Smith Family: Madge Smith Scoles

 Jacob Smith > William Custer Smith > Edwin Smith > Madge Smith Scoles

Madge Smith was the fourth living child and second daughter of Edwin Smith & Kate Smull Smith. She was born 17 Jun 1897 in Bremer County, Iowa. When just about 23, she married Glenn Wesley Scoles, son of James Francis "Frank" Scoles and Ada Mae "Eda" Tracy on 19 Apr 1920 in Waverly, Iowa. We have another Scoles connection through Edwin's brother Walter. Walter's daughter Minnie married Charles Alfred Scoles, brother of Frank Scoles listed above.

Madge and Glenn farmed outside of Nashua, just down the road from the family "home town" of
Plainfield. They had nine children, all now deceased.

Beverly Bethel Scoles: b 24 Nov 20 and d. 30 Nov 1920 in Butler County.

Jeanette Scoles (Twin):  b. 07 Nov 1921in Butler County d. 28 Aug 2004 in New Hampton, Chickasaw County. She married (1) Harry Bradshaw, whose amazing story is here, 04 May 1941 in Toledo, Tama County; and (2) John Zobeck in 1948.

Annette Scoles (Twin): b. 07 Nov 1921 in Butler County d. 03 Mar 2002, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. She married (1) Clifford Valentine Querry about early Jan 1946 but was divorced in Seattle in 1948. Cliff was a Navy man and was on the ill-fated USS Lexington in 1942, but survived; and (2) Melvin Jennings was also a Navy man. He remarried after Annette's death.

Conrad Wesley Scoles: b. 02 Jan 1924 d. 07 Jan 1924 Chickasaw County.

Audrey Gail Scoles

Richard Henry "Dickey" Scoles: b. 28 Apr 1925 d. 13 Dec 2006 Nashua, Chickasaw County. Married Frances D Nehls, 05 Jan 1949, Nashua, Chickasaw County. Early on, he worked for Oliver Co. and then he worked for the railroad for nine years as a section crew worker until the railroad started reducing crews. He then worked as a lathe operator at Hydrotile in Nashua and later for H & H Tool & Die in Cedar Falls until he retired.

Audrey Gail Scoles: b. 03 Jul 1926 d. 27 Jul 1987 DuBois, Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Married Harry Ellsworth Shaffer, Sr. Harry was a career Navy man and they settled in his hometown. I recently connected with two of Audrey's sons. We've also discovered a son born prior to the marriage to Harry Shaffer who was adopted in Iowa. That's a tale for another day.  

Wendell Edwin Scoles: b. 24 Jan 1928 d. 01 Aug 1987 Nashua, Chickasaw County. Married Sharon Juel Reazak, 05 Feb 1949, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Chickasaw County. At the time of his marriage, he worked at the Capitol Tobacco Co in Charles City.  He went to linotype school and worked for the Nashua Reporter as a typesetter. Wendell served in the Navy, enlisting 10 Apr 1945 and discharged 25 Jun 1946.

Burrdette "Bucky" Howard Scoles: b. 26 Mar 1929, Bradford, Chickasaw County d. 17 Sep 1977

Harry E Shaffer

Des Moines, Polk, Iowa. Married Mitsue Miyashiro. Buck was a career Navy man who died while still in service at the Des Moines Veteran's Hospital.

Service Dates:
Enlistment: 01 Jun 1946 Discharge: 04 Mar 1948
Enlistment: 17 Feb 1950 Discharge: 09 Feb 1953
Enlistment: 18 May 1955 Discharge: 17 Sep 1977

Ronald Glenn Scoles: b. 15 Aug 1930 d. 28 Sep 2007 Charles City, Floyd County. Ron lived with his mom until her death and never married. He is buried without a monument at Willow Lawn Cemetery in Plainfield. 

Remembering Harold James Ripley, 1928-2020

WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH m Mary Ann Munson> EDWIN SMITH m Kate Smull > VERLIE SMITH m Ted Michaelsen > HAROLD RIPLEY

Click to enlarge

His early years were marred by terrible strife. The man himself defied the odds of his childhood and built a highly successful life. He had four children and raised two more who came from his second wife. He ended up with scads of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. When his time came, he went out with a heavy sigh, in his sleep, at the age of 92 after a brief illness.

He was one of the hardest working people I ever met, was sharp as a whip, and did not suffer fools

Harold at the orphanage (right)

gladly. He had a keen insight and knew everyone in the Butler/Bremer County area from his long career in agriculture - either as a solo farmer or as senior manager for massive ag operations. He was also an entrepreneur, starting a Mad Hatter Muffler back in the 1970s among other business ventures. He was also a great storyteller. Because he was not a gossip by nature, it was tough to pull out details and dig deeper sometimes, but it was always going to be a fun ride if you were lucky enough to get this very stoic guy going on a tale to tell.

He was born the first child of Rasmus Theodore "Ted" Michaelsen, a 2nd generation Dane on March 15, 1928 in Plainfield, Iowa. His mother, my grandmother, Verlie Lynette Smith, like Ted, came from a large family. His lived in Cedar Falls, hers lived in Plainfield. 

