A Godly Profession: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “A Family Pattern”

 
Five of Willis Smith’s Sons Follow Him Into a Life of Faith and Service

Willis Smith: 1853-1928 (Maternal Great-Grandfather)
Albert Elias Smith: 1876-1930 (Maternal Granduncle)
Lucius Ernest Smith: 1878-1955 (Maternal Granduncle)
Willis Eugene Smith: 1888-1973 (Maternal Granduncle)
Eldred Paschal Smith: 1892-1955 (Maternal Granduncle)
James Frampton Smith: 1875-1916  (Maternal Granduncle)

 

My husband’s great-grandfather, Rev. Willis Smith, entered the ministry at a young age. He led churches in Kentucky, and did missionary work, founding churches in the Oklahoma Territory, New Mexico and Texas, before heading back to Kentucky as a minister in Owensboro and Dawson Springs.

Willis Smith had six sons with his first wife, Margaret Underwood Benton. Of those six sons, three followed him into the ministry, one became a missionary doctor, and one other was the head of the Sunday School in his home church. Building lives around faith was obviously a family pattern for the Smiths.

Albert Elias Smith was the first of Willis Smith’s sons to follow him into the ministry. Albert was born October 12, 1876. He married Othilde “Tillie” Haurin on August 25, 1903 in Los Angeles, California. The marriage write-up in the newspaper said he planned to attend the seminary after a long honeymoon. It is unclear what he was doing in California or how and where he and Tillie met. Just three years earlier, he was living with his father, stepmother and siblings in Asheville, North Carolina, and he was listed as “in school”. The Lexington Herald reported later that year that he graduated from Kentucky State College with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Albert Elias Smith

Albert was working as a professor at the Women’s Christian Temperence Union’s Settlement School in Hindman, Kentucky by 1908. He left that position at some point before 1912, when a news item reported he was working as a minister in the town of Hazard. By the 1920 census, he had no occupation, so was probably between churches at that time, By the 1930 census he was serving as a Presbyterian minister in the small town of Masons Creek, Kentucky. He died from injuries sustained in a fire on his property on September 24, 1930.

Hazard Herald, Sept. 26, 1912.

Interestingly, Albert’s son Harvey Murdoch Smith also chose a career in the ministry, working as a Presbyterian minister in New York state.

Albert’s brother Willis Eugene Smith was born January 22, 1888. He dropped out of college after disappearing for months during his freshman year. He returned home to Owensboro, living with one of his sisters and her husband. While there, he met his future wife, Sybil Erwin. The couple married on October 2, 1913. Willis did not immediately choose a career in the ministry. When he registered for the World War I draft in 1917, he was working as a cement finisher in Dayton, Ohio. He was inducted into the military in 1918 as part of the Student Army Training Corps, and was sent to Vanderbilt University to be trained as an accountant.

By the date of the 1920 census, he was employed as a Methodist minister in a small Ohio town. He continued serving as a minister for various Congregational churches in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and eventually California where his daughter worked as a movie and television actress. Willis died in 1973 at the age of eighty-five.

Rev. Willis Eugene Smith

The third son who entered the ministry was Eldred Paschal Smith. Like his brothers, his route to the ministry was not direct. Eldred was born January 14, 1892. He married Nina Roberts on September 23, 1917, with their first son, Robert Cecil, born just a month later. (there are conflicts in the records, showing that they didn’t marry until their son was nearly 2 years old.) In the 1920s, Eldred was working with cars, receiving a patent in 1922 for a “demountable split rim”, which I believe was a type of car wheel. 

Article on Eldred's patent--Owensboro Messenger 1922

He was working as a chauffeur in the 1920 census, and owned the Pike County Auto Company with his brother Charles. The business went under in 1924.

Eldred and Charles' Smith's car business sold in bankruptcy--1924

Eldred decided to make a career change after that, attending Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Texas. He became a Presbyterian minister, serving in churches in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. In the 1940s he took a position with the Leupp Presbyterian Navajo Indian Mission in Arizona, where he remained as the minister until his death in 1955.

Rev. Willis Smith and wife Cora with Eldred Smith and wife Nina.

