Smiths

Gale’s hand drawn cartoons from high school

Gale / Gale Smith, Smiths / , /

My mother kept the original and the full 11 x 14 has a link at the bottom of this post. Since I have a normal desktop scanner the art had to scanned in two pieces and then put back together in Photoshop. This is practice for the enormous engagement portraits of mom and dad.

I was struck how these cartoons really captured the essence of who I was and how I felt then and even now so I broke them apart into separate images for posting here.

Top left corner — let the sun shine in. My living area walls are painted what I call the color of sun light so nothing has changed with my feelings about this one.

Next came a commentary on controlling men. Something I didn’t agree with then and I don’t agree with now.

Top right was how I felt about the people who controlled me and how I was always fed the line that it can’t be helped. You know — if you don’t want to hurt people, then don’t do it. Don’t tell them it can’t be helped.

But underneath everything I had a happy heart so I loved this Snoopy cartoon.

Sometimes “oh boy” is all you can say about life…

My belief that somethings not even magic can fix no matter how much you wish it could. Still feel that way.

I absolutely loved the little caveman in BC cartoons. He wasn’t the brightest thing, but he was cute. I added the leash and caption to the second one and there are still a lot of people I’d like to ask that question of including the person in the mirror.

And I didn’t feel I was born with very good luck… I think now it’s not so much about luck, but about attitude however.

Nothing has changed here. I still hate being nagged and I absolutely hate nagging. If you have to badger someone what’s the point? But I was caught between two generations of naggers — my mom’s skills seemed to pass directly to Josh undiminished. Note I penciled in “shame” on the apron.

And last but not least. I felt lonely in my family, I felt lonely at school, I felt lonely all the time and this little guy summed it up.

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Cartoon from Mamie Elton

Cartoon from Mamie Elton

Gale / Gale Smith, Mamie Elton, Verda Smith / , /

Mom sent this cartoon to me the day Josh was born and addressed to the hospital. On the back was a note

Gale – your grandmother sent this to me the day you were born

I’ve attached a PDF at the bottom of the cartoon and mom’s note. I hope Stacey and Brandy may continue the tradition and mail it to their daughters on the day of the birth of their first child.

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Hugh and Verda Engagement Portraits

Gale / Hugh Smith, Smiths, Verda Smith / , /

Thank heavens for Photoshop Photo Merge. I had to scan these large portraits in two sections and then get them back together. I tried it manually and there was such a bad difference in scanning exposure it wasn’t working. Photo merge did a beautiful job. All I did was clean up flaws in scratches and brighten each image up a little.  Full size originals are available for download at the bottom of this post.

Speaking of beautiful — they were a gorgeous couple. Dad with his dark good looks and mom with her Nordic beauty.

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Coast Guard SPAR in World War II

Coast Guard SPAR in World War II

Gale / Smiths, Verda Smith / , , , , /

I remember several stories mom told about her time in the SPARS. When she wanted to enlist, which would without question take her far from home (although not leaving the US), she asked for her parents’ permission and grandpa initially said no until grandma had a chance to talk him into letting mom go.

NOTE: SPARS was the nickname for the United States Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, created 23 November 1942 with the signing of Public Law 773 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The name is a contraction of the Coast Guard motto: Semper Paratus and its English translation Always Ready. The name also refers to a spar in nautical usage. Like the other women’s reserves, such as the Women’s Army Corps and the Navy WAVES, it was created to free men from stateside service in order to fight overseas. — from Wikipedia.com

NOTE: After the comment below from Tom Hough I have added a link to a movie made about another woman who joined the SPARS in WWII  “My Mother was a Coast Guard SPAR”.]

There’s a newspaper article that I don’t have about her breaking the all time typing record when she tested for entry into the SPARs. I believe it was 91 WPM. I’ll add it to this post if I get a copy of it.

I called the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in DC and they sent me a proof of the information mom submitted when she registered. Her dates of service in the SPARS were from April 6, 1944 to April 18, 1946. Her rank was YN1 with a American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.

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She was sent to Fort Lauderdale for training where they had commandeered large luxury hotels to house the recruits.

The uniform she was required to wear included really unattractive shoes which mom would switch out for more attractive, feminine open toe shoes. Each time she was caught with the wrong shoes her punishment was to wash the hotel ballroom floor with a toothbrush. This punishment didn’t seem to deter mom because she said she washed that floor on several occassions.

She told me of not eating all day so she could eat a doughnut. Her way of watching her weight.

After training she was sent to work in Washington, DC as a legal secretary. She attended a lot of embassy parties and was engaged to marry more than once while there.

