Sideroad: The Preston Family

Matthew Preston

Jacob Smith > James Smith (and after that, it gets murky)

I find that sometimes, I get distracted when working on a specific line or family. Something outside of the direct line catches my fancy. This would be a case in point.

Matthew PRESTON founded the small town of Preston, Grant County, Wisconsin. He was an early settler there, having arrived from Yorkshire, England in 1851. His first wife, Elizabeth Little, also of Yorkshire, bore him seven children. Two of those boys, James Woodward PRESTON and John Thomas PRESTON, married two Monteith sisters, Martha and Mary Agnes, respectively.

They were daughters of Edward Boyd MONTEITH and feed into my line. EB Monteith's daughter Elizabeth married Jacob Smith, his daughter Jessie married Jacob's brother, Alexander, and his daughter Isabelle married Walter Smith, William Custer Smith's son  (my 2d great grandfather) and nephew to Jacob and Alexander. That's clear now, right?

Young Edwin Wesley Preston

Anyway - back to the PRESTON family. Matthew's first wife died in 1865. He headed back to England and brought back his new bride, Abigail Jane Heseltine, whom he married in 1868. In 1870, the Preston's moved to Platteville, Wisconsin. They too had seven children. Matthew donated 120 acres of land to Platteville for what was then Platteville Normal College what was later known as the University Farm. And this is where I took a major sideroad.

One of their sons, Edwin Wesley Preston, skeedaddled out of the area and little was found on him except the usual documents. He looked, on the surface, to be the least interesting of the set of seven kids of Abigail. How wrong could I be? He was not in the news much, but he was a one of the powerhouses behind what got reported.

He married the former Mabel Peck in 1900. They had no children.

According to a report from the Boston Herald on 20 Dec 1941, his story went a little like this:

Corinthian Club

He graduated from Wisconsin State Teacher's College but he had no interest in teaching; business was more of his forte. He was involved in a number of commercial enterprises in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere, when he came to Boston in 1913. He was connected to a group of New England publishers, representing their newspapers in the national advertising field. In 1915, his work was brought to the attention of James H. Higgins, at that time the publisher of the Herald-Traveler where he began working in their automotive advertising section. Before long, he was the advertising director.

As the Boston Herald-Traveler broadened its success, he became the general manager of the paper in 1927. He continued the success of the publication and it was said he, "disclaimed personal credit, saying it was much more due to those who worked so loyally in co-operation with him."

246 Beacon St Boston

His home in Boston was located at 246 Beacon Street a block from the Charles River. They had three servants to run the large brownstone. Edwin was a member of Boston's Algonquin Club, which was founded in 1886 by individuals who valued "accomplishment over inherited status." He was also a member of the Corinthian Yacht Club and other clubs throughout Boston.

From 1929 to 1937, he took several trips to Europe and more tropical locations aboard passenger liners. He also spent time in Florida, a warm alternative to California. Sometimes with his wife, and after her death in 1935, with other family members. Sometime around the time of Mabel's death, his niece, Ruth Tiffany, came to Boston and looked after her uncle and ran his household. I'm hoping to learn more on Ruth's life in Boston soon.

In 1940, he was forced by ill health to give up the active reigns of the Herald Traveler. He moved to Beverly Hills, California, where he died 19 Dec 1941. He died a very wealthy man and I believe a chunk of it ended up going to Ruth Tiffany. Look for a coming post that will discuss the Tiffany's of Hollister, California.

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.

Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Quackery

Abner Gile, Millionaire Lumber Man

I was doing some research the other day, and ran across a person who is connected to a line I'm related to only by marriage, but who's family had enough historical interest to follow the bread crumbs. Genealogy is like that, isn't it?

So, way back when, in Wisconsin, three of my Smith fellows married three Monteith women. The Monteith's also married into the Preston family - a more prominent family in the Brodhead area. You can read a little about my family and the Preston connection here.

One of the Preston women, Elizabeth, married into the Tiffany family (yes, that Tiffany family). The  Nathan Tiffany's family ended up in California and I hope to write a little more on another day.