Over the next years, three sisters would join him: Janis, two years younger, Dixie, four years younger, and baby Judy. The depression, now in full gear by 1936, had decimated the Michaelsen's ability to thrive. They were usually one step ahead of the sheriff who was looking to evict and the entire family had to be resourceful in finding ways to put food on the table. It didn't help that Ted liked to drink. Or had a tendency to be physically abusive to his wife.

Janis told me about one Christmas, when there was no money for gifts. Harold found an old cedar chest

Harold & Ellen (left)

with a leg missing. He fashioned a new leg for it and gave it to Janis and she kept it until her death. That year, she saved her pennies from selling eggs to buy each of the children a bar of soap.

Janis recalled to me that one day, they had all been sitting on the porch on a hot day. Verlie was nursing baby Judy. Ted hit Verlie and they both went flying. She also recalls that it was not long after that Verlie left. Without the kids. She had no job, no chance of a job, and no money.

Ted had the kids and the support of his sister Margaret. Margaret hadn't been able to reach Ted after several days, so she went up to where they were and found the children alone. Ted had taken a job in a CCC camp as a cook, and put Harold, the 9-year-old, in charge. Janis, age 7, cooked whatever they had and cared for baby Judy. She recalled that she knew she needed to wash the diapers, but no one had ever told her she needed to rinse them out. Baby Judy ended up with a serious diaper rash by the time Margaret made her way to them to check on them.

Quick-action was required. She loaded them on the bus and they all went to the Bremer Lutheran Orphanage, where they were placed and now had steady care. Janis thrived in the institution. Harold seemed to be doing fine and was in school and participating in activities. One day that winter, Verlie arrived with winter coats for them all. Janis was in no hurry to go anywhere, she liked the routine.

Margaret worked hard with the Smith's and the Michaelsen's to find permanent placement for the

Harold's 1950 Studebaker

children. Janis and Dixie went to Ted's sister Dagmar in Mississippi and would get involved with 4-H and excel in school. Harold was eventually sent to Verlie's brother Claude and his wife but was treated poorly, by all accounts, and ran away.  Verlie's younger sister Evelyn, who lived in Plainfield caring for her mother, Kate Smull Smith, brought him in. Her husband Marvin Ripley was often away at sea as a Navy man, but they adopted him. Baby Judy, for some reason, did not end up with the family, but was adopted to a wealthy rural couple. Some of that story can be found elsewhere here and here. Verlie would have another family with Leo Linsey - three boys, the oldest of which is my dad.

Harold had a happy life with the Ripley's. Things became normal. He grew up and married Ellen Chester, a very pretty local girl, and a few months later, their first child was born. Three more would follow. He farmed in Bremer County and later, was hired by a large ag firm to manage farms all over the area. He knew his stuff and did well. By the early 1970s, the marriage was failing. After the divorce, he married Judith Stigers, a divorcee with three children. Her two sons lived with her and Harold would adopt the youngest and raise them both. Out of this, I got my cousin Tony, who chose not to take Harold's name, but lovingly supported his parents in their old age and fondly called Harold, "Dad." They were married 48 years-ish when Harold died.

I want to recount a time I had questions about my great aunt Mary and a conversation I had with Harold to tell you a little about his absolute disdain for gossip.

I had been trying to talk about his aunt Mary Marie Adaline Smith, who so far, I had found two husbands for. I peppered him with questions about her Greek immigrant husband and the time they lived in Michigan running a Greek restaurant. He gave me very basic information. I also asked about her last husband - the one she lived with in California when she died. Again, all he said was that she married him because she had known her when she was younger.

After much more research, I came back to him, only this time, I took a different tack: "Uncle Harold. Here's my theory, tell me if it's right. Aunt Mary married the first time to the guy name Hoard and got divorced. It looks like she met her second husband DL Albert right after that and they also got a divorce. Then she married the Greek guy. Then she married DL Albert AGAIN, not because she knew him when she was younger, but because she'd been married to him before!  Is that right?  He said, "Yup."

I loved him a lot, just as I do his lovely wife, my Aunt Judy. I will miss him. 

Judy and Harold

Orle Smull & Ruth Cagley, Part II

View Part I here.

Ruth & Orle and ? possibly Clara?

The Smull's three children were the apple of their parent's eye. Norma Eileen, who was born on 18 Jun 1922 in Plainfield, went to Wartburg College and got a degree in teaching. One of her first assignments was as home economics teacher in Rolfe in fall of 1943. Her next assignment was as home ec teacher in Dike, Iowa. She spent two years teaching there before she resigned due to her upcoming marriage. While visiting her aunt Opal Smull Lowery in California, Norma met Harold Leon "Jeff" Yarbrough, a native of Graham, Texas whose family had made the long trek to California via Arizona years before (think, according to Norma's daughter, "the family out of Grapes of Wrath.")

