SERVICES FOR C. F. SMITH HELD SATURDAY

Funeral services were held in Lamoni Saturday for C. F. Smith, a pioneer resident of the community. Mr. Smith passed away at a hospital in Des Moines on Thursday. Elder Roy A. Cheville was the officiating minister and Elder J.W. Barr assisted with the service. Burial was in Rose Hill.

C. F. Smith was one of the small group of Lamoni folk who could recall the founding of the community. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Smith came in a covered wagon from Jo Davis county, Illinois in 1866. They built a log cabin on the land that is now in the northeast corner of the town corporation. There on Aug. 6, 1861, Clarence, their second son, was born.

A short while later the family moved near the four corners where the Sedgwick post office was located, southeast of the present site of Lamoni. The Smiths had a typical pioneer family Iife with 11 children. Three of these died in infancy.

[Sibling] E. H., generally known as "Bub" and Will died in 1910, Gertrude (Mrs. Bert Teale) died a few years ago and Theodore passed away more recently. This leaves Minnie (Mrs. Keller, of Aurora, Ill.), Louise (Mrs. A. Otis White), of Lamoni, and Art, also of Lamoni surviving.

When the J. R. Smiths came to the Lamoni region there were only two houses between their location and Davis City. "C. F." remembered in his boyhood days the flock of wild turkeys that roosted on Buck Creek, the wild deer that roamed the timberland, and the acres of prairie.

This family shared in building the community into an agricultural region. J.R. bought cattle and hogs as the community became more populated. He drove them to Leon, then the railroad terminal. As soon as Clare was large enough, he joined his father in these travels, driving hogs and cattle miles to market. It was J. R. Smith who shipped the first hogs out of Leon, out of Lamoni, out of Andover. The boys shared in all this.

One memory centered around a drove of 1,300 hogs driven to the shipping depot. C.F. himself bought his first load of hogs at the age of 14. Thereafter he continued in the shipping business in southern Iowa and northern Missouri. He used the narrow gauge railroad that ran from Cainsville, Mo., north to Des Moines.

On Oct. 30, 1889, C.F. married Esther Lee, at her home 4 miles north of Davis City. They lived on farms in this region and in due time moved into the town. They built the large house in south Lamoni that was a landmark for 36 years.

Three and a half years ago they moved to Des Moines to be near their daughter, MaudWaye Conklin. There they could enjoy the company of their grandson, Smith, and their great-granddaughter.

C.F. shared in enterprises of the Lamoni community. He was once a trustee of Graceland College and was one of the promoters of the Coliseum as a community building. The family also shared in many movements for civic benefit.

Some 10 years ago an old friend of his came back to Lamoni at his request to talk of affiliation with the [Reorganized] Latter Day Saint Church. This friend was I. A. Smith, now president of the RLDS Church. In a simple service, C. F. was baptized by the friend of his youth, and another long-time friend, C.W. Barr, participated in the service.

C. F. Smith passed away just after midday last Thursday afternoon. Thus ends the life of a pioneer American. His body was brought back to the neighborhood of his choice where he spent 80 years of his life. He will sleep among old friends.

Source: The Lamoni Chronicle, Lamoni, Iowa, Thursday, July 20th, 1950, pg. 8

MOTHER: Eliza Ann Graham

FATHER: James Robert Smith

WIFE: Esther Lee

m. 30 Oct 1889 - Davis City, Decatur, Iowa

CHILD: MaudeWaye Helen Smith

m. Roland Conklin

FURTHER INFORMATION:

1. Iowa, Select Marriages Index, 1758-1996

Name: Esther Lee

Gender: Female

Marital Status: Single

Race: White

Birth Date: 1865

Birth Place: Ills.

Marriage Date: 30 Oct 1889

Marriage Place: Davis City, Decatur Co., Iowa

Marriage Age: 24

Father: John Lee

Mother: Mary Esther Fassett

Spouse: Clarence F. Smith

FHL Film Number: 1009355

Reference ID: 2:4045P0T

Source Information: Ancestry.com. Iowa, Select Marriages Index, 1758-1996 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.