Elizabeth Giles Tiffany's brother Abner Gile was a multi-millionaire lumberman in Wisconsin. Pretty impressive career and achievements in contributing to the growth of his corner of Wisconsin. He'd been born in Wyoming County, New York in 1820. He built a saw mill and lumber business in Illinois in 1843, and in 1850, spent a year in California. On his return, he worked in someone's lumber business and later partnered with NB Holway. He later built the LaCrosse Lumber Company and later yet, built the Island Mill Lumber Co. in 1881, which

Tower Jackson Gile claimed to have an
institute dedicated to the cure of disease through
electro-magnetic treatments. Early quackery
at its best!

he operated until his death. He had his fingers in all kinds of pies from the new utilities concerns to high society and philanthropy.

Abner was also helpful to his family. His brother, Tower Jackson Gile, for example, was the recipient
of his largesse for much of his adult life. When Abner died, Tower was left a bequest, but  Tower did not live long after his brother's death, both dying in 1897.

What grabbed me about Tower is, he went from being Tower Jackson Gile, to "Dr TJ Gile." Tower married Mary Knickerbocker, daughter of Harmon Knickerbocker and Phebe Haughton (or Horton) in upstate New York. Records indicate that they most likely divorced. The couple had at least two children.

In 1875, he left the Wisconsin area and cut a swath through the midwest including Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado with his miracle cures. The references I could find about Tower (I just love that name) show he was into the spiritual use of electro-magnetic healing. He claimed he could diagnose you during a free consultation and would provide you with electro-magnetic cures (which I'm sure came at a pretty penny).

He was the "inventor" of many devices and operated the Globe Electric Company. Its appliances, which included an electric chair, electric vapor bath, and other devices, were stock in trade for his "cures."

After the death of his brother Abner, Dr Gile claimed to have been visited by a visage of his brother. This made it into the book, "Beyond the Vail: Narrations and Illustrations of Spirit Experiences, Spoken, Written, and Made by Full-Form Visible Materalizations"; (1901) Kansas City, MO and is excerpted here:

Abner Gile. 
803. Here is a spirit who, in his earth life, came into pos- 
session of rather a large fortune for a person of his locality, 
Wisconsin. And this fortune, it seems, was accumulated large- 
ly from milling into lumber timber of Government lands, and 
handling lumber so made. 

804. His brother, Dr. T. J. Gile, was less fortunate, hav- 
ing accumulated nothing in a financial way; but had made quite 
thorough search into the merits of Spiritualism, and was one 
of this circle during several weeks of the preparation of "Rend- 
ing the Vail," and about that time Abner Gile passed on to 
spirit life, and now, by invitation of this psychic band, stands 
in materialized form before this circle, saying: 

(a) "I am Abner Gile, and I am glad to be here in this way r 
to tell of some things I found when I got to this country. And, 
of course, about the first thing I learned was that my brother 
was about right in this matter. I thought it bothered him. I 
thought it troubled his mind. I tried to hold him back and 
away from it. But I begin to think it was my own mind that 
was off. I was pursuing dark shadows, and he the light. I was 
piling up treasures that I had to leave behind and their bane 
binds me in dark conditions and shuts me up in dark prison; 
makes of me a 'spirit in prison.' While my brother was casting 
bread upon the waters for which I now hunger, and of which 
he may eat and be satisfied, my wealth, instead of a blessing,, 
is a great curse to me. I cannot explain to you how I have 
been confined in darkness. What light I had was of itself the 
most profound darkness, for I find the church dogmas are abso- 
lutely false. 

(b) "I wish I had known these things, but I did not. I 
would not try to know the truth of future life and its relations, 
but scorned whoever did try to learn. So I had no teacher 
when I got here, but have to work it out alone. Each must 
work out his own salvation. I wish all your world could know 
what I know now. But T helped to keep the world in ignorance,, 
and now must try to turn on the light." 

Tower died in 1897. If he's making his own spirit known, I haven't heard.

