Three Generations

Three Generations ca. 1950

This is our Grandmother "Ma" Susie Frances Hedrick, nee Short. She is the lady with her arms wrapped around everyone. From the left is Velva Jean Smith, nee Hedrick (mom); Ma; Gerri Payne, nee Brooks; Joycee Maxine Hedrick, nee Brooks (Gerri's mom and our Aunt). Mom told us that the baby is our brother Harold.

SMITH, Hiram M.; Hugh; Jesse; Glenn...

Smith, Hiram M., Reverend, father of, Hugh Bell Smith. His name may have changed from (Schmidt). He was born in Virginia (1798 -  ca. 1860). He married Catherine Greer (half-French, born 1804 in Ohio or Kentucky) at Columbia Bottoms, St. Louis, Missouri. Her d.o.d. after 1879. Hiram’s parents were killed in western Virginia by Indians. He served as a corporal in John O’ Fallon’s Company during War of 1812 and also served in the Indian Wars (May 1813 - May 1818).

Children:  Jesse Baucom Smith, b. 1825/26 in Washington County, Missouri, d. 01 June 1849; Robert—no data; Daniel, born 1823/27, (1850 census says Harmony Township 1827); John H., b. 1834—d. 11 March 1888, Sedalia, Missouri in Pettis County; Mary Jane 1) Preuitt, 2) Tullock, 3) Berryman, b. 17 April 1831, Shirley, Missouri in Washington County, d. 05 September 1893; Henry Logan, no data; Hiram, no data; Hugh Bell, see his own family history.

Smith, Hugh Bell, Baptist Minister, f/o Jesse Bell Smith, born August 22, 1842 in Washington County, Missouri--d.o.d. 29 March 1907.  He first married Margaret Susanna Compton, 23 October 1864, born 28 March 1848—d.o.d. 26 October 1887. Hugh later married Mary Hasty (Iron County, Missouri) November 1892. 

Margaret Compton and Hugh Smith's children:

Jonathan C. Smith, August 27, 1865 - November 8, 1937, married Martha Eye December 21, 1892.  the Smith-Compton Cemetery, Washington County, Missouri; Annie Sue was born January 18, 1878 and died December 02, 1937. She is interred in the Smith-Compton Cemetery. She first married Austin Simmons March 16, 1904 and second Amby B. Gibson May 19, 1937; Walter S., b. April 19, 1877 and d. March 19 1938, killed in a tornado in Floyd, Missouri, buried Lost Creek Cemetery, Washington County, Missouri. He married Josephine P. Hillen, March 15, 1908; Sally Eye, (Sallie Anis) b. August 24, 1872 and d. June 24, 1923. She married John Ace Eye October 25, 1893. Interment at Big River Cemetery, Washington County, Missouri; Hiram “Harm,” d. 1938 in Houston, Texas, married Ella; Jesse Bell Smith, was born May 22, 1881, Bonne Terre Hospital, raised in Shirley, Washington County, Missouri, d. 1933. He married Grace DeClue; 7th child unknown.

Hugh and Mary Hasty’s children: Joe Smith; Nora Smith Crock. 

Smith, Jesse B. (Bell) was born May 22, 1881 in Washington County, Missouri and d. in 1933. He married Grace May DeClue, September 14, 1902. Grace was born 1881, Washington County, Missouri, d. in 1969. Interment in the Smith-Compton family cemetery in Washington County, Missouri.

Children: Arthur Eugene “Gene” born 14 February 1905—d. 21 July 1964, married Kathleen Crump April 19, 1940, interred at Sunset Hill Cemetery, in Potosi, Missouri. They have one son, Gordon Lee; Guyton Irvin, born October 18, 1911 and d. April 8, 1998, married Ruth Verneil Sinclair, December 02, 1930. Resting place at Redbud Memorial Gardens, Potosi, Missouri, children: Wilma (deceased), Kenneth (deceased) and Marlene; Dorothy (Arabelle) first married a McEwen and later married a Waldron. One son, Larry McEwen and one adopted daughter, Betty; Anna May Meier, born May 29, 1910 and d. January 30,1997. She married Willard Meier—b. July 05, 1916 and d. June 1964. Two children: Kathy (Kate) Dooley and Robert (deceased); Burl married Francis, information unknown and children unknown; Kenneth C., 1916-1917--Smith-Compton Cemetery; Jesse Clifford, b. 1907 and d. December 16, 1908, interment Smith-Compton Cemetery.

