Aaron and Jessie Smelser died on 5 June 1931

From the Waterloo Courier, 7 June 1931, page 10:

You'll note that they died an hour apart, both from cancer.  The obit also notes that Aaron had moved to Waterloo "four years ago."  That must be why I didn't find him in the city directories from the early 1920s.

Aaron's death certificate, from Johnson County, IA, is recorded in Book 3, page 254, and states the Cause of Death as:  Cancer of  Stomach.

Jessie's Black Hawk County, IA, death certificate lists Cause of Death as:  Carcinoma of descending colon.

Aaron and Jessie are both are buried at the Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery in separate sections:

I previously posted a photo of Jessie's gravestone.  Here is Aaron's:

 According to this he was born in 1866, but I think he might have been born 2 March 1867.  His death certificate states he was 64 and the obituary states he was 64.


DOCUMENTS (Have or seen):

• Aaron Smelser death certificate
• Jessie Smelser death certificate 

DOCUMENTS NEEDED, QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:

• Exact birth year for Aaron

Aaron Smelser & family in the 1930 Federal Census

Newton, Jasper County, IA

• Aaron [A cupola helper in an iron foundry] - renting a room on W 4^th Street North.

• James (Elmer) [A laborer in a foundry], wife Mary, and children: Sultana, and Clifford –on N 9^th Ave East. 

Coon Rapids, Carroll County, IA

• Lula, husband Will Mahan, and children: Beulah, Floyd, Leroy, Charles, Edna, and Reatha – on Sumpter Ave.

Waterloo, Black Hawk County, IA

• Jessie [a city fireman], wife Elsie, and children: William A., Clarence N., Edgar E., Melvin L., and Genevieve – on Whittier St.

• Stella, and husband Leo D. Mooney – on Norwood Avenue.

• Melissa, and husband Orie Spicer, and son Billie – on Utica Street.

Washington Twp., Polk County, IA

• Clarence [18 yrs old, no employment listed] – in the household of Dell Garlock, a farmer.

Poyner Twp., Black Hawk County, IA

• Etta [15 yrs old, adopted daughter of William and Elisabeth Weilein] – on River Road.

 

DOCUMENTS (Have or seen):

• 1930 Federal census records for locations noted above.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED, QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:

• When did Jessie & Elsie figure out that their son Edgar’s birth certificate had him as Eugene Edgar?
• I haven’t looked for city directories for Newton, IA, to see how long Aaron and James (Elmer) had been living there.

Earlier Smelser migration to Black Hawk County, Iowa

We’ll look at Aaron Smelser’s ancestors later on.  However, my second theory about “Why Black Hawk County, Iowa?” somewhat relates to them.

Aaron’s great-grandpa, Jacob Smelser (born in 1790), was one of 14 siblings.  I’ve identified two of Jacob’s brothers and one of their sister’s sons who settled with their families in Black Hawk County, Iowa, in the mid-1850s.  They lived mostly in the Cedar Falls & Janesville, and LaPorte City areas.

It could be totally coincidental that some of Aaron Smelser’s Texas County, MO, family ended up in the same place as some of his uncles and cousins who migrated to Iowa from Tennessee.  Or perhaps, the Black Hawk County and Texas County Smelsers kept in contact via mutual Greene County, TN, kin. Perhaps they met at a family reunion?

Did the two groups know, or know of, each other *before* the 1921 migration north to Black Hawk County?  In 1976, I visited Gaylord Smelser from LaPorte City, IA.  He was born in 1908, thus was about 13 in 1921, about the time the Smelsers moved to Black Hawk County.  He said he remembered Aaron and Jessie visiting his father.  [NOTE that Gaylord and Aaron were 3^rd cousins, although there was a 41 year age difference.  Aaron and Gaylord’s father, Robert, were closer in age and were 2^nd cousins-once removed.  The “once removed” just denotes that they weren’t of the same generation.]

But, did they know of each other *before* the 1920s, or did Aaron & Jessie find out about them via a telephone book or mutual acquaintances?  I don't know.

So after the discussion in this post and the previous one, my long-held theory that Aaron & family learned about jobs at John Deere from distant Smelser cousins already in Black Hawk County, looks more like a "nice story" than a provable theory.  

Why Black Hawk County, Iowa?

Many years ago geography was one of my favorite subjects.  When I learned about typical migration patterns, and knew that my Smelsers moved to Black Hawk County, Iowa, from southern Missouri, I wondered why north and not west or southwest.  Well, we may never know for certain, but I have a couple (maybe related) theories:

Jobs

About 1918, Deere and Company bought the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, and by 1923 Deere & Co. was manufacturing John Deere tractors in Waterloo.

My theory has been that the Smelsers came north to work at Deere & Co.  However, while gathering the “proof” documents for this post, I was surprised that I didn’t find Aaron listed in any of the Waterloo City Directories from the 1920s.  So, did he ever live in Waterloo?  I don’t know.  And, I’ve yet to find evidence that Jessie or James (Elmer) worked at Deere.

Jessie, James (Elmer), and Stella are listed in several Waterloo City Directories:

Jessie   1921 – a painter for FW Anibal (automobile painter)

            1922 – hoseman, Hose Co. No. 2 (fire dept.)

            1924 – hydrantman, Eng. Co. No. 2 (fire dept.)

            1925 – pipeman, Eng. Co. No. 1 (fire dept.)

                       

James (Elmer) 1921 – works for Illinois Central Railroad

            1922 – (no employer listed)

            1924 – foreman, WCF&N railroad

            1925 – foreman, WCF&N

Stella   1922 – worked for George Koletis (who had a restaurant on Water St.)

            1924 – waitress Hummel Café

And, there are additional entries for them in later Waterloo City Directories.  However, I did not find any evidence of a Smelser working at Deere & Co. in the 1920s.  So was John Deere the draw?  Did they ever work for Deere?

 

Perhaps. But, it was post-WW I, the roaring 20s.  And, with Deere expanding, maybe Waterloo’s economy was good with plenty of other jobs available.  

However, the Smelsers weren’t the only kin who migrated from Texas County, Missouri, to Waterloo.  Aaron’s wife Emma (who died in 1920) had nine half-siblings.  At least 4 of them (and Emma’s step-mother, Margaret Melissa Lawson Elmore), also moved to Waterloo and show up in city directories: 

Jesse William Elmore – 1925 & 1928 – repairman WCF&N railroad

                        1930 – eng. WCF&N

Dallas Delmar Elmore- 1928 – repairman  WCF&N railroad

                        1930 – assembler, John Deere

Nelson Aaron Elmore- 1930 – second hand store

James Bradford (husband of Pearl Elmore) – 1930 – at John Deere

If jobs were what brought the Smelsers and their Elmore & Bradford kin to Waterloo, how did they, while in Texas County, Missouri, find out about the new job opportunities up north?  Newspapers?  Maybe.  But, that brings us to my second theory about their migration north.

DOCUMENTS (Have or seen):

• Various Waterloo City Directories [from between 1920 and 1935] online at ancestry.com

DOCUMENTS NEEDED, QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:

• Where were Aaron Smelser, Melissa & Clarence *between* the 1920 and 1930 Federal census enumerations?