Tower Gile
La Crosse, Wis., Jan. 22. - Intelligence has reached the city of the death at Cleveland of

Tower J. Gile, aged 73, a brother of the late Abner Gile, the millionaire lumberman of this city. The deceased gained considerable prominence after leaving here in 1875, through his belief in spiritualism and magnetism, and traveled through the country preaching his views and acting as a magnetic doctor. During his travels he was supported almost entirely by his wealthy brother at La Crosse. When Abner Gile died he left a legacy for his brother in his will. The deceased went to Cleveland a few weeks ago, and died there on Thursday last. [Source: Wisconsin Weekly Advocate (25 Jan. 1900)]

The Other John R Smith

JACOB SMITH > JOHN R SMITH  m Sarah Randolph

Click image to increase size

Is Elnora here too?

Not to be confused with his nephew, John Richard Smith, John R Smith had six known children during his marriage to Sarah Randolph, whom he married 23 May 1854 in Hazel Green, Grant County, Wisconsin. John was born 30 Aug 1826 in Harrison County, Ohio. He came with his family to the Eastern District of Grant County in 1846. This family continues to elude me in getting a sense of who they are. Very little information is available and I would love to meet someone from their family.

John and Sarah stayed in the Grant County area for their lives. In 1880, they also cared for John's mentally challenged brother, Isaac, who had previously and would later again, live with brother William Custer Smith, my 2nd great grandfather.

Elnora Smith was born in Aug 1856 in Grant County. On 06 Mar 1889, she married Charles Simons, a farmer, in Grant County. Charles died on 27 Feb 1912 and was buried in Prairie Cemetery in Fennimore.   She survived until at least 1920, when she and her brother Mark were residing together

Poland-China Sow

on Prairie St in Fennimore. I did not find a stone for her at Prairie Cemetery when I visited, but there was a family stone with no individual names engraved. Charles had a separate stone. They had no children.

Their daughter Elsina was born 28 May 1859 in Fennimore, Grant County. She married Lawrence Zifka, a Polish immigrant, on 01 Feb 1881. They had five children. Zifka raised American Poland-China hogs. The family farmed east of Fennimore and moved into town during their retirement. Elsina appears to be the only one of John and Sarah's children to have children. The Zifka's great-great granddaughter is Olympic judo bronze medal winner and former MMA Bantamweight champ, Rhonda Rousey.

Emma Nancy Smith was born about 1861 in Grant County. She was mentioned in the 1870 and 1880 census, but I cannot locate any further information on her. Have some?  Get in touch.

Mark Smith was born in 1867 in Grant County. He farmed in Burke, Wisconsin and died 10 Nov 1940. His sister Elnora lived with him at the time of the 1920 census.

George McLimans is 3rd from left, 2nd row

Tirza "Tersey" Smith was born 07 Jul 1871 in Preston, Grant County. She married George Oscar McLimans on 14 Mar 1906 in Grant County. George was the son of John McLimans and Sophronia McGhan. John owned a farm just north of the railway tracks on the east side of Preston. In January 1948, Tersey & George had two house fires, the second badly damaging their home in Fennimore.   They also had no children. Tirza died 09 Mar 1951. George was a rural mail carrier and worked out of the Fennimore post office for more than 30 years before he retired. He died 15 Jan 1957.

Sarah "Sadie" Smith was also a life-long single. She was born about 1875 and died after 1940.  In 1940, she was living with the McLimans. Little else is known.

That OTHER SMULL Family, Part 2 (Robber Roy Smull)

Roy Gilbert Smull (1912-1940)

You can read Part 1 of the 2-installment story concerning the nefarious "Other Smulls" here.

What do you do when your mom is a brothel madam? In this case, it didn't turn out well. Roy Gilbert Smull was born 24 Feb 1912 in Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois to Russell Grant Smull and Della Gilbert Kornfeld Smull. Roy's parents divorced and his brother Don lived with his father back in Missouri, from whence he came.