Willis Smith’s two other sons with strong church ties were James Frampton Smith and Lucius Ernest Smith. James Frampton was Willis’ eldest child. He was born January 18, 1875 and married Alice Thornsberry in 1898. He worked as a blacksmith and at various other jobs before his early death from pneumonia in January 1916. He had served his Methodist church in Owensboro as the Sunday School superintendent for many years, and the tributes after his death spoke of his faith and hard work for his church.

James Frampton Smith and wife Alice, 1914

Lucius Ernest Smith worked for several years trying to homestead a farm in Oklahoma, and then worked with his minister brother, Albert Elias, at the mission school in the Appalachians. Perhaps inspired by the illnesses he saw mountain people face, he enrolled in college at around age thirty, and following his graduation at age 33, he entered medical school. He became a missionary doctor for the Presbyterian Church, serving at a medical mission in Spanish Guinea in Africa. 

When he returned to the United States, he worked for the Presbyterian Church before using his medical training as the executive secretary of the Kentucky Tuberculosis Association.

Ernest's business card during years as doctor in Africa

Reverend Willis Smith obviously inspired his sons with his faith and service as a minister. He led them to dedicate their lives to their faith, with five of the six sons serving in various capacities, from medical missionary to minister, and in various branches of the Protestant church, from Methodist to Congregationalist to Presbyterian churches. Living their faith was a Smith family pattern.

Sources:

Bankruptcy Notice: Paintsville Herald. Paintsville, KY. 1924. Newspapers.com.

Eldred Smith Patent. Owensboro Messenger. Owensboro, KY. 1922. Newspapers.com

Albert E Smith to preach. Hazard Herald. Hazard, KY. September 26, 1912. Newspapers.com

Family photos.

 

Boxing Day Breakfast 1940: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “A Small Detail I Love”

 

May and Harry Aird Enjoy a Post-Christmas Breakfast: A Photo Delight

Mary “May” Seller Shields Aird: 1893-1988 (Paternal Grandmother)
Henry “Harry” Aird: 1886-1966 (Paternal Grandfather)

 

I was glancing through some photos from John Aird’s childhood and ran across a photo of his parents that had the most charming details: perfect for this 52 Ancestors prompt.

The photo is labelled “May & Harry 12-26-40”. Since May and Harry were both Scottish immigrants, I’m sure they referred to the day after Christmas as “Boxing Day” per UK custom. The photo shows May and Harry in their kitchen eating breakfast. There are so many wonderful details that add color to what we know about their lives in 1940.

First, the view through the kitchen window is dark—they were up before the sun had completely risen. Sunrise in Detroit, Michigan in December would occur at about 7:10 a.m., so it appears May and Harry were early risers. Their little breakfast table has a small lamp on it, and the lamp is lit to provide light.

They are quite formally dressed. May is wearing pumps and a nice dark dress with floral embroidery down the sleeves, and Harry is wearing a suit and tie. Perhaps they were preparing to go to church or to someone’s house for post-holiday festivities.

I love all the house details I can see in the photo. The window is framed by striped curtains. The kitchen floor is covered with linoleum in a charming pattern of angular lines and squares. I wish I knew what colors were featured. May and Harry are sitting at a lovely small, round table with straight chrome legs ending in curved feet. The tabletop was probably either wood or formica, which was a fairly standard surface then. May had covered the table with a tablecloth that perfectly fits the tabletop with no overlap; it has an embroidered edge, a detail best seen in the section in front of Harry. The chairs had curved chrome bases that were so popular in that era.

The table has a half-filled glass coffee pot sitting atop a trivet near Harry. May is holding up her coffee cup and is smiling at Harry. A lovely silver cream and sugar set rests in front of her. A bowl of oranges is tucked behind the sugar bowl. Oranges were popular fruit during the Christmas season—they were some of he only fresh fruits that could be had in winter, shipped from Florida or California when all the Midwest fruits were out of season.

Close-up of the breakfast table

And then there is my favorite detail: the box of Shredded Wheat behind the bowl of oranges, and Harry’s bowl piled high with a shredded wheat biscuit. The bowl looks ready to overflow if milk was poured over the cereal—the wheat cereal looks like a pile of Easter grass. The box is also interesting: above the words “Shredded Wheat” are the words “National Biscuit”—the company name that was eventually shortened to Nabisco (National Biscuit Company).