Harold was in service, but when he returned, he went to Plainfield and they married on 28 Oct 1946 in Plainfield. The Yarbrough's would have two children. Norma's mother died 16 Jul 1996 and Norma followed on 30 Nov 1996. Harold lived only a short while until 13 Apr 1997.

Son Robert Edward Smull was born 23 Apr 1927 in Plainfield. His mother, like many mothers of sons who left for World War II, watched him leave for war with trepidation: "Bob graduated and joined the army, leaving a few nights before the graduation exercises. His first train ride, on the Great Western to Ft Leavenworth where he first went. I stood on the platform and wondered if I'd ever see my only son again. It was World War II and he was to be trained to go to Japan, but the war ended before he finished his training, so he was sent to Germany in the "Army of Occupation." He served two hitches."

"Norma took music lessons of Hazel Boyd for some time. I also wanted Bob to learn to play the

Norma's husband Harold Yarbrough

piano, so I arranged for him to take of Hazel also. I was to pay her by doing sewing, as well as simpler things. The thing that really got to me was a black print dress for her mother, with button holes an inch apart all the way up the front. Remember, I was making the buttonholes by hand. Well, Bob didn't do anyting in the lessons so I had him stop and finally I had the bill paid off. I decided right then, "never again."

He was stationed at Ft Snelling, Minnesota and was then sent to Camp Chanks, New York, waiting for overseas assignment. He arrived in Bremen, Germany in the devastated post-war country, at the port command and wrote to his parents that "cigarettes are $20 a pack and that food of any kind is priceless." He then was assigned to Vegesach, Germany as a clerk at battalion headquarters before being promoted to corporal. Again, he moved to Bremen and then to Berlin by mid-1946. In late 1946, he landed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.

He was found in winter of 1948 with Plainfield friend Klaydon Sult spending the aforesaid winter in Corpus Christi, Texas.

In 1951, Bob married Margaret Adele Stevens and they quickly had four children. Living in Nevada, Iowa, Bob worked for the Iowa Electric Light & Power Co. of Cedar Rapids when he was killed in a tragic work accident and died instantly on 23 Feb 1960 in Collins, Story County.

Orle died at the relatively young age of 69 on 18 Aug 1963 in Plainfield.

The third child, a daughter, is still living. She went to school to become a nurse through school at Allen Memorial Hospital. She and her husband, who died in 2017, had four children.

The Specter of a Killer: Typhoid Strikes the Williams Family

UNK SMULL > PETER SMULL > JOHNATHAN SMULL > SAIDEE SMULL m Curtis Williams

Minnesota State Fair, 1910

The general story of Saidee is told here.  Tragically, Curtis died at age 36 of typhoid after an illness of several weeks. Curtis and Saidie had gotten married in 1903 with all good in front of them. His parents were Mary Ann Smith and John W. Williams.

Married - At the house of the bride's mother, Sept 9th, at 8 o'clock, Miss Sadie Smull to Mr Curtis Williams both of this place. The bride is one our best young ladies and the groom is a prosperous young farmer living a few miles north of town. They leave Thursday for Freeport, Chicago, and other points to be gone for about a week. They have the best wishes of a host of friends.
Waverly Republican Waverly Iowa
Thursday, September 10, 1903

Curtis

Their first child, Rosalie, was born in 1904. Their second, "Maudie," arrived in 1906. His mother died in September 1907 and the Williams' moved to his parents farm and his sister, Mrs.Rosa (Julian) Moine, moved to Curtis & Saidee's farm. In 1908, they swapped back. They got all settled in when poor Curtis, who had been dealing with a carbuncle on his hand, lost his wallet with nearly $20 while working in his fields which was a big deal, and it was never recovered.

In September 1909, the popular young couple were surprised with a party hosted by their many friends. Things were going very well. A year later, in September 1910, the young couple decided to go to the Minnesota State Fair. They returned in mid-September and by mid-October, Curtis, and then Saidee, were suffering from typhoid fever.

Whether it was contracted during their travel to/from the fair isn't known, but only four people in Iowa had come down with the disease that month, the Williams' being two. 

After a several week struggle with the disease, the physician, Dr. Jay, and private nurse had no hope and Curtis died in the mid-morning on Tuesday, November 14, 1910. Saidee was so ill, the doctor and family did not want to further endanger her by telling her of his death. Saidee pulled through, but was unable to attend her husband's funeral. 

Several months later, the farm was sold. Saidee would move to Denver, Iowa, in 1928.

Clan William: Smith/Munson Family: Minor Discoveries

I've spent the last bit pouring over the newspapers now available through various small libraries here in Iowa. It's been exciting and illuminating. Solved mysteries. Added to the knowledge base I've accumulated in my new genealogy brain, and basically, allowed me to continue working without leaving my house!

So little is known about my 2nd great grandmother, Mary Ann Munson. She died quite young, at 51, but nowhere had I found any information about what happened. I had suspected cancer, but it could have been anything. I finally found this short item about her death in the Waverly newspaper:

One of the biggest mysteries thus far was the identity and relationship of William Custer Smith's second wife. After a fruitless search at courthouses in several counties, I discovered a small news item that said they had taken the train to yet another county to marry.Subsequent news items confirmed that she was the Alice Simmons I had suspected and is Mary Ann Munson's cousin through aunt Henrietta Munson Vaughn's side of the family.

