Finding Martha Smith - A Case Study and Connecting the Dots

Finding Martha Smith – A Case Study

My 2x great grandfather, Francis Marion Smith, had 3 sisters: Martha, Dorcas and Hannah. The only piece of documentation I had was the 1850 US Federal Census in Pine Twp., Warren county, Indiana. Dated 11 September 1850.

According to the 1850 Census, Martha was 12 years old. I do the math and find she was born abt 1838. Francis Marion was not on this census because he was not born until 1 Sept 1853 in Rainsville, Warren, Indiana.

The next logical thing to look at would be the 1860 US Federal Census for Joseph Smith.

29 July 1860 is the census date.

I see Jossph Smth age 44 and Ferry man (do they mean farrier another term for blacksmith?)

WAIT! What happened to Mary? His wife. I guess may be died and he remarried a woman with 2 children. There is Hannah 10 years older and a small child named Mary. I figured Martha would not be there as she would be 22 years old. WAIT! Where is Francis? He would have been 6 years old. He is not with his father?

So now I look for a Francis or Frank Smith age 6 in 1860. I did find something interesting. A census in Springfield, Sangamon, IL dated 19 July 1860.

Here I find a Martha age 22 born in Indiana and there is a Francis Smith age 6. I never heard that Martha was married, remember I knew nothing about her. This is where is gets interesting. I think it is time to look up Robert Whist, Machinist born in Germany.

 

In Logan, Fountain, Indiana 1850 Census dated 30 September 1850 I do find a Robert Whist.

Here I do find a Robert Whist who was a machinist from Germany. Fountain and Warren counties are not very big and they are close in proximity. It is another clue.

I knew Francis (Frank) was living with his other sister Dorcas in Indiana in 1870. The next clue I found when I really looked at the 1900 US Census dated 6 June 1900, Frank was living in Stockland, Iroquois, IL with his then 3^rd wife Minnie and I see there is a sister, Martha in the household and it says wd. I do believe that is short for widowed.

Ok, now I am feeling confident that Martha Smith did marry. I will see if there is a marriage record.

I find a marriage registration for Robert Whist and Martha Smith dated 30 September 1857 in Fountain county, Indiana. I feel confident that this is my Martha Smith, but I do need more proof.

I was able to find a death date for Martha Whist in the Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, Index, 1916-1947. Martha Whist born 23 Sept 1838 in Indiana died 28 Sept 1916 and buried in the Greenwood Cemetery. The parents were Joseph Smith and Rebecca Best. Wait, mother was Mary Ann Best. I was able to get a copy of the death certificate film # 1530824 which was digitized at Family Search. The informant was one of her sons, he probably didn’t know her mother’s name. I filed this information away in my folder.

Recently, I went on Ancestry to further pursue Martha and I found on Find A Grave the headstone for Martha and Robert Whist and a transcription of her obituary.

"Mrs. Martha Whist, widow of Robert Whist, died at 8 oclock Monday evening at her home, 1044 N. Morgan street, following a stroke of paralysis. She was seventy eight years old last Saturday. She had lived in Decatur for a long time and had many friends.
Mrs.Whist was born at Ranesville, Ind, Sept, 23, 1838. She was a member of Grace Methodist church and also of the Womans Relief Corps.
She is survived by two sons, C. F. Whist of Decatur and R. F. Whist of Mattoon. She also leaves a brother, Frank Smith of Washington and a sister, Mrs. Pindie Gates of Peru, Ind.
The funeral will be held at 3 oclock Thursday afternoon at Grace Methodist church. The interment will be in Greenwood."

(from the Daily Review Newspaper in Decatur, Illinois)

The obituary says she leaves a brother, Frank Smith of Washington. Yes, Frank Smith and his wife Minnie did move to Washington. They lived in Colfax to be exact. The last proof is this next piece from the Journal Gazette in Mattoon, IL. November 26, 1913.

I rest my case. This is Martha Smith daughter of Joseph and Mary Smith and sister to Francis Marion Smith.

