Me. Here. Right Now.: Samuel Smull

Showing posts with label Samuel Smull. Show all posts

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Civil War in Stephenson County, Illinois

Battle of Fort Donelson

Franklin Boyd

I was recently going through some muster rolls for various Illinois Infantry Regiments and noticed that the bulk of our relatives served in one of two places: in the earlier part of the war, many of the family joined up with Co B, 46th Illinois Infantry. It was a kick-butt regiment that saw a lot of action. It fought at Ft Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, and the Siege of Vicksburg, among other battles.

It was organized in 1861 at Camp Butler, Illinois and mustered out in January 1866 at Baton Rouge, La. The company was discharged two weeks later in early February 1866. The original 3-year enlistment of these men expired in 1864. The government asked them to voluntarily reenlist. It met with great success:

"With the initial three-year enlistment of the Regiment about to expire, the Government issued General Order number 191, relating to the re-enlisting of Veteran Volunteers. This was to be a voluntary re-enlistment, and with the enthusiastic support of the officers and noncoms, three-fourths of the 46th Illinois Volunteer Infantry signed up on January 4, 1864, for another three years or less, depending on how long the war was to last. The re-enlisted Regiment now numbered twenty officers and three hundred and thirty four enlisted men, who were embarked on a steamer headed north. They reached Freeport, Illinois on January 23, where they proudly marched through the town to a hall where the citizens gave them a big reception and dinner. After the festivities ended, they marched out to the fairgrounds west of town, where they were given a 30-day furlough.

Having made a name for itself, the 46th Illinois was able to attract new volunteers to join the ranks. Recruiting offices were set up in Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, and Stephenson counties, hoping to bring the Regiment back to full strength by the end of the leave. On March 2, 1864, the Regiment left Freeport with a total of nine hundred eighty-seven men, heading south." http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/cw46-hist.html

Included in this bevy of soldiers from both the original group and the later additions were the following family members:

Private Franklin Boyd (married Elizabeth Beams Cooper, youngest daughter of William Lloyd & Elizabeth Beams Cooper)

Capt Robert Cooper
Private Amos J Cooper (son of John L. Cooper and Asenath Maples)
Captain Robert F Cooper (son of Chalkley Jared Cooper and Margaret Thompson)
Private George Washington Cooper (son of John L Cooper and Asenath Maples)
Private Jonathan E. Thompson (son of Robert Thompson and Susannah Gourley).
Private Robert Scott Thompson (son of Robert Thompson and Susannah Gourley. Two of their children married Coopers)
Private Peter Wagner (son of William Wagner, brother to Mary Waggoner, wife of Peter Smull)
Private Jacob N Kryder (brother-in-law to Catherine Smull, daughter of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)
Private Jacob Lauck (brother-in-law to Emma Meyer Lauck, granddaughter of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)

Another Thompson, Private John A. "Jack" Thompson, brother to Johnathan E. and Robert Scott Thompson, served in Co A of the 11th Illinois Infantry and died in battle at Fort Donelson in February 1862.

The other Stephenson County-heavy company with several family members, was Company E, 147th Illinois Infantry. It was organized late in the war, at the beginning of February 1865 and was mustered out in late January 1866 They had a brief fighting history and mostly engaged in minor skirmishes and engaged with guerrillas.

Sgt John Smull

Sgt Johnathan Smull (son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)
Private Samuel Smull (son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner)
Private Barton Gourley Cooper (son of Chalkley Jared Cooper & Margaret Thompson)
Private Alfred Kaup (his daughter Minnie Kaup married Chalkley Jared "Jay" Cooper, Jr.)

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The USC Trojans: Willis Smull's Children

PETER SMULL > SAMUEL SMULL m LORENA THOMPSON > WILLIS LEON "LEE" SMULL m Bessie Cox

1132 W 36th Pl, Los Angeles
The address is now an apartment building, but was a house
like the one to the right of the apartment complex

A while back, we talked about how the lines of the various family intersected. Lee's parents were an intersection of the Coopers and the Smulls, both major lines of my genealogy. Lee and Bessie farmed in South Dakota for several years, then moved into town to ensure their children got a good education. After Lee's untimely death from surgical complications in 1921, the family moved to Los Angeles, California. They lived at 1132 W 36th Place in Los Angeles, just blocks from the USC campus.