W. C. seemed to be a popular guy, based on my notes from various items placed in the paper. In 1890, he had quite the birthday party.

The people of Plainfield and vicinity gathered at the home of Wm Smith last week Wednesday evening and gave him a surprise, it being his birthday. A fine hanging lamp and center table was presented to him, besides other presents.
Waverly Democrat, Waverly Iowa
Thursday, October 23, 1890

I had no idea that two of the Smith children had a double wedding! Eva and Harland married their respective spouses, Arthur Bryce and Fannie Magoon on August 21, 1881. The information was available, I just hadn't noticed until I saw the article! Eva only had Arthur five years before he died, but Harland and Fannie had 52 years together.

I watch "Who Do You Think You Are" pretty religiously and I think the celebrities that discover their family are always so stunned by how attached they become to these people they never met. I have the same feeling every day that I do this. Maybe that's why it's important.

Roy Boyd, Plainfield Merchant

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER > ELIZABETH BEAMS COOPER m Franklin Boyd > ROY BOYD m Bessie Hunter

Roy and Bessie

Roy Boyd was the second born son of Elizabeth Beams Cooper and her husband Franklin Boyd. He was born 15 Jan 1875 in Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois and came with his family to Bremer County, Iowa between 1882 and 1888.

Roy married Bertha Mae Hunter, daughter of Mr & Mrs HS Hunter on 01 Oct 1902 in Plainfield. Bessie had been born on 09 May 1881 in Low Moor in Clinton County.

The young couple was quite dashing and seemed to have a lot of fun together. They spent their entire married lives in Plainfield with the exception of one year spent in Janesville, Iowa. Like many of her lady fellows, she was a member of the Plainfield Camp of Royal Neighbors and belonged to the Plainfield Methodist Church.

Roy, like his father and brother, followed the mercantile trade and operated a store from his building on the west side of Main Street in Plainfield. In 1904, his wife Bessie contracted typhoid fever, which she survived after a lengthy recovery period. In 1907, they remodeled the living rooms at his store and moved in some time after. In 1910, they purchased the A. Larkin home and then resided there. The couple had no children.  There is reference that in 1927, Roy sold his land to Frank Scoles, but it's unknown if that was his home, other property, or his store building, which he had rented out for some years. Roy would fill in from time to time at Gottschalls store during the holidays during his last years.

Bessie died at her home in Plainfield on 28 Sep 1929. She was buried in Willow Lawn Cemetery.

Roy would carry on for five more years until he died as a result of a car accident 04 Jan 1934, which was directly caused by a blackout from diabetes, which he'd suffered from for many years.

James Cooper, Livery Man

WILLIAM COOPER > AMOS COOPER > WILLIAM LLOYD COOPER m Elizabeth Beams > JAMES COOPER m Clorinda Evans

You can read a little about the Coopers here.

Clorinda Evans

James Cooper was born in 1839 in Illinois to William Lloyd Cooper and his Kentucky wife, Elizabeth Beams. In 1871, he married Clorinda Evans, whom was called "Aunt Toad." She was born 20 Aug 1847 in York, Clark County, Illinois. Her parents were Willliam and Jane. Jane remarried after her husband's death to a gent name Stuck, who also preceded her in death.

The young couple located from Rock Grove, Stephenson County to Hutsonville, Crawford County for the 1870 census. They moved to Plainfield, Bremer County, then they located to Nashua, Chickasaw County, Iowa, just a few miles from Plainfield. James operated a livery and feed stable in Nashua for many years.

In 1900, the couple had a niece, Saidie Smull, living with them as a servant (Mary Jane and Johnathan Smull's daughter) as well as Clorinda's mother, Jane Stuck, in Nashua. In about 1902, he sold the business which was located in a barn just north of CW Taylor's garage and packed up his household, moving back to Plainfield. In 1905, the folks who purchased the livery auctioned off the livery property and assets. Even in retirement, James made the news:

"James Cooper is chock full of aches and pains today, the result of a little runaway yesterday. He was fitting a new harness onto his team and as the last tug was snapped, as there was nothing to hold them, they started out of the barn as they are in the habit of doing. Mr Cooper grabbed for the reins and caught one near the bit. But, they had started down the incline and pulled them right along until they got into the street when he was thrown down, one of the horses' hoofs striking him on the head and a wheel running over him. The team ran up the street west past the hotel until they reached Mrs Moody's residence, where they again turned, and by a narrow margin missed running into Mr Foster's milk wagon. The lines winding around one of the hubs pulled them down to a walk and Mr Foster captured them."

Nashua Reporter April 2, 1903

James and Clorinda were noted in the local paper as having received many visitors to their home. Sister Ann Cooper Thompson Hardy was a frequent visitor. James died after several years' illness on 08 Oct 1912 in Plainfield.

