Happy Birthday, Grandpa Aaron!

According to his obituary, Aaron was born on 2 March 1867 in Tennessee.  

His parents were William Harrison Smelser and Catherine Brown [more on them later.]  And, again according to his obituary, he was survived by two brothers, Charles in Missouri and David in Michigan, and a sister, Elva Jones of Douthat, Oklahoma.   The obit also states that three sisters were deceased:  Mrs. Elizabeth Cobble, Mrs. Emma Wright, and Mrs. Martha Farrow.

NOTE:  I see I failed to mention in the 11 January post regarding the 1900 census that another sister – Sarah C. – is listed in Aaron and Emma’s household (along with the erroneous listing of “Mary, John, and Nora.”)  I’ll comment about Sarah C. in the next post.

I’ve found William & Catherine Smelser and two children:  Elva 5, and “Aron” 3 in the 1870 Federal census for Greene County, TN.   I mentioned yesterday that I have not found the family in the 1880 census – yet.  And, unfortunately, the 1890 census was destroyed in a fire. So, we need to look at other sources for early information about Aaron’s siblings.

Over the past 30+ years I’ve been able to make contact with a few Smelser cousins - descendants of some of Aaron’s siblings - who have shared additional information.  I’ve also found some death certificates and other documents online.

The next post will give an overview of what I know so far about those siblings and their families.

DOCUMENTS (Have or seen):

• 1870 Federal census for Greene County, Tennessee, Civil District No. 6, P.O. Bulls Gap

DOCUMENTS NEEDED, QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:

• Verfication of Aaron’s birth date and place
• 1880 Federal census for the William & Catherine Smelser family

Texas County, Missouri

QUESTIONS:

• When did the Smelsers move to Texas County, MO?
• And, why did they move there?

I have not found the family in the 1880 Federal census.  I’ve tried numerous spellings and misspellings of Smelser to no avail. 

I’ve tried other searches using first name, approximate birth year and birthplace as Tennessee.  I’ve also used Ohio for a birthplace for Aaron (since his older sibling was born there.)  Nothing.  It’s not unheard of that a family was completely missed in a census, but it’s more likely that the enumerator or transcriber messed up the spelling.

I presume the Smelser family was in Missouri by 2 April 1885, when Aaron’s older sister, Elva, married Daniel Boone Garrison in Summersville, Texas County, MO.

And, I presume they were still in Tennessee in 1877 when Aaron’s sister Elizabeth (“Eliza”) was born there (according to her death certificate.)

According to the previous joint obituary, Aaron was 18 when he moved to Missouri.  That information along with Elva's marriage date would indicate they arrived by 1885.
 

A clue as to "Why Texas County?" might be found by reading the book by Julia West Parker, Nan of Tennessee and the Girl Who Was Me (1974.)

Aunt Stella mentioned the book in the 1970s.  It's about several families who moved (at or about the same time) from eastern Tennessee to Texas County, MO.  I vaguely remember reading it back then – and I don’t think there was any mention of the Smelsers.  But, I’ve requested it via Interlibrary Loan to browse through again, and I’ll update if I find anything about our ancestors.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED, QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:

• Where were our Smelsers in 1880?