That Shredded Wheat breakfast brings back wonderful memories of my own grandfather, who also loved Shredded Wheat. As a child, I found the cereal too bland. I preferred the sugared cereals like Corn Pops and Frosted Flakes. My granddad never piled his Shredded Wheat quite as high as Harry did, however.

I wonder if May and Harry’s only son, John Aird, took the photo. Here is a photo taken during that same holiday season of young John, who was twenty-one years old. Soon he would be drafted and sent to war.

John Aird December 1940

This photo was such a treasure! I loved all the details, but my favorite detail was the Shredded Wheat cereal. A true breakfast of champions—champion ancestors!

Sources:

Family photo.

A Name That Captured My Imagination: 52 Ancestors Prompt “Free Space”

 

A Man Named Newborn Faughn

Newborn Faughn: 1900-1983 – Not Related

 

Interesting names always catch my eye, but some names are so special that they touch my heart and imagination. As an example, I have a distant cousin who was named Leafy Dell Park—a park I would love to visit. Can’t you just imagine that leafy dell?

While examining maps of land purchased by the Tennessee Valley Authority for another blog post, I noticed the name of a landowner whose farm lay near that of the ancestor I had been researching. The name was so charming that I wrote it down, delighted by it. Over the next few weeks, every time I ran across that note, I experienced that sense of delight all over again.

Newborn Faughn.

Isn’t it an amazing name? Can’t you just picture it in your head? A brand new baby fawn. Did he make his parents think of a little fawn when he was born? Perhaps he had spindly, long legs for a baby, or big brown eyes.

Photo of newborn fawn, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Even though he isn’t related to anyone in the family tree, I will provide a brief biography of Mr. Faughn.

Newborn Faughn was born April 20, 1900 to parents Mary Lee and Ollie Faughn. He had several siblings, but none of them had such a charming, unusual first name. He grew up in Kentucky, and married Maude McMurtry in 1925. They had one son, Randle Faughn, who died at age 27 following a long illness.

Following Maude’s death in 1963, he married Eula Jean Hall. Newborn worked as a construction worker and farmer during his life. He died August 11, 1983 and was buried in Calvert City, Kentucky.

I wonder how Newborn Faughn felt about his unusual yet beautiful name. I suppose it led to teasing at school. However he felt about it, the name will live on in my imagination.  

Sources:

Findagrave Entry for Newborn Faughn. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52478070/newborn-faughn?_gl=1*d5sy80*_gcl_aw*

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/87959112

Obituary. The Paducah Sun. Paducah, Kentucky. Aug. 12, 1983 issue.

Wikimedia Commons photo of newborn fawn by Jerry Segraves. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/photos/64104

 

A Leisurely Surprise: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “Leisure Time”

 

Aunt Gail: Biking, TV Watching, and Hunting?

Gail Jandy Livingstone: 1934-2011 (Maternal Aunt)

 

I was scrolling through old family photos to find images of ancestors enjoying leisure-time activities, and ran across some fun photos of my husband’s Aunt Gail. However, I found more than I was looking for as I reviewed photos from Gail’s life. Along with images of leisure-time fun, I discovered images of her first husband, someone I hadn’t even been aware of, and had never recorded in the family tree.

Gail was my mother-in-law Laurel Jandy’s younger sister, born to Ed and Lorene Smith Jandy on June 30, 1934. Laurel was nearly eight years older than Gail. As a result, Gail grew up almost as an only child; since Laurel was off to college and then married before Gail even entered high school.  

Among family photos were some charming ones of Gail enjoying leisure time activities. The first photo shows her posing on her bicycle, probably in front of the Jandy home in Detroit. Younger children are visible riding tricycles behind her. She looks to be in her early teens, so the photo was probably taken around 1949 when she was fifteen.

The next photo is a delightful one—five teens sprawled on a living room floor, their smiling, intent faces lit up by the light of a television (not visible in the photo). This was probably the first television the family owned. Television sets became popular in the World War II era and many families acquired their first sets. I believe Gail and Laurel are the two girls in the photo, although I could be wrong. The left-most girl is definitely one of the Jandy daughters. It looks more like Laurel, but the rest of the photos in the group featured Gail, so I can’t be sure which sister is which. Watching television, of course, became one of America’s favorite leisure time activities.