When FDR died she, along with most people in the US, was devastated. She felt it was an enormous honor when she was selected as one of the people to march in the funeral procession April 14, 1945.

She kept this article that refers to the SPARs even though she wasn’t destined for Alaska.

I have this picture because I helped her register with the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. It’s a beautiful memorial and I would recommend a visit for anyone if they happen to be in DC and at Arlington Cemetary — you can look up mom on the registry when you’re there — this is the photo we submitted.

The last thing I have from her military service is a picture of she and Gibby. Gibby was from High Point, NC and they were inseparable friends. We went to visit Gibby when I was 12 years old. Note that mom had a different hat and scarf on than Gibby. I wonder if this was another fashion statement and I wish the photograph showed their shoes too so we could see what mom was wearing.

 

Hugh Smith – summary of secret past

Gale / Hugh Smith / , /

1920

On the 1920 Census taken on January 19th Eliza Jane Honeycutt was in the 5th District living on Capuchin Creek Road with her parents and siblings. Her parents were James Michael Honeycutt (born on April 26, 1875 in Smith Creek, Scott Co, TN.) Ida Belle Riseden. Liza Jane was the third of nine children: Hiram, George Harrison (later became a reverend), Liza Jane, Mary Ann, Elvin, Jonah, Floria, John Calvin, and Daisy. (source http://webpages.charter.net/wepollard/d2145.html) She was 18 at the time of the census and there was no occupation listed for her.

1920 Census page for Eliza Jane Honeycutt

Post with Pictures of the Honeycutts

On the 1920 Census taken on January 20th George Crabtree was living in the 4th District on either Terry Creek Road or Elk Valley Road. It says George was 28, but since he was born in 1890 I assume he was 29. He was living with his wife Josephine (Josie) and 2 daughters ages 4 and 1. His occupation was a laborer on timber.

1920 Census page for George Crabtree

Article of George Crabtree killing his brother

Eliza Jane may very well have been pregnant at the time of the Census since Elihu Honeycutt was born on September 23, 1920. The birth certificate lists George Crabtree, a farmer age 30, as the father. Eliza Jane Honeycutt was listed as 18 years old and working as a housekeeper.

birth certificate for Hugh Smith (Elihu Honeycutt)

By the way dad described his early childhood I think Eliza Jane must have left home when she became pregnant. From the lack of any information about her life on web sites that have copious information about all her siblings, I wonder if Eliza Jane became a black sheep in her family and was no longer in touch with them to any great degree.

The Honeycutts and the Crabtrees were related through Marcum sisters a couple generations back. I traced Josie’s family backward and they came from South Caroline so despite having the same last name of Honeycutt I don’t believe Josie (George’s wife) was distantly related to Eliza Jane’s family.

I initially thought there may have been some kind of scandal when Eliza Jane got pregnant by George Crabtree due to a family connection. May they were appalled that she took up with a married George and got pregnant by him. She did have two brothers who became ministers. Maybe her parents threw her out when it happened.

Janie Honeycutt married J. F. Smith on December 28, 1923 in Campbell County, Tennessee when dad was three years old.

Marriage certificate

Dad indicated there were a lot of men in and out of their lives and specifically said a new boyfriend came along when dad was around three years old who didn’t like her child so he was kicked out and had to go door to door knocking to see if someone would take him in. I wonder if this story was about J. F. Smith.

1930

By the 1930 Census George was still married to Josie and had two more children – a daughter and a son and was listed a farmer. I assume he and Josie stayed together since they are buried together under the same headstone.

On the 1930 Census Janie was still married to John F. Smith. Dad had become Hue on this census. He was 9 years old and attending school. Janie and John had two more sons John F. Jr (Clay) and David who were 5 and 3. Both the younger boys were listed as born in Virginia so the family had been there at least five years. If dad was there from the ages of 5 to 9 then many of the stories of hunting and Rover he told may have taken place in Virginia instead of what I always assumed was Tennessee. I also wonder if the nice teacher he spoke of was in Bonny Blue.

It was common for miners to move to where there was work available. They lived nearby in mine housing, shopped at the mine company store, went to the mine company doctor and dentist, the kids went to the mine company school.

1930 census page for Smiths

Stories about Rover

Bonny Blue story by Charles Rogers

Bonny Blue – what happened to the coal camp

1930 Census – Images and information on Bonny Blue, VA check out picture of little boy

1930 Census – Dad living in Bonny Blue, Virginia map of where Bonny Blue was

1940

On the 1940 Census the family was back in Elk Valley. Dad was 19 and still living with them, but his name was now Hugh and he was working as a coal miner along with John Smith and Clay who was only 15. They lived at 319 Lick Fork Road which was the location of a mine, so they were in the mining camp.