Early on Roy was in trouble. He affiliated himself with all the wrong kind of people and did basically whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. One of his earliest serious run-ins with the law was in February 1931 when he, his brother, Norman, and his fifteen-year-old bride, were arrested by Macon county deputies for robbing a market and a restaurant in nearby Pana. On the surface, the story appears quite funny - they were arrested because the butcher at the market could identify the unique way he cut the ham they had, among their other bounty, stolen during the robberies. The men both ended up pleading guilty and were sent to the state reformatory at Pontiac, Illinois. Jessie Louise Hughes, the bride, was present with the Smull boys during the commission of the robberies, but both boys stated she had nothing to do with either crime and she was released. Immediately after sentencing, the mother of Roy's young bride moved to have the marriage annulled.


Norman kind of disappears after his stint in prison. In 1938 he's driving a taxi and married. His brother, Roy, however, continued on with his life of crime.

In 1933, Smull was arrested with Harold Preston, aged 38, for stealing an automobile and for their participation in two holdups. Preston had previously served a term in Leavenworth. They were found with revolvers and a sawed-off shotgun. Smull went to prison for a while on the automobile theft and was released on parole. He was still on parole when he committed his last crimes and met up with his final judgment.

Police were searching for Smull and two accomplices for a series of robberies in the weeks previous, when they drove past him changing a tire. The police turned around and Smull took off, running. Police fired and a bullet struck Smull in the leg and passed through to his other leg and he was arrested and sent to the local hospital, where it was initially reported he was expected to live. He did not. He died that following early morning of his wounds. There was little doubt that Smull had committed the crimes for which he was stopped and his co-conspirators were later arrested. His automobile would reveal revolvers, ammunition, the keys to pay telephone boxes, a machine gun, and other items.

This was the end of the young life of Roy Gilbert Smull, who died a villain at the age of 28.

The Andrew Monteith Family from Wigtownshire, Scotland

Wigtownshire

Andrew Monteith and Isabelle Hendry lived in Wigtownshire, Scotland when the family started to trickle into the United States. In 1841 and 1851, the family was living in Penninghame, Wigtownshire where they'd be found in the 1851 census.

Andrew was born in 1786, according the 1841 and 1851 English census. I have not found the confirmation of his origins, nor of his parentage.

He married Isabelle Hendry, 28 Apr 1816, in Penninghame. Isabelle was born 17 Aug 1895, purportedly in Aberdeenshire, almost 300 miles from Penninghame.

From about 1772 until past his own death, Merton Hall was owned by Edward Boyd's family. Andrew would name his son, born in 1822, Edward Boyd Monteith. Ownership of the estate would change hands frequently once it left the Boyd ownership. In 1841 it appears Andrew was living and working at Merton Hall in the agricultural portion of the property. He was a ploughman according to the 1851 census. Andrew was listed as "Ag Lab" in the 1841 census, which was pretty far down the totem pole of society (see this explanation for Shropshire which is universal during this time).

They had 11 children that I could locate. Between 1852 and 1856, they traveled from Wigtownshire to Liberty Township, Grant County, Wisconsin. Andrew applied for citizenship in 1856.

Isabelle Hendry in old age

In 1860, his real estate holdings were worth $1,200 and his personal estate $800. By 1870, he, his wife and son David lived in the home and David helped him farm. There, as of 1877, he held 42+ acres of land in the northwest corner of the township. Andrew died 19 May 1878 in Liberty. Isabelle would survive until 07 Mar 1891 and would reside with her son David and family in the Monteith home.

Three of his sons would serve with the 7th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War; one of whom died of injuries. The children of this marriage:

1. Mary Ann: Born 28 Jan 1816 in Penninghame, she married Alex McCullough on 04 Dec 1842 in Scotland. They arrived in American prior to 1860 and unlike her brothers and sisters, moved to Chicago. Her husband Alex kept saloon at 161 Market St (now Wacker St). They maintained the saloon at least through 1880. They had three daughters. Mary died 03 May 1884 in Chicago. Alex, born about 1808, has an unknown date of death.

2. Elizabeth (reported), born 1818 in Penninghame, no other information known. Unconfirmed.

3. James: Born 27 Jan 1820, Penninghame. Married Maria Louisa Hunter, born 06 Mar 1841 in Mercer, Pennsylvania on 01 Apr 1863 in Wisconsin. He died 08 Apr 1882 in Fennimore, Grant County, Wisconsin. She died 20 May 1917 in Fennimore. They had seven children.

