Hugh Smith’s birth certificate
With the help of my friends at the Campbell County Historical Society I had found my dad’s mother. Eliza Jane Honeycutt born in April 1901, who became Janie Smith, and lastly Janie Cross.
What I really wanted to know was who my dad’s father was. The ladies at the historical society warned me that in 1920 illegitimate births were usually not recorded and often the children were raised as the grandparent’s late in life offspring.
For me it was a due diligence issue. Once I realized that my dad was probably born Hugh Honeycutt, son of Eliza Jane Honeycutt, I felt I had to try one more time with Tennessee Vital Records for a birth certificate. The ladies at the society rolled their eyes at the futility of my effort, but it was something I wouldn’t feel good about if I didn’t try.
So I filled out the little form again, sent my money again, crossed my fingers, and hoped for success.
On April 5, 2013 my efforts were rewarded. I received my dad’s birth certificate in the mail. Based on Eliza Jane Honeycutt they had found it.
Those words don’t convey the magnitude of this information. After staring dumbfounded at the certificate for several minutes, I ran to the phone and called Trulene to exclaim “I got it! I got my dad’s birth certificate.” She couldn’t believe it and wanted me to read all the details.
This may sound stupid for some, but as a mom myself, my heart melted at the idea of my dad arriving at 1:00 AM on September 23, 1920 in ElkValley to an unwed mother. I couldn’t help but think of my dad as a tiny, little guy who had no idea the mess he had entered the world in.
His mother stated his father was George Crabtree of ElkValley and aged 30 years. She was 18. I suspect she was getting some kind of financial assistance, maybe at a poor farm, and whoever had delivered the child submitted the birth information to the state.
It didn’t take a whole lot of checking to find out George had married Josephine Honeycutt in 1914 and already had two children with his wife when he got Eliza Jane pregnant. What a great guy.
So Eliza Jane had an illegitimate Elihu (pronounced Eli Hugh) Honeycutt who eventually became Hugh Smith.
I can find a lot of detail about Eliza Jane’s family – everyone except her. My suspicion, and this is only based on my gut reaction and what my daddy said, is that she became a black sheep in her family and was shunned so no one knew what happened to her.
I want to find out if she was in a poor farm after daddy’s birth. One of dad’s few comments on his early life was that there was a steady progression of new boyfriends through their house and he was sometimes kicked out if the new one didn’t want a child. So my thinking is she was rejected by her family over the pregnancy – which makes me wonder if there was some family connection.
The birth certificate said she was a housekeeper at the time of dad’s birth and George was a farmer. He wasn’t a farmer – he was not a land owner and worked for other people. I would love to know who she was housekeeper for.
So following more suspicions, I suspect Eliza Jane became Janie and met John F. Smith who was willing to marry her. I suspect John Smith abhorred the idea of her previous child. They then had a couple children – Clay and David – and I think dad became an unwelcome reminder of Janie’s previous life and was treated as such. Dad had really ugly stories from his grade school years that seethed with great hate from his parents.
Somewhere along the way Elihu Honeycutt morphed to Hu Smith on the 1930 Census and the Hugh Smith by the 1940 Census. I have to tell you, I can’t believe my father stuck with the name Smith since I figure John Smith was one bastard extraordinare. What else explains my dad never mentioning a man in his childhood? That man had to be horrible.
So I sit here as Gale Smith and I think there’s a good chance I should be Gale Honeycutt, because John Smith was NOT my father’s father. Or maybe I should be Gale Crabtree. Oh that’s just peachy – the name of some ass who girls pregnant while he was married and having kids with his wife. Just dandy.
Why is God’s name did he go with Smith when I think he had to abhor the man and never once mentioned him to me ever in any way?
The only thing that matters is that he was the man who was forged by the miserable circumstances of his upbringing and somewhere along the way he became Hugh Smith – a man of such strength, integrity, and character that I aspire every day to be half the person he was. I am the daughter he wanted me to be – I have honor, I have integrity, I have a strength of character that has carried my through crushing life experiences.
I would like to have the opportunity to ask him why he stuck with Smith when it probably came from an abusive man he detested. I’ll never get the answer to that question.
Elihu Honeycutt to Hugh Smith. My daddy. My hero. The finest man I’ve ever known. The father I adore and I still miss every day. I wish he was still here and 93 years old and driving my crazy. And trust me – if he was here and living with me he’d be telling me what was what and ticking me off and driving me crazy. And I’d be loving every minute of it. Kindred spirits. What can you say?