James Thomas Smith Family

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James Thomas Smith

December 13, 1856 – July 18, 1926

Sarah Sanders

January 4, 1861 – November 20, 1931

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The James Thomas Smith Family

Select, Ohio County, KY

Seated is:  James Thomas Smith and Sarah (Sanders) Smith

(Back Row:  Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sandefur, and standing next to her is Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox, (perhaps someone reading this can identify the other children here? -- Janice Brown)

Children were:  Della Catherine (1880-1975); Charles Thomas (1882-1970); Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” (1885-1975); Ellis James (1887-1982); Eva Caroline (1889-1988);

Ella Jennie (1891-1978); Ollie Perry (1894-1898); and Harb X “Hobby” (1897-1982).

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In Memoriam

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   J. T. Smith, son of Thomas and Kittie Smith, departed this life July 18, 1926, after being a great sufferer for about 20 years.

   The deceased and Sarah Sanders were married January 1st, 1880. To this union nine children were born.  Three sons and five daughters survive him, one son having preceded him to the world beyond.

   Deceased was 69 years, seven months and five days of age at the time of his death.  He professed faith in Christ at the age of 18 and lived faithful to this profession.

   He was buried at the Brick House burying ground on July 19, in the presence of a large assembly of friends and relatives.

   Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Gherman W. Riggs, of Leitchfield, who preached the funeral sermon from Job 14th chapter, after which his remains were laid to rest to await the resurrection morn.

   May the God of Heaven console his wife, children and relatives and may they all be prepared for the great summons when it comes.

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Card of Thanks

We wish to thank our friends

for the kindness and sympathy

shown us during the illness and

death of our dear husband and

father.

The Death Certificate of James Thomas Smith - File No. 18703 - indicates date of death on July 18, 1926.  He was born in Meade County, Kentucky. 

 R. W. (or B. W.) Kettinger, M.D. signed the death certificate indicating that he had attended the deceased from July 1, 1926 to July 17, 1926 and the last time he saw him alive was on July 13, and that the date of death occurred at 4:00 p.m.    Cause of death was Pernicious Anemia and Dysentery with duration of 3 months and 10 days.

On the death certificate, his father's name was given as Thomas Smith, also born Meade County, KY, and his mother's name as Kitty Ann Jenkins, also born Meade County.  Wife was listed as Sarah Smith, Select, Kentucky.  (They are found there in the 1850 census, newly married with a small baby, Benjamin Franklin Smith).

Place of burial or removal was listed as Cedar Field, July 19, 1926 which is in error unless there are two names for this cemeterywhich was an earlier name of the Brick House Burying Ground.  (I know Cedar Field is in error because he was buried at the Brick House Burying Ground beside the church.  I have a picture of his tombstone when we visited there.)

        James and Sarah had been married 46 years when James Thomas Smith died.

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Obituary of Sarah (Sanders) Smith

Friday, November 27, 1931, page 1, column 5:

"Mrs. Sarah Smith Passes at Cromwell"

"Mrs. Sarah Smith, whose age was 70 years, 10 months, and 16 days, died at the    home of her daughter, Mrs. Roy Stewart in Cromwell, at 10 a.m., Friday, November 20, 1931.  Her death was due to miocarditis and her illness had been brief.

She was the daughter of Charles and Della Porter Sanders and on January 1, 1880 was married to James T. Smith, whose death occurred several years ago.  She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a splendid Christian woman.

Surviving relatives include:  Five daughters, Mrs. Letcher Taylor, Rt. 1, Cromwell; Mrs. Everett Sandefur, Palestine, Texas; Mrs. J. N. Cox, Kilgore, Texas; Mrs. Roy Stewart, Cromwell, Mrs. Everett Taylor, Beaver Dam; sons Charles Smith, Ellis Smith and Harve Smith of Cromwell, Rt. 1; two sisters, Mrs. James Howard and Mrs. Cicero Taylor, of Cromwell, Rt. 1; two brothers, George Sanders of St. Louis, and John Sanders of Indianapolis.

Funeral services were conducted from the home at 1:30 p.m., Saturday.  Interment was in Brick House cemetery."

  

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Tape Recording dated May 1, 1977:

When we asked my grandmother, Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox (1889-1988)

to tell us about when she was baptized, she told this story:

Baptizing at Bald Knob Church, Ohio Co. KY

“Why yes, I wouldn’t mind telling you what.  Well, it was there at Bald Knob Church.  And the revival was going on.  But now in that day and time, they would say “protracted meetings” are going to start.  And of course there was a lot of boys and girls, and people saved.  Aunt Ella and I was two of them.  And we were baptized in white dresses.  And Pearl Leach.  She was an awful sweet girl. It was in the afternoon at a pond.

“We were the only three that was baptized.  The rest of them were sprinkled.  And that was Uncle’s cousin, Pearl Leach. (Uncle over at Palestine).   I just can’t recall where we went.  There was a pond of water.  I know that.  There was no bank – it was level ground, and they had a little house where you went and changed your clothes after you were baptized.  And they all went to the baptizing.  Pa took us – And we all went in the wagon…well part of us.  Some went in the buggy.  (Laughing).  I can’t hardly remember, but we were all there.  There was a lot of folks there.  It was in the afternoon.”   (part of this story was also retold in a June 1982 tape.)

“Bald Knob was a Methodist church, but you had your choice to be immersed or sprinkled. The preacher’s name was Emory – Brother Emory.

“And we was the only three that were baptized.  All of the rest of them were sprinkled.  I was about sixteen or seventeen.  It has been a long, long time ago.  They used to have such wonderful meetings there.  They really did.  They had a mourner’s bench.  And everyone would come up and be prayed for and all.

“Sometimes we visited other churches.  Oh yes, we always went to church.  Bald Knob had prayer meeting on Wednesday nights…every Wednesday night we always went.  And then if there was something on Saturday night, we went.  On the third Sundays, there was services.  But that was the only service.  But they would have church at Mt. Pleasant, or down at Select, or Mt. Zion.  And we would go.  We always went to church.  Sometimes, in the afternoon, they would have singings.  And dinner on the ground…homecoming…they called it.  And everybody would come and spend the day.”

“Bald Knob was where Ma and Pa belonged, and Grandma Sanders, too.  They all went to church there.  That church is old.  And they have kept it up real good.  It was about two miles from our home.”

                                                          ~ Janice Brown, Tyler, TX

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