4. Edward Boyd: born 12 Mar 1822 in Penninghame. Married Agnes McCubbin in Scotland. They arrived in the US in 1848, living in Vermont for three years, then to Janesville, Wisconsin, arriving at last in Platteville, Wisconsin in 1854. Edward died 12 Nov 1911 in Fennimore. More on Edward Boyd next. Agnes was born 05 Apr 1823 in Scotland and died 25 Jan 1913 in Fennimore. They had eight children, three of whom married grandsons of Jacob Smith.

5. Andrew: Confirmed birth 05 Jun 1824 in Penninghame. No other information available.

Merton Hall, Newton Stewart Parish, Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland

6. William Boyd Monteith, 19 Jan 1826 in Newton Stewart (Penninghame). Married Mary Anna Maria Bleiler about 1866. They had 10 children. William died 18 Aug 1889 in Shooks Prairie, Green County, Wisconsin and Mary died 08 May 1913 in Monroe, Green County. I surmise that William Boyd was named after either the father of  Edward Boyd, owner of Merton Hall in Newton Steward Parish, Penninghame, or Edward's very successful second son.

7. Sergeant John Monteith was born 11 Jul 1829 in Penninghame. He married Elizabeth Dinsdale, born 24 Aug 1846 of Aysgarth, Yorkshire, England on 16 May 1866 in Grant County, Wisconsin. They had three children. He died 16 Jan 1901 in Wingville, Grant County and she on 17 Feb 1914 in Harrison County, Texas. John served in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, Company H, as a Sergeant under his younger brother, Robert's command.

8. David was born 09 Mar 1833 in Penninghame. He married Elisebeth "Lizzie" Taylor Munden on 17 Jul 1872 in Lafayette, Wisconsin. He died 16 Jan 1901 and she before 1900. They had three children. David farmed his father's land and cared for his mother until her death.

9. Sergeant Samuel Monteith was born 01 Apr 1835 in Penninghame. He was killed in action in Antietam, Maryland on 17 Sep 1862. Samuel served in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry, Company H, as a Sergeant under his younger brother, Robert's command.

10. Josephine "Jessie" Elisabeth: Born 10 Aug 1838 in  Wigtownshire, Scotland, she married George Whitish in about 1854. He was born 20 May 1832 in Prussia and died on 26 Nov 1919 in Preston, Green County, Wisconsin. Jessie died 03 Apr 1909 in Preston. They had 12 children.

11. Captain Robert Wardrope Monteith was born 04 Mar 1840 in Penninghame. He Married Mary L Welch and had three children. During the Civil War, he worked his way from first sergeant to second lieutenant, then as adjutant to the 7th WI Inf and finally was company commander of Company H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry and led his men in many battles before being mustered out in September 1864. Mary was born on 20 Nov 1849 in Wisconsin and died 23 Oct 1929 in Madison, Dane County. He died 23 Sep 1894 in Madison.

Andrew Monteith Land in Liberty Township, 1877

Isaac Walter Holler

ZACHARIAH HELLER/HOLLER/HOLLAR > JOHANNES HOLLAR > GEORGE ELAM HOLLAR m Lucy Robertson (who then married Nathan Poyner) > WESLEY HOLLAR > ISAAC WALTER HOLLAR

Click to enlarge chart

To have a good background on this story, read about Johannes Hollar, and the origins of the Midwest Hollars. You can read about the founding of  Poyner Township here. You can also read about David Owens and Sarah Holler and their families. You can read about Wesley Hollar's brother, John B. Hollar here.

Sarah Hollar was my 3rd great grandmother and married David Owens in Indiana, then came to Illinois and then Iowa with several family members, including her widowed mother, Lucy Robertson Hollar. Lucy's husband George Elam Hollar and she had at least five children, including Wesley, Sarah's brother.

