Fourth Smith Daughter

Ella Jennie Smith

Born May 8, 1891 – Died Mar 19 1978

Md January 30, 1914

Roy Thompson Stewart

November 26, 1892 – November 23, 1971

Ella Jennie Smith was born May 8, 1891 in Ohio County, the daughter of James Thomas Smith and Sarah (Sanders).

When she was twenty-three, she married Roy Thompson Stewart, age twenty-two, on January 30, 1914.   Roy was the son of John Henry Stewart and Susannah Miranda (Cox).  This couple had two sons, Velno Kenneth and Theron M. Stewart.

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In the Hartford Herald, page 5, column, 4, dated Wednesday, 4 Feb. 1914, I ran across an article although it was only partially included in another page I was working on for an obituary of Tom Sanders.  The part of the article quoted, said:

"Smith - Stewart"

"    At the residence of Rev. Birch Shields, Beaver Dam, at noon, January 30, 1914, while seated in their buggy, Mr. Roy Stewart and Miss Ella Smith, both of Select, Ky. were united in matrimony, Rev. Shields performing the ceremony.

  Miss Smith is the accomplished daughter of Mr. James T. Smith, a prosperous farmer living near Select, and Mr. Stewart is a successful teacher of the county and the son of Mr. J. H Stewart, merchant of Select. 

These young people have many friends who wish them much success as they move down the steps of time as man and wife."   

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An obituary in the Ohio County News, dated Thursday, March 23, 1978, page 17, reads:

  

"Ella Stewart"

"Cromwell -- Ella Stewart, 86, died Sunday, March 19, at Ohio County Hospital.

      

    She was a member of Bald Knob United Methodist Church and Cromwell Lodge No. 294, Order of the Eastern Start.  Her husband, Roy Stewart, died in 1971.

    Survivors include two sons, Kenneth Stewart of Leitchfield and Theron Stewart of Hammond, Indiana; three grandchildren; two   brothers, Harb and Ellis Smith, both of Cromwell, and a sister,   Mrs. J. N. Cox of Troup, Texas.

   Services were 2 p.m. Tuesday at William L. Danks Funeral Home. 

  Burial was in Sunnyside Cemetery."

The Ohio County Times, edition of March 23, 1978, page 4, cited almost the same information as written above.

Roy Stewart married Ella, the sister of Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox, my grandmother.  He was a well- respected member of his community and among his family relations.  He was a member of Select Church of Christ, the Cromwell Lodge No. 692 F&AM and the Cromwell OES No. 294.  A retired rural mail carrier, he retired in 1958. 

He had Masonic graveside rites and was buried in Sunnyside Cemetery.

He helped me with my research on the Thomas Smith family.  His parents were John Henry Stewart and Susannah Miranda Cox.  Susannah, called “Susie,” was Granddaddy Cox’s oldest sister.

            An obituary from The Ohio County News, dated Thursday, Dec 2, 1971,  page 8, reads:

  

"Roy T. Stewart"

"Cromwell -- Roy T. Stewart, 78, died at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, November 23, at the Ohio County Hospital.

    Mr. Stewart was born November 26, 1892 in Ohio County.  He was a member of the Select Church of Christ, the Cromwell Lodge No. 692 F&AM and Cromwell OES No. 294.  He was a retired mail carrier, retiring in 1958.

    Survivors include his widow, Mrs. Ella Smith Stewart; two sons, Kenneth Stewart and Theron Stewart, both of Hammond, Indiana; three grandchildren.

    Funeral services were conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, November 27, at the William L. Danks Funeral Home by the Rev. Gary Embry, pastor of the United Methodist Church, assisted by the Rev. Arnett Williams, pastor of Concord Baptist Church.  Burial was in Sunnyside Cemetery."

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Excerpt from tape 10-10-77:

Grandmother:  “Well, we lived with Ella and Roy.  They lived out on a farm and she was afraid, and we were living at the mines at that time, and they wanted us to come up there because Roy was teaching school and was gone all day.  So they come and begged us to move up there with them.  We lived right in the house with them.  We lived together.  We had one side of the house and Roy and Ella had the other.  At that time we didn’t have any children.”

Darrell:  “Do you want to tell about the time you scared Aunt Ella so bad?”

Grandmother:  “I’m about give out.  When did I scare her?: 

Darrell:  “When you came in and you had that old slicker on...”

Grandmother:  “Oh!  (Laughing)  Well, I’ll tell you, Jerri, we were living at the mines at that time.  Of course, we were paying rent.  And Roy had bought a little farm, and he taught school at Taylor Mines.  And that left Ella out there by herself.  And she come down there, and she wanted me and Daddy to live with her…come up there and live with them, because she said, “I stay all day there by myself and I’m afraid.  And you can have half of the house, and you can have a garden, and everything.”  And we decided we would go and live with them.  And then one day, I got the children…it was Gilbert and Eula Mae, asleep, and it was raining – just pouring down – dark and gloomy. 

“Roy had gone to teach school all day and Daddy had gone to work.  And we’s there by ourselves.  And I just thought I would put the tubs under the eve of the house and catch some rainwater, and I put Daddy’s old black slicker on.  Got an old hat and pulled it down over my face.  And she hadn’t fastened her back door, and I pulled off my shoes and tiptoed in.  And she was in the bed.  (Laughing)  And I didn’t make no noise.  I just tiptoed up beside the bed and I was looking over at her.  I thought she was playing off on me, to tell you the truth.  And when she opened her eyes, she had…ohhh, I’ll tell you she like to have died.  She thought it was a negro.  Because some lived not very far.  I like to never in the world have gotten her quietened.  It scared me to death.”

Jerri:   “Did she holler?”

Grandmother:  “She did worse than holler.  She almost went into convulsions, it scared her so bad.  She just walled her arms – I couldn’t straighten them out.  She was just having…and I pulled that old hat off.  I was telling her who it was.  And she still…oh, it just scared me.”

Jerri:  “Did she laugh about it afterwards?”

Grandmother:  “Not very much.  It really did scare her.  And I didn’t, either.  Cause I said to myself, “I’ll never, never do what again.”  And I didn’t do it intentionally.  I just thought the children were asleep and we would have a good talk.  A lot of times, she would come in my house or I would go in hers.  And I thought it was going to be raining all day, and I wasn’t sleepy.  But I sure did scare her.  Ella was always easy scared, though.”

Roy Stewart married the sister of Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox, my grandmother.  He was a well respected member of his community and among his family relations.  He was a member of Select Church of Christ, the Cromwell Lodge No. 692 F&AM and the Cromwell OES No. 294.  A retired rural mail carrier, he retired in 1958. 

He had Masonic graveside rites and was buried in Sunnyside Cemetery.

Roy was the first one who helped me with my research on the Thomas Smith family.

I have many recorded tales that my grandmother told me about herself and Aunt Ella growing up.  They were close in age – only two years apart.

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