Lee and Bessie's four kids thrived in California. At least three of them graduated from USC in Los Angeles and all had successful careers. The two daughters never married.

Marlyn Smull and Carol Sharpe

Marlyn Archie Smull was born 21 Apr 1901 in Clark County, South Dakota. He married Carol Ophelia Sharpe on 30 Nov 1927 in Clark County. She was born 11 Aug 1902 in Clark County. While still in South Dakota, he attended Dakota Wesleyan, where he took part in football and basketball, band (piccolo), was on the debate team and belonged to the literary society.

Once in California, Marlyn attended USC and graduated with a degree in Commerce in 1925. During his time at USC, he was a faithful and devoted member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and stayed deeply involved with the fraternity for his lifetime. After his marriage, he was employed by the Adohr Creamery. In 1931, he was assistant route superintendent. He then began teaching school, spending a year teaching at Compton High School. He then took a position teaching at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where he advised the Sigma Phi Epsilon's. Eventually, he returned to California and moved to San Bernardino, where he taught at CSU-San Bernardino for the remainder of his career. He and his wife had no children. He died 07 May 1977 in San Bernardino and she died 20 Jul 1990 in San Diego County.

Mary Lorene (left)
Mary's co-author and landlord, Dr Gladys Vail (right)

Mary Lenore Smull was born 18 Jul 1902 in Clark County. She graduated from USC in 1926, her specialty being a dietician. She spent ten years after graduation working as director of dietetics at Methodist Hospital. In the late 1930s, she moved on to Kansas State University in Manhattan, where she directed campus cafeteria operations. While there, she with Dr. Gladys E Vail, authored School Lunches for Kansas Children, published in 1944. She also boarded with Dr. Vail during her time in Kansas.

She eventually returned to California and took a position as dietitian at South Bay Hospital in Redondo Beach. She also co-chaired an effort in the Southland to create a "Dial a Dietitian" so citizens could ask diet/food/health questions. That service started in 1964. Mary retired to the Chula Vista area, where Lois and Myron lived, and died in Bonita, San Diego County, 04 Apr 1999.

Myron at USC

Lois L Smull was born 08 Sep 1906 in Clark County. I'm not sure where she went to school, but couldn't find alumni info on her at USC. She was a bookkeeper by trade and prior to 1959 had been bookkeeper at the Fredericks Nursing Home and later at the Pacific Homes in Burbank. She retired to the Chula Vista area, where brother Myron and sister Mary lived. She died 10 May 1991 in Chula Vista.

Myron Leon Smull was born 14 Nov 1907 in Clark County. He graduated from with a physical education degree from USC in 1932 and got his teaching certificate and taught at Taft in Perris, California in 1935 in secondary education. He also received advanced degrees from USC in education and administration.While there, he suffered a broken leg while playing a night baseball game at a local diamond. By 1941, he was teaching at Sweetwater High School and by 1944 was assistant district superintendent of attendance. His early years he also assistant coached a number of sports. He married Wilda French and had two sons, Michael and Robert.

Older Myron

In 1946, he became principal of Southwest Junior High and principal of Mar Vista High School in 1955. He retired in 1969. He was also very involved in the community and served in many capacities including being was past president of South Bay Kiwanis Club; board member of Imperial Beach Boys Club; board member, Imperial Beach Parks and Recreation Commission; honorary life member, Mar Vista PTA; member of South Shores California Retired Teacher Association; San Diego County Officials Association; National Educators' Association; Sweetwater Education Association; the Accreditation Committee for Western Assocation of Schools and Colleges and past member of Southwest Lodge No 283, F&AM.