The third leisure time photo I found was an intriguing one. It shows Gail posing with a young man and some dead animals. Both the man and Gail are holding guns, so had been hunting. This seemed an unlikely pastime for the Gail I knew, but perhaps the young man enjoyed the sport.

But who was the young man? I quickly discovered that he was Gail’s first husband, Joseph William Neff. The couple became engaged in 1954 and married in June 1955. 

While I found the engagement notice, I have been unable to find a marriage record or newspaper announcement of the wedding. I did find wedding photos, including the one below.

Before discovering these photos, I had been unaware that Gail had been married before her marriage to Phil Livingstone years later. Gail and Joe’s marriage ended in divorce at some point. Gail was once again using her maiden name by 1959, as this passenger arrival record from McGuire Air Force Base shows, so the divorce likely occurred just a couple of years after the marriage.

So here I am, spending my leisure time updating my Ancestry tree to include Joseph Neff. And all thanks to a 52 Ancestors prompt that sent me rummaging through old family photos.

Sources:

Family photos.

Engagement Notice. Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. December 19, 1954.

New Jersey, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists of Airplanes, 1956-1969. A4112-Neward, 1957-1969. Ancestry.com.

 

A Very Special Day: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “A Day in the Life”

 

Thomas Shields and Hilda Finch Paine’s Elaborate Wedding: August 28, 1897

Thomas Shields: 1867-1936 (Paternal Great Granduncle)
Hilda Finch Paine: 1870-1962 (Paternal Great Granduncle’s Wife)

 

August 28, 1897 was a very special day in the life of Great-Granduncle Thomas Shields: it was the day he married Hilda Finch Leeds Paine in a posh ceremony in Englefield Green, Surrey. The local newspaper devoted a huge number of column inches to a glowing write-up of the festivities under the headline “Interesting Marriage in Englefield Green.” The amazing details and locations were interesting indeed.

Thomas Shields was the third of Thomas Shields and Margaret Sutherland Shield’ four sons. He was born June 28, 1867, and trained as an engineer. He took a position as an instructor at the Royal Indian Engineering College at Cooper’s Hill in the Englefield Green area of Surrey. His future wife, Hilda, was born in 1870 to Leeds Paine and his wife Ellen Barbara Finch, who lived in a large country house called Heath Lodge, not far from Cooper’s Hill. The couple met and became engaged. Hilda was twenty-seven on her wedding day. Thomas was thirty.

Leeds Paine, Hilda’s father, was a man of wealth and influence in the area, so the wedding was large and apparently lavish. The article noted that “over one hundred invitations were issued” and included a list of eighteen socially significant guest families including an Archdeacon and a Colonel. The article also stated that, “A large number of spectators assembled and were highly interested in the proceedings.” It makes me think of wedding scenes from Downton Abbey or Pride and Prejudice where the townspeople gathered outside the church to see the fashions and finery of the characters’ weddings.

St. Jude's at Englefield Green, Surrey

The church, St. Jude’s at Englefield Green, is a beautiful old building, and was a stunning setting for the wedding.

The article included wonderful details about the bridal party and their attire.

“The bride…was attired in a white sild bengaline, trimmed with pearls and chiffon, an early Victorian bonnet trimmed with ostrich feathers and orange blossom, and she carried a beautiful shower bouquet, the gift of the bridegroom. Her four bridesmaids, who were all children, wore pale green surah silk frocks with white satin ribbons and early Victorian bonnets with ostrich feathers and pink roses. They carried baskets of pink roses and maiden hair fern…the page, who was dressed in green velvet…wore a gold pin…and the smallest bridesmaid a gold heart locket and the three others gold brooches with chrysoprase hearts…”

A 1900 Chrysoprase heart brooch--possibly similar to the ones presented to the bridesmaids. The green color carried out the green theme in the dresses and pageboy outfit.

I have included photos of weddings from the same time period to give an idea of what Hilda and her wedding party might have looked like.