1940 census page for Smiths

1942

In 1942 dad married Jeanette Botts on February 1st. She was 4 years older than dad.

Marriage certificate

On December 29, 1942 Jeanette gave birth to Stephen Hugh Smith.

Dad entered the army on October 30, 1943 and was released from service on February 6, 1946.

I have the papers where Jeanette filed for divorce on August 20, 1945. Dad responded and the divorce was granted on October 16, 1946.

Jeanette’s parents wanted to adopt Stephen since he’d been living with them since he was 10 months old — which would have been October of 1943 when dad enlisted. According to a letter dated March 1948 Jeanette had remarried and didn’t want the child. They were unable to adopt since they couldn’t find dad.

I ordered a death certificate for Stephen. He died in 1998 at the age of 55 due to a brain tumor. The certificate lists Stephen’s father as Lehigh Hugh Smith.

Stephen contacted mom at the time of dad’s death wanting to claim part of dad’s estate — at least that’s what mom said. He just may have wanted to find out what happened. It would be pretty upsetting for mom to have this man contact her at a time like that.

Mom and dad met in Berlin around March 1947 and married in May 1947 and the story of our family began.

My conclusions

I assume the name Elihu was left behind forever. Why dad took the last name of a man he must have so thoroughly detested, that he never mentioned him once in my entire life, is a puzzle. I seriously doubt John Smith went to the legal trouble to adopt dad. Maybe since Janie married John when dad was only 3 years old Smith was simply the only last name he’d ever known.

Hugh Smith is the only name on any records from that point on. He got a social security card as Hugh Smith, he enlisted in the army as Hugh Smith. The one exception, of course, is his birth certificate. Makes me wonder how he got a social security card in 1939 with the name Hugh Smith.

From what dad said about his mother I think she was a user (read post Jane Honeycutt – my recollections). Even Clay, who I’ve been told was a decent man, chose to be buried by his father and not his mother. By the way — Clay lived in Toledo, so I bet that’s where Jane was staying when she called dad when I was a little girl.

I suspect John Smith was a monster to my dad by the simple fact dad never once mentioned there had ever been a step-father.

His biological father was a married man with kids by his wife before and after dad’s birth and a murderer to boot. No wonder dad didn’t want anything to do with his family.

Mom’s story about why dad never told us about his previous marriage included dad’s belief his wife had been sleeping around. That’s about the only reason I can imagine him leaving a child behind — he believed the child wasn’t his.  I feel bad for the boy though — he got the shaft from everyone except his grandparents.

My one disappointment is that I didn’t find out if there was Cherokee blood in dad. If there was any Indian blood my guess it came from James Honeycutt (dad’s grandfather) based on how similar they looked as young men.

Picture of maternal grandfather

My research is done here. Dad was right to leave it all behind and I don’t want to be here anymore. I’ll be searching for a better place next month. I keep thinking “Let sleeping dogs lie” and that dad wouldn’t want me to hang around here.

Was dad part Cherokee?

Was dad part Cherokee?

Gale / Hugh Smith / /

I always thought my dad looked like he was American Indian and he even said he was part Cherokee. As a child I was utterly captivated by this.

People who meet me can see I clearly have Scandinavian heritage, but ask about the high cheekbones. I tell them I have Cherokee in my background.

I asked daddy where the name Smith had come from and if he was Cherokee and he had told me that a few generations back they had dropped the Indian name for Smith.

John Smith was not his biological father. If there was Cherokee in his background it had nothing to do with my dad. If it existed it had to have come from the Honeycutts or Crabtrees.

I began to suspect I had always been wrong when I saw a picture of dad’s grandfather from the Honeycutt side as a younger man. He had thick black hair, a narrow face, high cheek bones, a strong nose and what I feel is an uncanny resemblance to my dad.

Hugh Smith in uniform

 James-Michael-Honeycutt

So far I have found no clues in either the Honeycutt or Crabtree lineage of any American Indian link, although names can be deceiving. But I am willing to go with the similarity between Hugh Smith and a young James Michael Honeycutt. There is too, too much resemblance to ignore.

Maybe there is Cherokee somewhere I haven’t been able to track done, but I feel my work is done here.

If newer generations of Smiths wish to track down the Cherokee I would love to hear about it, but for now I am happy with what I have found and will focus on filling in the details of my own family history and let others dig deeper if they have the interest.

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