Smith, Glenn Garrett (10/12/1924 - 6/9/1979), grew up in Leadwood, Missouri. Son of Jesse B. (Bell) and Grace Mae DeClue. Glenn married Velva Jean Hedrick on March 31, 1947 at the old Baptist Church at Boss, Missouri . Velva was born August 2, 1933 and died February 2, 2012. Children: Harold married Carol Faron; Gloria married Dale Hutson; Eric divorced; Elisa married Lynn Coffman.

Marriages

DeClue, Eugene married Jane Baker of Liberty Township, Washington County, Missouri, 18 December 1877, by P.S. Johnson, Justice of Peace.

Hedrick, Noah married Susie Short, September 9, 1917 at W.M. Short's home near, Boss, Mo. by W.L. Nelson of Boss. (from Susie's bible) Mr. and Mrs. Noah Hedrick had their golden wedding anniversary on Sunday September 9, 1967. We had dinner on September 10, we had a good day. She also makes a notation that they moved to the highway in April 1936. Troy bought us out in 1946. Troy Hedrick is the son of Johnny and Mincie Hedrick and a nephew to Noah and Susie Hedrick.

Smith, Hugh Bell married Susannah Compton 23 October 1864 by John Montgomery, JP in Washington County, Missouri.

HEDRICK, John; William; Noah...

Hedrick, John "Spikey John" born May, 1823, Indiana; s/o Issac
Married to Nancy Jane Turnbough ca. 1845; d/o Joseph Turnbough and Harriet Bates.
12 children: Francis Marion, Mary Ann, Harriet Elizabeth, Joseph, William, Dorcas, Samuel, Harm, James Wesley, "Sis", David A.
Their burial place is at the Hedrick family cemetery in Iron County, on Crooked Creek, near Viburnum, Missouri.

Hedrick, William, s/o John and Nancy; born 26 November 1856 in Missouri, d. 27 January 1924
Married: Ruth Melvina Dotson, d/o Hillard Dotson and Clementine Harris in 1882, Dent County, Missouri
Ruth was born 27 January 1860 and d. 30 April 1925; Ruth and William rest at the Boss Cemetery, Boss, Missouri
8 children: Sarah, Mary Jane, Hattie C., Hillard, Noah David, Polly, John S., B. Frank

Hedrick, Noah David, 5 January 1892 - 5/27/1974, s/o William and Ruth Melvina, nee Dotson. Married, Susie Francis Short, August 31, 1917. Resting place at the Boss Cemetery in Boss, Missouri. Noah and Susie had four children: Roy Lavern 7/17/1919 - 5/4/1938; Delmar Ray 8/29/1922 - 9/4/1924; Joyce Brooks 8/9/1923 - 3/16/1987; Velva Smith 8/2/1933 - 2/2/2012. 

SHORT, John; John Israel; William; Susie...

The book The Genesis of Missouri: From Wilderness Outpost to Statehood is an excellent source to understand the foundations of Missouri.

Short, John b1770 Stokes County, North Carolina

Short, John, Jr. s/o John Short, married Sarah Sally Earney, 15 January 1827, in Lincoln County, North Carolina

DOB: 12 October 1804, Lincoln County, North Carolina

DOD: 10 February 1880 in Missouri

Resting place: Short homestead on Dry Creek, near Cherryville, Missouri

Spouse:  Short, Sarah Sally, nee Earney

DOB: 13 March 1813, Lincoln County, NC,

DOD: 15 February 1880

Interment: Short homestead on Dry Creek, near Cherryville, Missouri

Sarah and John are forerunners of the Shorts in Crawford and Dent Counties, Missouri

Children:  Elam Sidney, b1828, Elizabeth Rosene, b1832, Emily Melvina, b1835, Lydia Ollie, E., b1838, all born in North Carolina; children born in Missouri, John Israel, b1843, m21 April 1864 to Dorcas Tabitha Brown, James M., b1845, Jacob, b1849 Francis M., b1851, Sarah Telitha, b1853, Mary Polly, b1857, Martha F., b1862  

Short, John Israel s/o John Short, Jr. and Sarah Sally nee Earney. John Israel Short married Dorcas Tabitha Brown on 21 April 1864.

