during their marriage. They would divorce. She then married Thomas "Tom" Tamen on 20 Apr 1932 in Galena, Illinois. Tom was a widower with two children. His wife Clara had hanged herself. They would live for several years in Rantoul, Illinois where he was an instructor at Chanute Air Field, and Buffalo Center, Iowa before returning to Nashua. After the death of her husband, she wintered in Florida. Tom died 11 Nov 1969 at a hospital in Independence, Iowa and Frankie died 06 Jul 1990 at the age of 100. Frankie had no children.

5. Their fifth child, Betty Jane, born in 1927, was adopted as a baby when the Smith's were very old and after their death's was in the care of her sister Maude. I'd like to figure out who this child's parents were.  She was very close to her sisters, especially Maude and Frankie. She married Leland V. "Lee" Hahn on 22 Jun 1951. Lee was born on 27 Dec 1911 in Charles City and was 16 years old than Betty. They had four children. He worked for the Oliver Co. for 33 years and was a member of the Oliver Management Club. Lee died on 01 Aug 1972 in Nashua.