He died in a hospital at age 66 on 04 Dec 1974 in San Diego County. His wife remarried in 1979 to John L White. Wilda died 01 Sep 1992 in San Diego County.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Smull Family Stories

Peter Smull, was one of three brothers of German descent who settled in Centre County, Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Peter, a stone mason like brothers Henry and Jacob, eventually moved to Stephenson County, Illinois in the 1850s.

I believe I've confirmed these brothers were all children of Johan Peter Schmoll and Juliana Sarah Mueller.

FROM THE REST OF THE LINE

JESSE SMULL

Brothers Smull: Jesse Smull
Jesse Smull: Henry Bergey Smull
Jesse Smull Family: James Bergey Smull
Jesse Smull Family: John Francis Smull, DDS
James Bergey Smull Family: Judson Gray Smull, Jr.
James Bergey Smull Family: Jesse McGarvey Smull

WAGNER FAMILY

The Waggoner's of Centre County: William Wagner

William Joseph "Bill" Wagner, Professional Baseball Player

THE "OTHER" SMULL FAMILY

There is also a family of Smulls descended from Andrew Smull (1765-1818) who are often mixed in with "our" Smulls. While they followed a similar trajectory in pioneering, they are not from the same direct lineage. Still, some of them keep cropping up - and not in a good way.

The OTHER Smull Family, Pt 1 (Madam Della)
The OTHER Smull Family, Pt 2 (Robber Roy Smull)

Monday, December 12, 2016

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

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Peter Smull Family: Samuel Smull of South Dakota

PETER SMULL > SAMUEL SMULL m Lorena Thompson

(Click on the image to increase the size)

Lorena' mother
Anna Cooper Thompson Hardy
in Iowa

The Coopers and the Smulls of Stephenson County, Illinois, connected in multiple ways over the generations. Samuel Smull was the son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner who resided in Centre County, Pennsylvania until they moved to Stephenson County, Illinois in the 1850s. Samuel was born 27 May 1840 in Centre County. On 20 Aug 1866, he married Lorena Thompson, daughter of Ann Cooper and her first husband, Daniel Thompson in Mitchell County, Iowa.

The young Smull family settled, along with other Smulls, in the 1860s in Chickasaw and Bremer Counties. Samuel and wife lived in Bradford, now a deserted town in Chickasaw County swallowed up by the larger Nashua, Iowa. Samuel served as a private in the 147th Regiment of the Illinois Infantry for a year (1865-1866) during the Civil War. In 1870, his farm land in Bradford area was valued at $4,000. In 1880, he was in very nearby Polk Township in Bremer County farming. Along with thousands of those lured by the call of cheap land, the Smulls moved to South Dakota in about 1884, residing at the time of the 1900 census in Richland Township. They homesteaded on section 30 SW.

Not a lot is known about them during their time there, but they did manage to make it into a couple of news items in the early 1900s:

Mesdames Almeda Herbst and Samuel Smull, from South Dakota, and Mrs MJ Smull of Plainfield came to the latter place Monday evening and have been visiting at Jas. Cooper's.
Nashua Reporter June 27, 1901
===
The James Williams family, John Bateen, and Mr & Mrs Smull ate turkey at See William's last Thursday.
Huron Journal World Spirit December 3, 1908
===.
Sam Smull has been under the weather for a couple of days.
Huron Journal World Spirit December 17, 1908

Sam died 06 Nov 1919 in Grand Island, Nebraska. The entire family had been en route to California when Sam fell ill. They removed him from the train at Grand Island and sent him to the hospital, where he died almost immediately. The family returned to Clark, SD with the remains for burial. His wife Lorena preceded him 07 Jun 1918.

Their two sons, Bertrum W and Willis Leon "Lee" farmed in South Dakota on the land in section 30 SW after their parents retired and moved to town. Bert was born in Aug 1873 and Lee was born 28 Dec 1874 in Iowa.