DOB: 7 March 1843 in Crawford County, MO

DOD; 17 July 1916

Interment: Short Homestead, Cherryville, MO, Crawford County

Military: 4 years in the Union Army during the Civil War

Spouse:  Short, Dorcas Tabitha nee Brown d/o William and Susan Brown nee Walker.

DOB:  5 July 1843, Crawford County, Missouri

DOD:  11 February 1890

Resting place: Short Homestead

Children:  Mary E., William M., married (1) Julia Sims 19 April 1886 and (2) Frances Marion Adams d/o Monroe and Rebecca Brown nee Fennison on 3 March 1890, James A., Emmet A., John Thomas, Nettie A., all born in Crawford County, Missouri, Eugene Everett, Richard F., born in Dent County, Missouri.

Short, William A.  s/o John Israel Short and Dorcas Tabitha Brown, married Francis Marion Adams on 10 November 1889.
DOB:  22 November 1867 in Crawford County, Missouri
DOD: 12 March 1932; Boss Cemetery, Boss, Missouri
Occupation: Farmer
Spouse:  Francis Marion Adams, d/o Monroe "Roe" Adams and Rebecca A. Fennison
DOB:  17 April 1868
DOD: 4 August 1951 in Boss Missouri at her daughter's home, Bertha Cover.
Resting place: Boss Cemetery, Boss, Missouri
16 Children: Elmer, Bertha md. Frank Cover;  Laura 1) Farmer 2) Kindle;  Myrtle 1) Farmer 2) Hancock; Pearly md. Dallas Hutson; Lola md. Lee Hutson; Susie Francis md. Noah David Hedrick; Thomas; Elvie C.; Howard; James, 5 children Winnie; Jesse; and 3 infants.

Short, Susie Francis married Noah David Hedrick 31 August 1917 near Boss, Missouri.
DOB: 17 February 1899 near Boss, Missouri
DOD: November 19, 1983 in Salem, Missouri
Children: Roy Lavern Hedrick d. 18 years old due to complications secondary to Appendicitis, Delmar Ray Hedrick d. age 2 years of Diphtheria, Joycee Maxine Brooks 1) married Joseph Clarence Brooks, 2) Bruce Brooks, Velva Jean Smith married Glenn Garrett Smith.

Hand-held Corn-planter

My sister treated mom and me to dinner last night at a place called Bandana’s BBQ. The food was delicious, but the decor impressed me, as well. Browsing the walls, I noticed an old farm implement hanging on the wall above the booth. I brought it to mom’s attention, and she immediately identified the object as a corn-planter. She remembered seeing her parents (Noah and Susie Hedrick) use the tool as a little girl on their farm during the 1930s and early 1940s located in Dent County, Missouri. Before she could tell us how the corn-planter worked, dinner arrived, and thoughts of the farm implement disappeared.

Today while browsing the Internet I found a corn-planter much like the one we saw at the restaurant. According to the, United States Trade and Patent Office, George Lambert, applied for a patent on an improvement he made to a hand-held corn-planter of that era, 1876. He describes the planter as having a container attached to the staff of the tool. The reservoir or box held the corn. Lambert’s invention allows the corn to fall into a tube on the back of the staff to the bottom of the planter. Upon pushing the bottom of the planter into the ground, a trigger releases a rod that pushes the corn into the ground. The hand-held corn-picker allowed farmers to stand upright without bending to plant corn. Information concerning Patent No. 178,166 May 30, 1876. is located on the United States Patent and Trademark Office site.

Family Research Part II

Visiting Family Cemeteries

Typically, Missouri settlers were farmers and they buried their loved ones on the family homestead. Some of the burial sites contain as little as one grave to several. The condition of each cemetery is different. Some appear well cared for and others neglected and covered in undergrowth. The surnames on some headstones may not correspond to the surname you are looking for, but may be relevant to your lineage. The married name of female ancestors appears on the headstones and this may seem curious to you until you realize the connection.    

1) Plan a trip to visit family cemeteries. Sometimes cemeteries are in proximity to each other, and you can make a tour in one day. This can be an adventure in itself especially if you enjoy traveling country roads. You may have to park your car and hike to the location of a cemetery. Not all of them are so remote and are easily accessible.