The couple had no children, but as mentioned in Clorinda's obituary, "She outlived her generation, there being no blood relatives, except perhaps distant cousins, but during her later years, she had had the kind care of those in the community related to her by marriage."

Clorinda died 29 Oct 1932 in Plainfield.

1899 Ad, Nashua Reporter

Clan William: Connecting the Story: More on the William Custer Smith Farm

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Mary Ann Munson m William Custer Smith

and...

Jacob Smith > William Custer Smith m Mary Ann Munson

You can read about my earlier discoveries about the farm of William Custer Smith, who settled at the edge of Butler/Bremer Counties, Iowa with wife Mary Ann Munson here and about his second, younger wife, Alice, here.

Kenn Deike

To summarize, WC Smith had 120 acres in Butler County just a mile west of Plainfield, Bremer County, where he farmed and resided starting in Oct 1866 when he bought the property from New Hampshire pioneer Amos Head, who was postmaster in Horton, Iowa in the late 1850s. Smith paid $800.00. I don't know if he built the family home or not. Amos may well have been the one to break prairie and improve the property for farming, but that will require more research.

In 1870, WC Smith lived in his home with his wife, mother Cathie, mentally handicapped older brother, Isaac, spinster sister Sarah Jane, and his eight kids.

Now let me tell you what I did yesterday. I found out who owned the property now, drove up to their house to get their permission to take photos, and instead got

The original deed with the signatures
of WC Smith's Children, including
notarized statement from daughter
Ella Smith Cunningham, who
lived in Moberly, Missouri
at the time of the sale

invited in (with no notice and not knowing who the heck I was), and spent a lovely morning looking through documents and photos.

Kenn and Mary Deike currently own the property that WC Smith farmed and live on a neighboring property. In December 1898, Kenn's great grandfather, Diedrich Deike, who came from Germany at 17, bought the Smith farm and it's remained in the Deike family for 119 years. One of his family members lives in the house currently on the site. The old farm house is long gone.

He just happened to have all the property documents on the table and we pulled them out and looked through them all. There, the story unfolded. Mary rounded up the family history/recipe book and shared the photos.

After Diedrich bought the house, they built a large barn. The remnants of that barn are still there. I believe there was a previous barn there when the Smith's lived there.

Kenn's grandfather Hugo farmed after his father. The farm photo below is probably very much like it looked when the Smith's were there. I would guess this photo was taken around 1910.

Hugo is third from left. The Diedrich & Minnie Deike family.

I learned a lot during my visit. Including the fact, that while WC Smith could fully support his large, extended family on the bounty of 120 acres, it would take thousands of acres to do the same today. The race track, which I mentioned in this post about son Harland Smith, was located about 3/4 of the way down the 120-acre track of land. The remnants of that are long gone.

What cannot be overstated is that even now, almost four years into my return to Iowa, I am constantly amazed by the generosity and kindness of Iowans.

The farm in early days and today

Wilhemina "Minnie" Deike and her Columbian Wyandottes

The land to the left is the former WC Smith acreage
The race track was down yonder

B&W photos courtesy of Kenn & Mary Deike
Color photos are mine

Recently discovered photo courtesy of Betty Smith Hahn Kelleher that may be the Smith home place original barn. I believe the two adults pictured are Walter Smith and his wife Isabelle Monteith, others unidentified.

Johnathan Smull: Florence Smull

PETER SMULL > JOHNATHAN SMULL > FLORENCE SMULL m Arthur Dwight Moore

Saidee, Florence, and Kate (seated) Smull

Florence was born 20 Jun 1883, in Bradford, Chickasaw County, Iowa. She married Arthur Dwight "A. D." Moore on 26 Apr 1906 in Plainfield, Bremer County. AD was the son of Alonzo "Lon" Moore and Louisa J. Peterson. Lon was a town marshall in Plainfield. He was asthmatic and died from complications of asthma.

AD Moore ran the corner grocery store in Plainfield until about 1945. The couple continued to live in the apartment over the store until Florence's death. A fire that ravaged downtown Plainfield in 1943 heat damaged the AD Moore building. AD was well-known in the community and a great booster for the town.

Florence died 19 Aug 1963. After her death, AD Moore moved to Fort Dodge where daughter Lois Beth Moore Lucken resided with her family. He died 23 Dec 1965 in Fort Dodge.

AD Moore and grandson

1.  Lois Beth:  Born 29 Dec 1912 in Plainfield. She graduated from Plainfield High School and Iowa State Teacher's College. She married James "Jim" Lucken on 20 Aug 1939 at the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa. Lois taught in various locations in Iowa and in Fort Dodge where the family settled. Jim was born 06 Feb 1906 to Tollef Jensen Lucken and Johanna Petersen Loberg. Jim graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and took post-graduate work at the Columbia University of Iowa. He was a public school superintendent. They had two sons. Lois died 12 Mar 2011 in Fort Dodge and Jim died 13 Apr 2004.