Bert married Nellie Blanche Irwin on 13 Sep 1914 in Kingsbury, South Dakota. She was born on 14 Aug 1886 in Webster, Day, South Dakota. They had one son, Byron Eugene, born 16 Oct 1915 in South Dakota. Byron died 12 Apr 1983 in El Sereno, Los Angeles County, California. We know little about Byron other than he served in World War II, having enlisted with two friends from where he worked at Lockheed*.

According to Bert's Find-a-Grave 133565997, "While on the farm Lee and Bert operated a threshing machine every fall. Bert Smull married Nellie Irwin who was a clerk in the C. W. Chambers store in Carpenter. After Bert and Nellie were married, they lived on the farm and later moved to a farm north east of Clark, where they lived until Bert's death in the early 1920's. Nellie and son, Byron moved then to Calif. Nellie was blind for many years before her death."

Bert died 09 Apr 1926 in Codington, South Dakota and Nellie died in Los Angeles County on 15 Sep 1973.

Lee married Elizabeth Emma "Bessie" Cox on 22 Nov 1899 in South Dakota. Bessie was born 14 Jan 1876 in New York. They had four children, Marlyn Archie, Mary Lorene, Lois, and Myron. Those kids are pretty interesting and will have a later post of their own. Education for the children seemed of the utmost importance to the couple. They would all attend college in South Dakota and later in California. Lee died from surgical complications on 22 Oct 1921 in Mitchell, South Dakota. His wife moved to California with the family after his death and died in Los Angeles County on 27 Nov 1944.The best tale comes from the obituary for Lee and outlines the lives of the Smulls:

* - Information from Ancestry member PEGGYSUEOGNE about her father, Edgar Vincent Nelson: "
ARMY INDUCTION Fort MacArthur, San Pedro, CA He had been a Foreman at Lockheed Aircraft; he enlisted with his two friends Ronnie Blanchard and Byron Smull 30 July 1944

Friday, March 18, 2016

Mystery Muddle: The Children of Peter Smull

Help Solve the Mystery

This is a continuation of the remaining mysteries of the Peter Smull line. His parentage is still a mystery and you can read about it here.

Peter Smull married Mary Waggoner (who are her parents, she asked?), most likely in Centre County, Pennsylvania before 1830. John Waggoner was the father and she had a brother William.

In searching through the cobbled together bits and pieces of various census and news articles, I've been able to identify 11 of the reported 12 children of the couple.

Catherine Smull b 1822 Centre Co. Penn; d 1876 Rock Run, Stephenson, IL m 1842, Pennsylvania; William Kryder, son of John and Susanna Keun, b 1821 in Pennsylvania; d 1902 Dakota, Stephenson, IL. He remarried after her death to Sarah Crock. I've located six children: James Henry, Lydia, Mary Elizabeth, John J, Susannah Elmira, and Norman.

Sarah Ann Smull b 1822 Centre Co Penn; d 1892 Dakota, Stephenson, IL m date UNK David Kryder, son of John and Susanna Keun, b 1823 Pennsylvania; d 1889 Dakota, Stephenson, IL. One child: Samuel (1856-1864)

Mary Smull b 1824 Centre Co Penn; d 1908 Dakota, Stephenson, IL m (1) John Meyer 1844, Pennsylvania, d 1848; One child: Jacob. m (2) George Frantz 1849, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1822 in Pennsylvania and died 1889 in Dakota, Stephenson, Illinois. Three Frantz children: Anna, Henry T and George McClellan (moved to Canada and pioneered in Starbuck, Manitoba.

UNKNOWN SMULL MALE. Believe this son was born between 1826-1830 based on back-tracing the 1830 and 1840 Peter Smull Census.

