THE SMITH STORY

By Maude Irene Smith

This account is wrapped in a mystery which has never been solved. There is one chance in thousands that the name is really Smith.  We may be related to the highest in the land or may come from simple, everyday people.  Be that as it may, thus runs the strange story.

About the year 1778 and in a part of the country never revealed, a fair haired, blue-eyed little boy was playing one day at the edge of the woods surrounding his home, unaware of the coppered colored savages concealed behind the trees.  The Indians told later that they had watched the child at play for several days, that they admired his handsome face and decided that he had the looks and qualities of a "big Chief."  So they swept up the little lad and disappeared into the forest.  The child never saw family or home again.

 The thread of the story came to light again ten years later when a defeated Indian tribe gave up to the white man several prisoners, among them a fair haired, blue eyed boy of perhaps 12 years of age.  No pressure on the Indians could compel them to reveal the part of the country from which they had kidnapped the child, and it was believed they feared the vengeance of the bereft parents.  So a kindly man named Smith took the boy into his home and reared him with his own children, giving him the only name by which he was to go through life with---John Smith.

His foster father often told of the lad refusing for a long time to sleep in a bed, instead, he rolled up in a blanket and slept on the floor, as his Indian captors had done.

 When he was eighty years old he visited my grandfather (his son James) and my mother remembered his beautiful teeth-he had never lost one-and they decided it was due to the food the Indians ate.

 John Smith grew up and married Phoebe Brown and there were several children, of whom I know of but three, my grandfather, James Ellison Brown Smith, a sister and a brother whose names I do not recall.  The brother had a son Henry, who often visited when I was young, who died in Illinois.  The sister married I believe a Howes, and I met a daughter of hers, Susan Vannoy, who had been a close friend of my grandfather during the Civil War.

 Of my grandfather, I know that he was a carpenter, a local preacher, a singer and a captain in the Confederate Army.  Regarding his character, he was known as a man 'whose word was as good as his bond."  Through an act of treachery, he was killed at the home of friends in August of 1864.  The Nesselrodes, his friends, begged to save his life, but to no avail.  He was buried in their family cemetery, where my grandmother was laid by his side, 44 years later.

 A generation after his death, we moved to Ravenswood, W. Virginia, and one day in the post office my mother met face to face the man who shot her father.  When he saw her he threw both hands over his face and fairly ran from her presents.  So "doth conscience make cowards of us all."

Grandfather Smith was twice married, first to Sudner Roy, by whom he had four children: Jonathan Sheppard Smith, who lived his life in Braxton county and had several children, and who came to my mother and grandmother to end his days. Augusta Dianna, wife of Colonel J.R. Kossler, of the Confederate Army, both of whom are buried in Georgia.  They are survived by two children: Will J. now a retired railroad official and living in Hattiesburg, Miss, and Lee Kossler Day, who died many years ago in Arkansas.  Also of the first marriage was a son, Reuben, who died at the age of 19 while studying the ministry, and a daughter Rebecca who also died in her late teens.

 After the death of his first wife, grandfather married Sudner Conrad, my grandmother, who had been named for the first wife, a friend of her family.  I have never heard of anyone but these two women bearing the unusual name Sudner.  Grandmother’s family, the Conrads were among the early settlers of this part of what is now W. Virginia, and her father Peter Conrad was the father of 20 children, by two wives.  I have often heard Grandmother say she had six own sisters, and six half sisters. 

Peter Conrad was the first person to dare eat a tomato in this section; tomatoes were regarded as ornamental and called "love apples."  One day he looked at a beautiful tomato on the mantel and said to his wife, "That is so pretty, it ought to be good to eat."  Against her protests, he ate it-and survived, thereby setting an example to the countryside.  His first wife was Phoebe Hartley, and there is a legend she was descended from an English lord—no confirmation.  By this marriage there were the following children:

 James N. Smith, the oldest son, married Amanda Edwards, they were the parents of 11 children: Amy E., Dora A., Joseph D., Ada B., Maud, Lillie M., Robert R., N. Dawn, G. Cleveland, Lena, Myrtle.

 Kelley Smith, the youngest married Ella Orpha Evans, and this line is in the Evans lineage.

Maud Irene Evans, the writer of this genealogy, married William Hampton Evans, January 26, 1893, and this year 1953 celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.  They are the parents of four children: Dorothy Augusta, who married Elmer B. Pope in 1926, and who was noted for her beautiful voice; she died in 1949. 

Robert Tracy, married first to Julia Jones, their children were William Thomas and Joanne Carter, who died at birth.  Tracy served with the Construction Battalion of the U.S. Navy in World War Two, in both the European and the Pacific arenas. His excellent musical talent is much tried in "Barbershop" singing.  His second wife was Marguerite Skidmore.  His son William, Bill, was a marine in WWII, in the Pacific Area.  He lives in California and has four sons.

 Rodney Kastor, the second son, married Ruth Kooken, in 1931, and was business manager for several firms.  Their children; Karen Lenora, a student in the College of Nursing and Health of the University of Cincinnati, Dorothy Louise died when a year old, and Thomas Rodney.  Rodney Koster died in 1951.

 Enid Francis, the youngest, married Carl Heatwald, a businessman in 1931.  She is also a musician and a member of "Mothersingers," a connection of the P.T.A., and the only organization of it's kind in the state.  They have three children; Dorothy Ann, John David, and Carol Lee.

 As I look over this rather incomplete sketch, I am impressed by the qualities of these two long lines.  The early men and women were pioneers in an unsettled and unfriendly country, with few necessities and no luxuries.  It was hard work hoeing and corn fields out of the virgin forest, with no modern convenience and only the most primitive tools and household utensils.  A century and a half ago the cooking was done oven fireplaces, and many a delicious meal was turned  Out of the old black iron pots and skillets that were standard equipment.

 Difficult though life might be, those early ancestors of ours found time to trudge miles along rough paths to hear the Circuit Rider bring a sermon every two or three months.  By the light of a pine torch or a tallow candle they read the Bible to their children and taught them the way of the Lord.

 In both the Evans and Smith families there have been ministers, teachers, church leaders, writers, musicians, doctors, government and state workers, soldiers, sailors, marines, businessman and women--- and the everyday 'Good Citizen" who is the salt of the earth, and the hope of America.  May God bless the descendants of these two long lines. 

The above story is an excerpt from the longer A History of the Evans and Smith Families posted at RootsWeb Evans-L in February of 1999 by Dave Powell. Mr. Powell wrote:

 “I recently discovered this family history in one of my uncle's trunks. My great grandmother was Laura Ruth Evans.  I scanned it in using OCR; there are a few copying errors which I have tried to fix, and many grammatical errors which I left to keep the flavor of the original document... hope this helps someone....”

The story was written about 1953 by Maude Irene Smith (c1880-c1960), a great-granddaughter of John “Captured by Indians” Smith.

 Maude Irene Smith married William Hampton Evans, an uncle of Laura Ruth Evans.