2. Lynniel Moore:  Born 23 Jul 1917 in Plainfield.  He graduated from the Iowa State Teacher's College Class of 1938. He served in the Army as a Corporal in WWII. He entered service on 23 Apr 1942 and returned from overseas 27 Feb 1945. He was discharged 06 Mar 1946. Lynniel worked in Des Moines and Iowa City. He then moved east. After working at the Passaic Public Library, he became the the director of the Plainfield Public Library in New Jersey in 1957.  Lynniel was also the Chairman of the Council of National Library Associations in the early to mid 1970s. Lynniel was a single man and died 12 Mar 1999 in Plainfield, New Jersey.

Johnathan Smull Family: Viola Geneva Smull

PETER SMULL > JOHNATHAN SMULL > VIOLA GENEVA SMULL m Charles Walter Gritzner

Young Viola

Viola was born 06 Aug 1871 in Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois. Viola came with her family to Bradford, Iowa in 1876 and then to Plainfield after the death of her father. She married Charles Walter "C.W." Gritzner on 01 Jun 1892 in Bremer County, Iowa. C. W. was born 31 Jan 1868 in Butler County, Iowa to August and Theresa Gritzner. They were German immigrants.

C.W. was a poultry man and in his last years, working at the Plainfield Egg House, where he was stricken ill. He died at his home on 30 Apr 1931. The couple had two boys and four girls. Viola died in Marion, Iowa, in the home of her son John, of a cerebral hemorrhage 21 Nov 1947.

1. Charles Augustus "Carl": Born 23 Dec 1892 in Plainfield, he married Hazel Norine Jones on 05 Apr 1919 in Nashua, Chickasaw County. He died 10 Dec 1980 in Charles City, Floyd County and she 17 Nov 1981 in Plainfield.  Carl was a rural postal carrier and veteran of World War I. In 1947, his patrons gave him a holiday gift of $52 for his faithful service. They had four children.

2. Johnathan L.:  Born in 1894, he married Gertrude Wade on 15 Jun 1921 in Plainfield. They lived in Waterloo until 1933 and then moved to Marion, Iowa until John retired, then moved to Onalaska, Wisconsin. John died in 1988 and Gertrude died 29 Feb 1976 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. They had one child.

3. Blanche: Born 03 Aug 1896 in Plainfield. She went out to the work world after graduation from Plainfield high school, scoring a job as assistant postmistress for Plainfield and then as assistant cashier at the Farmer's State Bank. She worked her way up to cashier and took a transfer to the Sumner, Iowa branch, where she met Harold G. Garland, an assistant bookkeeper at the Wescott & Winks Produce Plant. They married 02 Nov 1927 in Sumner. She converted to Catholicism to marry. Harold died in 1947 and Blanche in Nov 1959. They had one child.

4. Anne "Annie" Maud: Born 18 Jun 1898 in Plainfield. She married Merle Eugene Smith on 31 Dec 1924 in Plainfield. They had no children. Merle briefly operated a barber shop out of the east side of C. Beine's building in Nashua in the mid-1920s. They moved to Waterloo shortly after their marriage and Merle would work as an engineer at the city water works in Waterloo, Black Hawk County. Merle died 16 Jul 1956 and Annie moved to live with her sister Blanche. She died in Sumner on 28 Jun 1959. They had no children.

5. Florence Amelia "Babe":  Born 25 Aug 1900 in Plainfield. She never married, She started out teaching in Emmetsburg. She moved on to Cedar Rapids in 1929, where she was later principal of Tyler and then appointed at Hayes school in Cedar Rapids in 1943. She was long-time principal of Lincoln School there from 1948-1960, when she resigned to move nearer to Plainfield. She visited England at least twice, once as an exchange teacher in 1947-1948. In 1969, at the death of her sister Blanche, she was living in Sumner. She died on 04 Apr 1995 in Los Angeles County, California. Her sister Hilda was living in Covina.

Of note is that a study she did while working in Cedar Rapids in 1957 made it onto the newswire. The study involved conflict between parents and children. It bears a read!

6. Hilda Becthel: Born 06 Mar 1910 in Plainfield. She married Alfred Herman Kinzler. Alfred hailed from Wisconsin, where he was born 19 May 1908, the son of Dr. Albert Kinzler and Zena Huisenga Hilda attended the Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls. She taught music in Osage and later in Waterloo. They had one daughter and four sons, all of whom had beautiful singing voices. Their oldest son was selected to join the Columbus, Ohio, Boychoir in 1950 and sang with them for at least two years. Albert worked at Rath Packing Co. in Waterloo. After their retirement, they moved to Covina, Los Angeles County, California. Alfred died 20 Apr 1983 and Hilda was the last remaining Gritzner kid, dying 27 Dec 1999 in Covina.

Waterloo Daily Courier June 17, 1951

Peter Smull Family: Sgt Jonathan Smull

PETER SMULL > JOHNATHON SMULL m Mary Jane Cooper

Click image to enlarge

My 2nd Great Grandfather. Johnathan Cooper was the eighth of 12 children born to Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner. He was born in 1834 in Centre County, Pennsyvlania and came to Stephenson County, Illinois with his parents in the 1850s.  John married Mary Jane Cooper, daughter of William Lloyd Cooper and Elizabeth Beams, 06 May 1860 in Monroe, Wisconsin, making this the second Cooper/Smull connection. Mary Jane's sister Ann's daughter Lorena Thompson married Samuel Smull, John's brother.