2) Fill up the gas tank, and service the vehicle for a road trip. Locations of cemeteries can be as much as two hours away from a town. This may not seem like much driving distance, but it is if your car is low on gas or a hose breaks on your car. For the same reason, pack a picnic lunch or take snack bars and water. You may spend at least an hour at the site and the return trip adds to time spent without eating.  

3) Dress in comfortable clothes and wear shoes made for walking. My sister, Elisa and I, took a trip to several burial places in one day, including some that were not on the itinerary. Amazingly, it seemed like the ones difficult to get to were in excellent condition and another that did not require much effort to get to was overgrown and neglected. For instance, the Hedrick cemetery located on a high bluff above Crooked Creek, near Viburnum, Missouri required us to do some hiking. Below the bluff is an open field used for grazing or planting. We had to leave the van and walk a few hundred yards from the creek.

Once at the creek we took off our shoes, rolled up our pant legs and waded across to the gravel road just beyond the water. The road lies on a steep grade requiring us to walk up the hill bent slightly forward. Finally, we reached our destination and the graveyard was well kept and mowed. Another piece of advice, based on experience, is that if you are on a path in an Ozark forest do not step too far off the path. Keep track of the direction from where you came, and return the same way. When the foliage is thick, you can easily lose sight of the track and lose your sense of direction. In other words, a sense of dread creeps in because you do not know which way to go.

Family Research Part I

Family Research Part I

Getting Started

1. Organize the information acquired based on surnames and maiden names divided into family lines. Create folders and files for these lines whether you use manila file folders or computer files. Stay focused on keeping the information documented and indexed.
2. Begin documentation with you, your spouse and your children. This data may seem less pressing than initiating the search for your ancestors, but it is important information to document for your children. Your generation gives you a starting point to work from. As the family historian, you have the privilege of recording ancestors and descendants.
3. Make a file for you, your spouse and children. Name the file, for example, “The Family of John Q. Smith and Jane M. Doe.” Record date and place of marriage, and the names of any children, including their middle names. Include all birthdates and places of birth, any deaths and date of death, where they died and place of burial. Include any marriages of your children, the names of their spouses--including maiden names and the names of your grandchildren. Include their vital information, such as date of birth, place of birth, and so on.
4. Create a new file for your parents and another file for your spouse’s parents or make sub-files for each set of parents in the previous file created for your family. Decide how much information is best for you to include in a file. Continuity becomes more complicated the further back one researches family ancestry. This file should include yourself and your siblings. The same applies for your spouse’s family history. Always include vital statistics on each person (date of birth, etc.). If you do not know that information enter “unknown” and you can fill the data in should you find it later on.
5. Choose the line to start researching—paternal or maternal. If you hit a roadblock, do not become discouraged; begin researching the other line. This is a process that takes time and patience and there is a lot of information to compile. Stay on track. Maintain a direct line of lineage to you and your children. 

Family Research Part II

Quality of Life versus Survival: Mom's Decision

Our mother has cancer again. This is the third time that she has faced this disease. A few years ago, a mammogram examination revealed a lump in her left breast. A preoperative bone scan revealed a mass in her left kidney. Results from preliminary biopsies showed malignancy in both cancers. Surgical removal of the breast and kidney cured her of these cancers.

It is unusual for a person to develop three different cancers. Mom's third cancer developed in the left lung. Various factors make the mass inoperable.  Surgical removal of the upper half of her lung could cure her of this cancer. However, her age and having Congestive Pulmonary Obstructive Disease (COPD) makes surgery a much riskier proposition. In addition, the mass is close to her aortic artery and the esophagus. The proximity of the mass to the artery increases the risk of surgery even more.

Other treatments include chemotherapy and radiation. As previously mentioned, the location of the mass to esophagus presents problems with radiation treatments that could damage the esophagus and the other lung. The drawback to chemotherapy is that it causes nausea and weakness and is disruptive to one’s daily life. It also compromises the immune system leaving her vulnerable to infections and pneumonia. Moreover, chemotherapy might add, at most, three months to her life.

The outcomes for the previous options are bleak. Aside from the side effects of chemotherapy she could bleed to death on the operating table. If she survived an operation, surgery could make her a pulmonary cripple. More than likely, as a pulmonary cripple, she would no longer be ambulatory. She would require assistance to move from the bed to a bedside commode or be bedridden all together.  This does not include frequent doctors visits and hospital stays that inevitably lead to more testing and probing needles.