English weddings from around 1897, showing the hats, bridesmaids dresses, and the gentlemen's attire. Probably similar to the garments worn at Thomas and Hilda's wedding.

The ceremony was conducted jointly by Archdeacon Baly, who was the chaplain of the Royal Chapel at Windsor Park (a connection to the Royal Family) and Rev. J.F. Hobson, former chaplain of the Royal Indian Engineering College. An organist and choir performed the hymns “The voice that breathed o’er Eden” and “Thine, forever, God of Love”.

The newspaper noted that, “After the ceremony a reception was held at Heath Lodge where the band of the 1^st Berkshire Volunteers was in attendance.”

Heath Lodge, 1960s

I was able to find a photo of Heath Lodge. The home has now been converted into an elegant hotel called the Fairmont Windsor Park. The hotel website noted that the building was “formerly a private home, Heath Lodge, at the beginning of the 19th century, until the property was purchased by Baron John Henry Schroder along with the Dell and 160 acres of land in 1864.” It is unclear when Leeds Paine acquired the property. Heath Lodge was what I would call a stately home. During World War I, the British government pressed the owners—no longer Leeds Paine-- to use the Lodge as a hospital, noting that it had ten bathrooms and could accommodate 120 beds. The photos below show the size and grandeur of the building. The reception must have been elegant and impressive. The bride and groom left together at five p.m., on their way to a honeymoon in Devonshire.

Heath Lodge around 1960, then a hotel.

To my surprise, nearly half the length of the article was comprised of a “List of Presents”. The gifts and their gift-givers were listed in detail. This must have been uncomfortable for the guests, as their taste and the monetary values of their gifts were on full display for their peers and the public. Some of the more unusual gifts were a sewing machine, a pickle frame, and a spirit tantalus.

List of Gifts

I enjoyed finding Thomas’ relatives among the gift-givers:

R. Shields, Thomas’ brother Robert, gave the couple books.

Mrs. Smith, Thomas’ sister Bethia, a fruit stand. Bethia’s children, two of whom were bridesmaids, gave scent bottles.

Mr. and Mrs. MacNiven, Thomas’ sister and brother-in-law Euphemia Shields and James MacNiven, gave a set of plated egg cups and stand.

Miss Shields, Thomas’ sister Margaret, gave silver napkin rings.

Malcolm Sutherland, the best man and cousin of the groom, gave silver bon bon dishes.

John Sutherland, Thomas’ uncle, a hall set.

Perhaps my favorite gift was Thomas’ gift to his bride: a bicycle. I wonder how she liked it. It was a charming detail. Apparently there was a huge bicycle craze in England between 1896 and 1900, as bicycles switched from the wobbly Pennyfarthings with the giant front wheel and tiny rear wheel, to bicycles with equal sized wheels, including ones with low central bars to accommodate ladies’ skirts. Presumably Thomas’ gift looked much like this 1897 Ladies’ Victoria Triumph. I imagine the newlyweds cycling through the countryside on weekends.

Ladies' Victoria Triumph Bicycle, 1897.

Thanks to the discovery of this wonderful wedding write-up in the Egham Staines newspaper, I can envision this amazing day in Thomas Shields’ life. Thomas and Hilda had a long life.together, raising a son and two daughters.

 

Sources:

“Interesting Marriage in Englefield Green”. Egham & Staines News and Weekly Journal. Egham, Staines; England. September 4, 1897 issue.

Information on Heath Lodge. https://www.fairmont-windsorpark.com/location-and-surroundings/

Egham Museum entry on the Schroder family of Englefield Green, owners of Heath Lodge. https://eghammuseum.org/the-schroder-family-of-englefield-green/

Related to a Traitor? 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “Possibilities”

 

Was Philip Taylor the Nephew of Benedict Arnold?

Hannah Arnold: 1742-1803
Philip Taylor: 1757-1820 (Maternal 5^th Great-Grandfather)
Patience Taylor Archibald: 1800-1834 (Maternal Fourth Great-Grandmother)
Nancy Archibald: 1821-1912 (Maternal Third-Great-Grandmother)

 

I was surprised to receive a notice from Ancestry claiming that Benedict Arnold, infamous Revolutionary War traitor, was my husband’s 6^th Great-Granduncle. With the 250^th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, I decided it was an appropriate time to investigate this possible connection to a major figure in the Revolutionary War.