John was a sergeant during the Civil War, serving a year with the 147th Illinois Infantry Regiment. The regiment was organized at Camp Fry, Chicago, for a year on 18 Feb 1865 and were attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Separate Division, District of Etowah, Department of the Cumberland to July 1865 and to the Dept of Georgia to January, 1866. They saw service primarily in Georgia, including skirmishes with guerillas and regular soldiers for the next several months. They then returned to Springield, Illinois in January 1866 and John was discharged on 08 Feb 1866. The regiment lost three enlisted to battle/injuries and 31 to disease.

Johnathan Smull and Mary Jane Cooper

Since they had just started their family with two children before he left for war, they continued adding upon his return, adding six more, all born in Stephenson County, except the last three, who were born in Chickasaw County, Iowa. John owned 80 acres in Dakota, Stephenson County in 1866, which he sold prior to leaving for their next adventure. The Smull's moved to Chickasaw County in 1876 to farm in the Bradford area. According to his death record at the Chickasaw County Courthouse, John would die at age 51 on 16 Oct 1885 of a chronic intestinal enlargement of the liver for which he was treated by Dr. J. D. Horton. Dr. Horton indicated the condition was longer in duration than the last treatment period. Mary would move the family into Plainfield in neighboring Bremer County.

An older Elizabeth Beams Cooper,
mother of Mary Jane Cooper Smull

She cared for her elderly mother, Elizabeth Beams Cooper until her mother's death in June of 1897 in Plainfield. Mary Jane would die in Plainfield 14 Feb 1905 after a long illness.

The Smulls had eight children, including my great grandmother Katherine Mabel "Kate" Smull. The children of John and Mary Jane would play a significant role in the community and life of the small town of Plainfield for the next hundred years.

Listing the children, who will each be profiled at some point are:

1. Ulyssus: 1863, Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois to bet 1881-1885 in Chickasaw County, Iowa. There are no dates on his grave. He is listed in the 1880 US Census but not the Iowa 1885 Census. There is no death record for him in Chickasaw County. 

2. Franklin Sylvester: 06 Mar 1865, Rock Grove to 12 Jul 1904 in Plainfield.

3. Jennie Elnora: 27 Jul 1869, Rock Grove to 09 May 1956 in Iowa. She would also connect withe the Jacob Smith family heretofore mentioned many times.

4. Viola Geneva: 06 Aug 1871, Rock Grove to 21 Nov 1947.

5. Katherine Mabel "Katie: 27 Sep 1873, Rock Grove to 04 Mar 1956, Waverly, Bremer, Iowa. Kate would also marry into the Jacob Smith line.

6. Saidee L.: 11 Jan 1877, Bradford, Chickasaw County, Iowa to 02 May 1962, Denver, Bremer, Iowa.

7. Florence: 20 Jun 1883, Bradford to 19 Aug 1963.

8. Amy: Dates unknown, died as infant/young child.

John Smull, Civil War Veteran and wife Mary Jane Cooper Smull
Son Ulysses' stone is next to his mother's
Greenwood Cemetery, Nashua, Iowa

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.

Personal Interview: When an Interview Flops!

Where the Smiths-Smulls First Collide
James Smith & Jennie Smull Wedding
My interview subject's grandparents

JACOB SMITH > JAMES SMITH > JACOB SMITH > JAMES SMITH

PETER SMULL > JOHNATHAN SMULL > JENNIE ELNORA SMULL

I had traced a woman, who was still living and in her 90s, AND was willing to talk to me after a brief phone call. She is related to me on both the Jacob SMITH and Jonathan SMULL sides of the family so I thought this was going to be a major score. The trip would be 300 miles round trip to the southwest part of the state and would take an entire day of my copious free time.

I arrived and was let into their home by their 69-year-old son who I'm sure wanted to be there to ensure I wasn't an ax murderer. The couple I would speak to were both from the Plainfield area originally and lived there from the 1920s through the 1940s with stops in Cedar Falls and Ames. They maintained close ties to their extended family and the town where they started. They settled in another small Iowa town, where he worked as a large animal vet. The Dr., though a couple years older, seemed to have better recall than his wife.

The problem was that the Mrs.was lost in specific stories, which she repeated verbatim throughout the time I was there and then asked me repeatedly who I was and who I was related to. It reminded me a great deal of conversations I had with my great grandmother as she slipped in and out on a dime into her Alzheimer's ravaged mind.

Jennie Smull & James Smith
She is my great grandmother's sister.
That looks like a wedding cake
for an anniversary
but then look none too happy, do they? 

Her recollections and storytelling ability were naught. The Dr. was able to fill in some blanks and I was able to pull some information out of him without too much effort, but it had entirely shifted the focus of the interview. And, they were lovely and gracious people, I'd just arrived 10-15 years too late.