Wesley's birth year is unknown, but he was most likely born in Washington County, Indiana along with the rest of the children. He married Martha "Patsy" Brown 09 Feb 1844 in Washington County.

The couple moved down to Muscatine County, Iowa, where they resided in Sweetland township. The 1852 Iowa census indicates that there were five residents of the household, with only one being a voter, so perhaps three children had been born to them. Two of them I know nothing about. The third, Isaac Walter Hollar, was born about 1850. His parents died when he was very young (and possibly to his siblings) in about 1852.

Isaac's grandmother, Lucy and her new second husband, Poyner township founder, Rev Nathan Poyner, adopted him.Nathan's first wife, Nancy Johnston, was the first person to die in Poyner Township in 1854. Nathan married Lucy a few months later. Isaac was raised in Poyner township in Black Hawk County, from that point.

Residing in the household in 1860 was Nathan, Lucy, Nathan's unmarried son, Thomas, and his adopted son, J. B. Edwards. Nathan died in 1867.

By 1870, grandson Isaac, JB Edwards, Thomas Poyner, Lucy Robertson Hollar Poyner, and two of David Owens' children, Enoch and Sarah were living in the household. In 1880, Lucy was living with her daughter Edna Wheeler and family and Thomas and JB Edwards were living in their own home. Lucy died 19 Aug 1889 of old age at 82.

Isaac was born on 27 Aug 1850. He married Elizabeth Lodica "Libbie" Preston on 30 Mar 1873 in Delaware County. He was farming in Poyner Township in 1880. 1900 found them in Delaware County where Isaac was a teamster.

Isaac & Libbie Hollar Family

In 1908, Isaac sued his adoptive nephew, J. B. Edwards for half the land J.B.'s father, Thomas Poyner left him. That would include land owned at one time by Isaac's adoptive father, Nathan Poyner. The outcome of that case is not known.

On 25 Jan 1910, his wife Libbie died of typhoid fever pneumonia There was a mini-outbreak in the city of Waterloo, Iowa, where they were living. Several people died in the outbreak, which was mostly restricted to a small area on the east side of Waterloo.

Isaac returned to Manchester eventually and died at the home of his daughter, Elsie Straub, on 02 Jul 1934.

The Hollar's had at least seven children including:

1. Elsie Elizabeth, born 16 Jan 1874 in Poyner Township. She married Edward Straub on 14 Feb 1900 in Delaware County. They had two children. Elsie died 07 Jun 1955 in Manchester.

2. Minnie Mabel born 16 Aug 1876, most likely in Poyner Township (some sources say Masonville). She married Emslie H. Frentress and they resided in Jo Davies County for many years. They had six children. Minnie died 06 Nov 1956 in Manchester.

3. William Hollar was born 06 Dec 1878, in Poyner Township. He married Sarah Zarr. They had seven children. They resided in Nashua for many years where Will was a mason and drainage tile contractor. William died 28 Jun 1969 in Charles City, Floyd County.

4. Eva was born 17 Feb 1881 in Poyner Township. She married Harry Duke, a very successful plumbing contractor in Waterloo. They had five children. Eva died 26 Jan 1970 in Cedar Falls.

5. Elzada was born 04 Aug 1885. She married Harry E Rogers and then Louis "Gus" Hill. She lived in Kansas and then in Oklahoma. Her date of death is unknown.

6. Elizabeth "Libbie" Marion was born 18 Sep 1888 in Manchester, Delaware County. She married Robert Earl Wallace and then Karl Eugene Henze Sr. They had three children and spent several years living in Texas. She died 30 Sep 1944 in Des Moines.

7. Bert was born 15 Dec 1890 in Manchester. He married Ethel Frost and they divorced. They had four children, one of whom died at age 3. Bert died 22 Sep 1970 in Waterloo.

The minister who adopted him was actually his grandmother
Lucy Robertson Hollar Poyner and her husband, founder
of Poyner Township, Rev Nathan Poyner.