I'm trying to dissect the various Smulls in Stephenson County to deduce who this man was. If you have information that will help solve this mystery, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Matilda Rebecca SMULL b 1828, Centre Co Penn; d 1915 Stephenson Co, Illinois; m Daniel Meyer, 1851, Miles, Centre Co, Penn; son of Henry Meyer and Hannah Bierly, b 1831 Centre Co Penn; d Dakota, Stephenson, Illinois. I've located nine children: Sarah A, Dora Hannah, Newton Henry, Thomas Ephriam, John Franklin, Peter David, Emma Jane, Effie Susan, and Mary

Julia Ann Smull b 1830 Centre Co, Penn; d 1912 Dakota, Stephenson, Illinois m 1847, Penn; (1) John Haas, son of David Haas and Barbara Mitterling. b 1832 Juniata Co Penn; d 1881 Stateline, Vilas, Wisc., one daughter, Ida, died a spinster, 1938 m bef 1889 (2) UNK Miller

Peter L Smull, SR b abt 1833, Centre Co Penn; d 13 Sep 1900, Dakota, Stephenson Co; Ill at the home of his sister Matilda; m 1861 Rebecca Cronoble (this may have translated from Grenoble and been listed as Grenoble in Pennsylvania); three sons b abt 1835 d UNK probably Stephenson Co, Ill.

Peter is a bit of a mystery. He's referenced in the local paper once in a while and at least for a time, worked as a shoemaker, but he remains a big question mark.
His first child Peter L Jr doesn't seem to have lived with his parents. In 1860 he was living with grandparents Peter and Mary and in 1860, he was a 12-year-old living in the household of Simon & Rebecca Rote in Lancaster, Ill. I would guess as a hired hand.
Second son, Oscar Samuel is with his parents in 1870 and in 1880, when he was 18 and a farm hand for CA and Sarah Sullivan.
No records exist for Rebecca Cronoble (possibly Grenoble) either, other than as referenced parent on various documents related to the children. No death record is available for her or Peter L Sr
The last news item related to this Peter is in 1900. He is not listed as a survivor on his sister Mary Frantz's obituary from 1908, so I would peg his death at sometime between 1900 and 1908. *Update (2/28/2017): I found an obscure reference to his death on 13 Sep 1900 in a Rockford newspaper gossip column. He died at the home of his sister Matilda Meyer in Dakota.

Johnathan Smull b 1834 Centre Co Penn; d 1885 Bradford, Chickasaw Co, Ia; m 1860 Monroe, Wisc Mary Jane Cooper, daughter of William Lloyd Cooper and Elizabeth Beams, b 1842 Rock Grove, Stephenson Co, Ill; d 14 Feb 1905; Plainfield, Bremer, Ia. They had eight children: Ulysses (died as a young man), Franklin Sylvester, Jennie Elnora, Viola Geneva, Katie Mabel, Saidee L, Florence, and Amy, who died as an infant/young child.

Adam Smull b 1836 Centre Co Penn; d 1868 Stephenson, Ill; m 1859 Green Co Wisc; Mary Moses; b 1836 Penn; d 1929 Dakota, Stephenson, Ill. Mary and Adam had no children. She did not remarry.

Samuel Smull b 1840 Centre Co Penn; d 1919 Clark, South Dakota; m 1866 Mitchell, Ia; Lorena Thompson; daughter of Daniel Thompson and Ann Cooper; b 1850 Illinois; d 1918 Clark, South Dakota. They had two sons, Betran and Leon Willis.

Henry Smull b 1842 Cente Co Penn; d 1900 Macon, Macon, Ill; m 1864 Stephenson, Ill; Elizabeth "Lizzie" Smith; b 1846 Stephenson, Ill; d 1933 Decatur, Macon, Ill. He had six children: William W, Henry Arthur, Bertha C (never married), Elizabeth "Lizzie" Plummer, Charles E, and Pet (who died in infancy).

Charlotte Amanda Smull b 1844 Miles, Centre, Penn; d 1883 Dakota, Stephenson, Ill. Charlotte was classified as an "idiot" and lived with her parents and finally with sister Julia and husband John Haas until her death.

I'd be very glad to have people poke holes in this theory of descendancy. And, if you have other information, I'm dying to get all the mysteries solved from the seat at my desk because it's not likely I'll ever get to Centre County!