I spent about an hour there and got a few little nuggets on them, but little else. With the exception of a photocopy of a photo that ended up making this 300-mile trek part of the discovery of 2016 for me. I'm not going to publish that here yet.

They handed me a sheet of paper with a photo of my entire family - my great grandparents and all of  their kids, including my grandmother. It was taken, it appears, in the late 1920s  and is the only photo in existence that includes all of them. I'd never seen Edwin Smith, my great grandfather, nor Mary, who I've written about here before. And, now I've seen them.

After I left there, I traveled back towards home, but veered even further north and went to the Willow Lawn Cemetery in Plainfield. I'd been there once before, early in my genealogy work, and took selective photos of those I knew were related. I had no idea where the journey would end up taking me then and went home with a few dozen photos.

This time, I walked the cemetery again and again focused only on those I knew were related to me and it took 2.5 hours to take all the hundreds of photos.

I'll not look at this as a wasted day.

MysteryMuddle: The Many Marriages of Marie/Mary Adaline Smith

William Custer SMITH > Edwin SMITH > Marie/Mary Adaline Smith
Johnathan SMULL > Kate SMULL > Marie/Mary Adaline Smith

This was a lesson I needed to learn. Even though a story all fits together with available records, there may be way more to the story. There are lots of sources to cull from. And those side sources can hold the key to the mystery.

Marie Adaline Smith, who went by Mary much of her life, was the first born of Edwin Smith and Kate Smull, born 04 Oct 1890 in Plainfield, Bremer County, Iowa. According to the records I could find two years ago when I first started this endeavor, her first marriage didn't occur until some time before 1939 to a Greek gent. And, her obituary clearly stated she was married to a "D. L. Elbert" at the time of her death This was a typo.

After putting all the records together, I interviewed my 89 year old uncle who has a pretty amazing memory. At the time I interviewed him, he referred to "D. L. Albert" as "someone Mary knew from when she was younger."

Recently, I had started going through all the Nashua Reporter newspaper gossip columns for Plainfield that included both "Smull" and "Smith" entries when I ran across a couple of important items that reopened the book on the mysterious Mary:

Mary Hoard of Rolfe, is here to visit her parents, Mr & Mrs Edwin Smith over the holidays.
Nashua Reporter December 22, 1910

Hoard? Where did that come from? Eventually, I was able to track down a marriage record from 04 Feb 1908 in Bremer County. Her groom was Edwin Church HOARD of Rolfe, Iowa. And, then a news item:

E C Hoard, of Rolfe, Iowa, and Miss Mary Smith of this place, were married on Tuesday of last week. They left immediately for Rolfe. Miss Smith has been our central girl in the telephone office for the past year and her many young friends will miss her.
Nashua Reporter February 13, 1908  

While living in Pocohontas County, they divorced - some time between 1915-1923. I found another news item that gave me a clue to where she went next:

Mrs Mary Alberts who has been here visiting her mother, Mrs Edwin Smith, went to Nashua Saturday to spend a few days with her sisters, Mrs Andy Beckage and Mrs Glenn Scoles.
Nashua Reporter April 12, 1923, pg 2

What? She didn't marry D. L. Albert until after the next husband I knew about. But, other news items

indicated that maybe I needed to rethink. I found a 1930 census with D. L. Albert and wife Mary living in Pocohontas County. That was them.

They apparently also got divorced and some time before 1939, Mary married Peter Burgos. Peter. Burgos was born in Foruna, Greece, and was co-owner of the Metropole cafe in Isabella County, Michigan. I still haven't figured out how they managed to meet, but marry they did and live in Michigan, they did. Peter died in 1943 at the age of 48.

Mrs Peter Burgos of Mt Pleasant, MI, is spending a few days with her mother, Mrs Kate Smith. Mrs Burgos was called here because of the death of her father, Edwin Smith.
Nashua Reporter January 18, 1939

So, what caused her to end up with Donald Lee Albert again?  Did they marry or did they just live together? I once again called my uncle and asked him to listen to my theory and confirm it. He did. And they did marry again legally, though I could not locate the record. 

Mary and "Lee" lived in Yreka, California when Mary got cancer. She had a full-time nurse who accompanied the body by train when Mary died on 19 Apr 1949. Lee wasn't well enough to make the trip. My uncle was one of her pallbearers. Lee died 09 Nov 1949 and was buried in Yreka.

Married four times, she had no children. She was married before my grandmother, her sister, was even born. I've never seen her photo and don't know that anyone has one. My dad and uncles would have been very young when she died and didn't know her either. She is the only of my grandmother's 10 brothers and sisters who survived infancy I don't at least have some recollection of. The last of her siblings died well before my children were even born. I felt like even though we'll never know her whole story, at least in this way, we can remember something of her where she would have been lost to history.

Dead men tell no tales - nor, apparently, do dead women, but the Nashua Reporter gossip column lives on to help tell the story of each of its residents. And thankfully, so does my uncle.