The Race to the Finish: Fred C Monteith & Martin Rector

Andrew Monteith > Edward Boyd Monteith > James Robert Monteith > Fred G Monteith and Martin Rector

The Monteiths were a sprawling family, headed by Scotsman Andrew Monteith and his wife Isabelle Hendry. The family had lived in Penninghame, Wigtownshire, Scotland. They had 11 children, all born in Scotland, and all the surviving children came to the Wisconsin area along with the parents, except oldest child, Mary Ann Monteith McCullough, who moved to the Chicago area with her husband.

Edward Boyd Monteith was a stone mason by trade and was the fourth of Andrew and Isabelle's 11 children. When he came to Platteville, Wisconsin in 1854, he was employed in the building of the State Normal School. He ended up settling on a farm near Liberty, Wisconsin. He and his wife Agnes McCubbin had eight children.

Edward Boyd Monteith

Edward's third child, James Robert and his wife Elizabeth Barger had twelve children. The oldest child, Agnes Mary Monteith married Martin Frederic Rector in 1898 in Preston, Grant County, Wisconsin. They had three boys before 1903, the youngest being only 10 months old at the time of the story. Martin and Agnes farmed near his parents at Spirit Lake, Iowa, having moved there the previous year.

Fred G. Monteith, at age 21, was the middle child of Edward Boyd Monteith. He was a schoolteacher in Grant County and was visiting his sister's family near the east shore of Spirit Lake, Iowa. His visit had lasted 10 days by November 28, 1903. He was scheduled to return to Fennimore, Wisconsin the following Monday.

On the fateful day in question, Martin and Fred had been to town, having been dropped off by the

Okibojiin the Sumertime

Rector's farmhand in the wagon. They told the team's driver, Sam Rettig, if he did not see them along the way back, to go on home. The two dropped their overcoats off at the Schumen's home and stated they would race across East Lake Okiboji by skate and would return to the farm that evening.  At 11 o'clock, Rettig had returned and found the men had not returned. By midnight, Agnes was extremely worried. Rettig notified Martin's father, Dr. A. E. Rector, who along with his brother, the dentist, went to the farm to wait for the dawn so a search could go on.

Fred at about age 15

It didn't take them long, once dawn broke, to find the hole through which both men had fell. Their bodies were discovered immediately and floating side-by-side. They had fallen into water of about 9-feet in depth and gotten their feet stuck in the mud, evidenced by the mud on their skates. Had it not by then been dark and sleeting or had they fallen just a "few rods" in either direction, where the depth and mud would not have been so deep, the outcome might have been completely different.

Martin, the eldest of 10 children, would have been 32 years old the following month. 

Martin's wife Agnes raised her boys and died without remarrying on 23 Aug 1925, at the young age of 49.

Many newswire accounts list the dead incorrectly, naming Fred's brother Llewellyn "Clyde" Monteith as among the dead. The initial article from the Spirit Lake Beacon, on December 4, 1903, listed the dead correctly.

Smith Family Stories

This is sorted by the children of Jacob Smith and Mary Catherine "Cathie" Randolph

Jacob Smith Line: Mary Catherine Randolph, Sarah Jane Smith Doole, and Isaac Smith

JAMES SMITH

JACOB SMITH
Jacob Smith: Setting the Record Straight
Personal Interviews: When an Interview Flops
The Edge of Madness: Unraveling the Mystery of Bertha McKinney, Part 1
The Edge of Madness: Unraveling the Mystery of Bertha McKinney, Part 2
Robert Smith & Flora Hinmon 
Bit and Pieces and the Custer Connection
ALEXANDER SMITH
Little House on the Prairie: Saskatchewan Edition
JOHN RICHARD SMITH
  Alfred Smith
  Raid at Cabanatuan: Japanese Prisoner of War Spencer Clinto Goodbla, WWII
  The Double Tragedy of the Alfred Smith Family of South Dakota
  Harriet Smith
  Losing the Trail: Harriet Smith
  Ollie Smith
  The Other Newcombs of South Dakota  
  Florence Newcomb & L Arthur Larson: The Perfect Match
  Nancy Smith
  Bad, Bad Henry Burton
WILLIAM LAWRENCE SMITH
Pioneering Nebraska & the Twister of 1933: Agnes Smith Callander
Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody, and The Keeley Cure: Agnes Watson Smith Bowers
Sundance, Wyoming & the Bowers Family