Benedict Arnold

According to the lineage line Ancestry provided, my husband’s third-great-grandmother, Nancy Archibald, was the daughter of Patience Taylor, who had married John Archibald in Daviess County, Kentucky in 1820.

Patience was the daughter of Philip Taylor and his wife Mary Welsher. Patience was born in 1800 in Daviess County, Kentucky, and died in 1834.

Patience Taylor Archibald Headstone, Nalley-Taylor Family Cemetery in Buel KY

Philip Taylor, Patience's father and my husband’s 5^th Great-Grandfather, was born in 1757 in Springfield, Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War, he served in the 5^th Battalion of the Pennsylvania Continental Line. His grave marker notes his service. Following the war, he moved to Kentucky and first married Hannah Atherton, and following her death, married Mary Welsher in 1799. Philip died in 1829.

Philip Taylor Headstone, Nalley-Taylor Family Cemetery in Buel KY

The next question is who were Philip Taylor’s parents? And that is where the connection to Benedict Arnold starts to fray.

According to the Ancestry chart I included above, Philip’s parents were Henry Taylor and Hannah Arnold. The chart shows that Hannah’s parents were Benedict Arnold and wife Hannah Waterman. Benedict and Hannah’s oldest son was named Benedict as well; Major General Benedict Arnold was born in 1741, and his sister Hannah the following year, 1742.

There are several immediate problems with Philip Taylor’s supposed parentage. First, Benedict and Hannah Arnold were born and raised in Connecticut, not Pennsylvania. How would she have met Philip’s father?

Second, and more importantly, historic records are quite clear that Benedict Arnold’s sister, Hannah, never married. She kept house for her brother until his marriage to Margaret Mansfield in 1767, and then Hannah remained in the household to help with their three children. Following Margaret’s death, Hannah served as the children’s surrogate mother. She died in Montague, Ontario in 1803, where she was living with Henry Arnold, one of Benedict’s sons.

So how did this error come about? It appears there was another man named Benedict Arnold living in Middletown, Connecticut, married to a woman named Mary. They appear in church records as parents of children Hannah, baptized in 1740; Fenner, baptized in 1738; and Patience, baptized in 1739. However, I can find no record that this other Hannah Arnold was married to a man named Taylor. I had even attached a document written by another Ancestry user titled “Hannah Arnold Could Not Have Been the Mother of Philip Taylor Born Abt 1757 in Pennsylvania!!!” Why hadn’t I paid more attention to that at the time I first read it? The author of the document fails to provide any real proof one way or the other.

Philip Taylor’s true parentage remains murky. I looked at records on FamilySearch, and his profile shows his father as Henry Taylor of New Jersey and a Mary Dupuy from “British Colonies”—not very specific. The only records attached to Mary Dupuy are birth records of children born in Philadelphia that lack documentation. Henry Taylor died in New Jersey; there is no proof that he ever left the state or had any children born in Pennsylvania. I am not prepared to accept these people as Philip’s parents; there are too many details that do not seem to fit.

Philip Taylor’s Findagrave entry has a note stating: “Phillip, Benjamin, and Arnold were brothers, their father was Henry Taylor.” I was able to find another Findagrave entry for Benjamin Taylor in the same area of Kentucky. He too apparently served in the Revolution and was born in 1756, a year before Philip. I have found no record of a brother Arnold. Philip did name two of his sons Benjamin and Arnold, so he might have been naming them in honor of his brothers. Without further evidence, however, these relationships are all hypothetical.

What I can confirm is that there is no possibility that my husband’s 5^th great-grandfather Philip Taylor is Benedict Arnold’s nephew. Thankfully, Philip Taylor was not related to a traitor; instead he was a patriot and served honorably as a private in the Revolutionary War.

Perhaps someday I will find records that prove who Philip Taylor’s parents were. In the meantime, I have made sure to remove the Arnolds from our family tree.

 

Sources:

Findagrave entries for Philip Taylor, Patience Taylor, Benjamin Taylor. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2530369/memorial-search?cemeteryName=Nalley-Taylor+Family+Cemetery&page=1#sr-125151072

Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850. Author Dodd, Jordan. Ancestry.com.

Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965. Ancestry.com.

Pennsylvania, U.S., Revolutionary War Battalions and Militia Index, 1775-1783. Philip Taylor. Ancestry.com.

 

Hard-Working Till the End: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “An Unexpected Strength”

 

Hold on to Your Hats! Margaret Smith Martin: Thirty Years as a Milliner

Margaret Elizebeth Smith Martin: 1846-1912 (Maternal Great-Grandaunt)

 

While examining records pertaining to Great-Grandaunt Margeret Smith Martin, I was taken aback by her death certificate. Margaret died on April 22, 1912 at age sixty-six. The doctor recorded the cause of death as “Angina Pectoris and Nervous Prostration”. The angina was chest pain, of course, but nervous prostration? A bit of research told me that in the early 1900s, that diagnosis was given to patients exhibiting exhaustion caused by chronic stress and overwork. The doctor also provided a contributing cause of death: “Hard Work.”

I had to know more about this woman who the doctor believed had literally worked herself to death.

Margaret Elizebeth Smith was born February 16, 1846 to parents Elijah F. Smith and Nancy Vanlandingham Weir in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. She was the fourth of their eleven children, and was my husband’s great-grandfather Willis Smith’s older sister.

Margaret married young, at age sixteen, in 1862 during the early days of the Civil War. Her husband, David H. Martin, was a twenty-five-year-old farmer. While he registered for the Union draft, I have found no record that David Martin served during the war.  

Margaret and David had three children between 1864 and 1868, son John and daughters Naomie Emma and Lula Bell “Lucy”. David farmed and ran a store of some sort early in the marriage. Then in 1892, he started a tobacco manufacturing company, producing plug tobacco. 

As the news article above notes, this type of business had the potential to build a fortune. However, I don’t believe David Martin was one of the lucky ones. It appears the family needed more money than he was able to bring in, so Margaret turned to the millinery trade.

When she put her millinary business up for sale in 1910, she stated that she had been in business for 31 years. This means she started her business in 1879. While the 1880 census states she was “keeping house”, she must also have been earning money designing and selling hats. While milliners usually deal only in women’s hats, it appears that Margaret sold children’s hats as well, as the advertisement below shows.

I have been unable to locate newspaper advertisements for her business during the early years. She placed frequent ads in the local Greenville newspaper starting in 1908. She even ran a thank-you message for her customers.

She ran some clever promotions to spur sales. The brief item below shows that she offered a gold watch as a prize for customers who made a purchase. In addition, she ran clearance sales.

She made hats for all income levels in her community as well. One advertisement noted that her hats sold for prices ranging from 35 cents to $20.

Her work as a milliner was not her only business. She also ran frequent advertisements selling “Black Minorcas Eggs”, so she was raising chickens as a side hustle.

Black Minorca hen, known for laying large, white eggs.

Margeret continued working until sometime in 1910 when she put her business up for sale and her house up for lease. She died just two years later from, according to her physician, the complications of hard work.

Her obituary supported the death certificate’s assertion, reading in part:

“She was a woman of nerve and untiring energies, devoting her life to the betterment of her family. She was engaged in the millinery business for many years, and although often meeting with misfortune and adversities, yet she was courageous and bore her misfortunes with fortitude, always cheerful in her undertakings. She continued in business until wearied and weakened with complicated disease…”

It sounds as if Margaret exhibited great personal strength throughout her life, and provided not just important but essential financial and emotional support to her husband and children. I am grateful that a bluntly worded death certificate led me to this unexpectedly inspiring woman.

 

Sources:

Advertisements from the Greenville Record and the Madisonville Hustler.1908-1910.

“Death of Mrs. David H. Martin”. Greenville Record. April 25, 1912. Greenville, Kentucky. Accessed on Newspapers.com.

“A New Tobacco Manufactory Probable.” Owensboro Weekly Messenger. Dec. 29, 1892. Owensboro, Kentucky. Accessed on Newspapers.com.

“No. 283 Draws the Gold Watch.” Greenville Record. Apr. 7, 1910. Greenville, Kentucky. Accessed on Newspapers.com.