I connect the dots with a sister, Mrs. Pindie Gates of Peru, Indiana.

Census Sunday - 1870 US Federal Census - Milford Twp., Iroquois County, Illinois - Francis M. Smith

Page 22, Schedule 1. - Inhabitants of the Township of Milford, in the county of Iroquois, in the state of Illinois, enumerated by me on the 9th day of August, 1870. J. A. Holmes, Ass't Marshal. Post Office: Milford.

















Line 1 155 156 Aaron G. Daisy 34 M W Farmer 3.840  1.000 Indiana
Line 2               Dorcas Daisy    27 F W Housekeeper               Indiana
Line 3               Chas     Daisy   8  M W                                        Indiana
Line 4              Flora J Daisy      6 F W                                         Indiana
Line 5              Alto M Daisy     4 F W                                          Indiana
Line 6              Clinton F Daisy 4/12 M W                                   Illinois     
Line 7              Francis M Smith 16 M W                                 Indiana           
Line 8               Alice Pearce           19 F W                                Indiana

In 1870, at the age of 16 Francis Marion Smith, my 2x great grandfather, was living with his sister, Dorcas (Smith) Dazey in Milford, Iroquois, Illinois. The story goes that his parents died when he was young and he was raised by a sister. I believe he may have been raised by two sisters, since in a previous post I showed him living with sister, Martha in 1860.

Census Sunday - 1860 US Federal Census - Springfield, Illinois - Francis Smith; 1850 US Federal Census Attica, Indiana - Robert Weast (Whiste)

Schedule 1 - Free Inhabitants in Dist. No. 16 City of Springfield in the county of Sangamon State of Illinois enumerated by me, on the 19th day of July 1860. J H Currier Ass't Marshall.

Line 20 1305 1306 Robert Whiste 35 M Machinist $50 Germany

Line 21                   Martha  " "       22 F                         Ind

Line 22                    Francis Smith 6 M                            "

Francis Smith was born in 1853 so the age of 6 is about right. I also have a marriage for Martha Smith and Robert Whiste in Fountain county, Indiana.

 Schedule I Free inhabitants in Logan Township Fountain county in the state of Indiana enumerated by me, on the 30th day of Sept 1850 John McCall Ass't Marshall.


Line 8 Robert Weast 26 M Machinist Germany

I am pretty confident that Robert Weast in 1850 is the same as Robert Whiste in 1860. Martha was living with parents in 1850 in Warren county which is very close to Fountain county. So I believe that Francis Marion Smith's sister Martha is the Martha that is married to Robert Weast (Whiste).

Census Sunday - 1850 US Federal Census - Joseph Smith - Pine Twp. Warren County, Indiana

Schedule I. Free Inhabitants in Pine Township in the County of Warren State of Indiana enumerated by me, on the 11th day of Sept 1850. (cant't read name) Ass't Marshal.

line 23 Joseph 33 M Blacksmith $300 OH
line 24 Mary 32 F                                 "
line 25 Martha 12 F                              "
line 26 Darcus 10 M                             "
line 27 Hannah 6 F                              IN

Joseph Smith is my 3x great grandfather. He was married to Mary Ann Best they had 3 daughters. Darcus was actually Dorcas Ann and she was a female and born in Indiana. My 2x great grandfather, Francis Marion Smith, was born in 1853.

Through DNA, I finally broke through a brick wall that has plagued my Smith line for years. It appears that I have found parents and siblings and as I said other children of Joseph and Mary Ann.  So stay tuned for more information.

Sibling Saturday - Francis Marion Smith and his sisters

My Great Great Grandfather, Francis Marion Smith, had three older  sisters. Martha, Dorcas and Hannah. I don't know which sister is which. I do know that Martha is the oldest, and Hannah is younger of the three. There parents were Joseph and Mary Ann (Best) Smith. I do know that Dorcas married Aaron Dazey and in 1900 Martha was living with her brother in Stockland, Illinois.

If anyone can identify these women or has any other information on them I sure would love to know.