JOHN R SMITH

The Other John R Smith

ISAAC SMITH

Jacob Smith Line: Mary Catherine Randolph, Sarah Jane Smith Doole, and Isaac Smith

WILLIAM CUSTER SMITH

Clan William: Mary Ann Munson & William Custer Smith, Pt 1

Clan William: Mary Ann Munson & William Custer Smith, Pt 2

Clan William: Mary Ann Munson & William Custer Smith, Pt 3

The Family Farm of William Custer Smith and Mary Ann Munson
Connecting the Story: More on the William Custer Smith Farm
Mystery Muddle: Who is Alice Simmons?
Smith/Munson Side: Minor Discoveries 
The Gossip Mill - Coming 10/14/17

WALTER SMITH
Smith Family: Capt (Ret) Grant Joseph Walker

William Custer Smith Family: Walter Smith
Capt Grant & Mrs Mary Jane Scoles Walker
How My Dog Got Her Name: Frankie Smith 

MARY MADORA "DORA" SMITH
B F Lichty & Sons, Waterloo

HARLAND SMITH
William Custer Smith: Harland Smith
Going Beyond the Details: The Nashua Reporter
Walter Kermit Spurgeon Gets Robbed
William Lowell Smith
The Magoons: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

EVA ELVIRA SMITH
William Custer Smith Family: Eva Elvira Smith

ELLA MAE SMITH
All Aboard! The Railroad Men of the Wabash Railroad
The Long Road to Moberly, Missouri
A Sad Turn in the Tale of the Cunningham Family
Trail Blazing Women: Gertrude Bouque Nichols

A. Dorsey Bouque Moves to Indiana

It Must Have Been in the Blood: Cunningham Railroad Men 

EDWIN SMITH
Edwin Smith Family

Mystery Muddle: The Many Marriages of Marie/Mary Adaline Smith
Johnathan Smull Family: Katie Smull
The Cappoens/LeRoy Line: Leo Linsey
Edwin Smith Family: Vivian Catherine Smith
Edwin Smith Family: Evelyn Joyce Smith
WWII  Brought Home: Harry F Bradshaw, USN
Zola Bebee, Grandma's Best Friend 
Remembering Janis Michaelsen Pedersen Ladnier
Dixie Lee Michaelsen Pedersen Pedersen 
Remembering Harold James Ripley
Leland Barr and World War II
Madge Smith Scoles

REV PARKER SMITH
William Custer Smith Family: Rev Parker Smith
The Gossip Mill 

MIRT SMITH
William Custer Smith Family: Mirt Smith

JOHN SMITH - He died at age 2.

CATHERINE SMITH 

Eureka! A Big Find

ELIZABETH SMITH - Believed to have died young. No mention is made of her in sister Sarah's obit.

SARAH JANE SMITH
Jacob Smith Line: Mary Catherine Randolph, Sarah Jane Smith Doole, and Isaac Smith
Hang Down Your Head, Frank Doole

The Monteith's married three ways into the Smith family early on. They are pretty interesting!

THE MONTEITH FAMILY STORIES

Andrew Monteith Family of Wigtownshire, Scotland
William Boyd Monteith
Beloved Mary Welch Monteith Meets a Tragic End
The Great Chicago Fire & the Alexander McCullochs
Edward Boyd Monteith: Father of the Smith Wives
George Monteith of North Dakota
Jane Monteith, Nurse & Her Husbands
Race to the Finish: Fred C Monteith & Martin Rector
Sideroad: The Preston Family
Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Quackery

THE LICHTY FAMILY STORIES

The Lichty Family of Somerset County, Pennsylvania had many of its members pioneer in Black Hawk County. Most of them became exemplary citizens, leaders, captains of industry, lawyers, doctors, and highly successful farmers. Many held crucial roles in the development of the city of Waterloo.

Sideroad: Gabriel Bickley Lichty, MD, Abortionist  

Sideroad: Lewis Lichty, Servant of the People