There is one choice left for mom to make. With family support and ongoing medical supervision from two of mom’s longtime medical practitioners, she is opting for quality of life. Rather than risk, losing the quality of life she has now, aggressive treatment is not a viable option based on the aforementioned factors. She leads a semi-sedentary lifestyle. She moves about on her own and when the weather is pleasant, she works in her yard, taking care of the trees, bushes and flowers planted there over the years. She loves birds and keeps her bird feeders full. They are located outside her kitchen's sliding glass doors.

She can sit at her kitchen table looking out at her backyard through her sliding glass doors. It took her years to make it a small wildlife sanctuary. The concrete birdbath that she made years ago is always full to the brim with water. She still cooks her own nectar for the hummingbirds that visit her backyard each year. She delights in watching the different kinds of birds that come to feed and bathe in the birdbath. If confined to a bed, she can no longer perform the simple things that bring her joy.

The most that we, her children, can hope for is that she will eventually sleep more and as the tumor grows eventually fall into a comatose state, as suggested by a cancer specialist who works at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, in Columbia, Missouri.  We hope mom will not have to suffer continuous pain. Pending the time we can no longer converse and laugh with, mom, we will take every opportunity to spend time with her. With each precious moment, we try to glean memories from her past (before we came into being) and share stories that intertwine with our own lives.

At this time, science and research cannot offer cancer patients in mom’s position medical treatments that are not detrimental to the quality of life. Until better treatment and therapy exists, discussing quality of life issues should always go into the decision-making process. If you would like to learn more about cancer read, How Does Cancer Form, by Elisa Coffman, retired nurse and paramedic (and my sister).

Hospice helped us and our mom when she became bedridden. Thankfully, mom was active until about two weeks before her death. She did as the doctor hoped would happen at the end of her life. She grew sleepy more often until she fell into a coma. Because of Hospice the family was able to give mom most of her care. Her doctor notified Hospice when the time came for "end of life" care. They made sure we had everything we needed to care for mom. At our request, they did not intervene unless we asked them to.

Thankfully, our sister, Lisa, is a retired nurse and paramedic. We were lucky to have her knowledge to fall back on. She guided us through mom's transition from life to death. Even when Lisa's heart was breaking, her professionalism did not fail her. All of us are grateful that she was there. She kept her promise to mom that she would make sure she did not suffer. Mom was always afraid of pain, which surprised us kids. We witnessed a woman who had a high pain tolerance.

I remember with awe, how courageously mom took the news of her demise. After she knew her options, mom opted for quality of life. She became an example to her children and loved ones. She showed us that dying need not be suffering and fear. She died bravely without complaint. She felt her strength waning and her breath became more labored upon exertion. But she did not stop living. She never stopped worrying about her kids and she was more than glad to advise us when we needed her support. Mom tolerated our human frailties as do most mothers. She never stopped loving us and we haven’t stopped loving her. She loved her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren because they were the children of her kids. We all are a continuation of mom.   

       

Oil Painting Westphalia, Missouri Area

Eric W. Smith
March 21, 2010

It has been said of this particular work that “The inspiration for this painting as seen through the eyes of the artist, Eric Smith, comes from a rural Missouri landscape. It is reminiscent of earlier days when settlers came to Missouri in search of land to clear and farm.” This is so true. Because early times in our state, as well as the rest of this continent, inspires most of the work I do in the field of art.

When I painted this picture of the scenery along the road through the Westphalia area I wanted to add just a little to the picture with mountains that more accurately reflected the ruggedness of the Ozarks as a whole. I think I managed to get the job done.  The gray tones seem to harmonize well with the gray shed or barn standing in the field, as does the other building nearby.

The gray house with the two chimneys is an actual house just outside of Westphalia on the right of highway 63 north toward Jefferson City. It was actually a tan rock house built with native rock found in the area. The historic buildings found on the riverfront in Jefferson City are from the Jeffersonian era as is, I suspect, this house. Both are built in this style with native rock. This Westphalia house once served as a post office in 1851. The owner allowed me to take a few snapshots of the place. It was at that time that he gave me some of this background information.
  
The location is changing in the area. The huge and beautiful sycamores that reached to the heavens are fewer in number now than at the time of my painting. They are being replaced by large metal sheds for one purpose or another. But a few are still to be seen along the creek or river that intersects the town at its south end. Still, at the present time, the scenery reflects the beauty that I found so compelling.