Biography of Thomas Jackson Smith of Spearsville, Union Parish Louisiana Submitted for the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives by Lyle Smith, 3/2005 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ ================================================================================= BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS JACKSON SMITH, OF SPEARSVILLE, LOUISIANA Researched and written by his nephew, Lyle Smith, 2005 ================================================================================== THOMAS JACKSON SMITH, Husband of Edna T. Breazeal born October 5, 1881 – died March 10, 1966 “Uncle Tom” ============================================================= Uncle Tom was born October 5, 1881, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. He had an older half brother and half sister from his father’s previous marriage. Uncle Jim was born in 1878 and Aunt Lizzie was born in 1879. Uncle Tom was the oldest child born to Woody King Smith and Mahalia Elizabeth Head. Woody King Milard Filmore Smith was born June 26, 1857, in Ouachita Township, Bradley County, Arkansas. His parents were Willis Hansford Smith, born in Alabama April 5, 1822, and Martha Ann Davis born February 14, 1832, in Alabama. Mahalia Elizabeth Head was born August 5, 1853, in Alabama. Her parents were Thomas Jackson Head and Francis Johnson. Thomas was born September 20, 1822, in Jones County, Georgia and Francis Johnson died in 1867. Woody K. Smith and Mahalia Elizabeth Head were married September 2, 1880, in Union County, Arkansas. They were married by W. H. Harris, Justice of the Peace. Their marriage was duly filed and recorded in Book “E”, Page 288 of Union County Marriage Records. Children of Woody K. Smith and Mahalia E. Head were: 1- Thomas Jackson Smith (Tom) was born October 5, 1881, in Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. He died March 10, 1966, in Pineville, Louisiana. 2- William Hansford Smith (Bill) was born June 2, 1883, in Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. He died February 2, 1951, in Las Animas, Colorado. He married Annie Clara Montague June 13, 1909, in Silverton, Texas. 3- Nancy Jane Smith (Nannie) was born June 12, 1885, in Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. She died November 1, 1972, in Bernice, Louisiana. She married Joseph Minor Ogden October 17, 1906. 4- Harmon Smith (twin) was born July 5, 1887, in Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. He died December 18, 1967. He married Mary Eva Rogers December 25, 1915, in Union County, Arkansas. 5- Armon Smith (twin) was born July 5, 1887, in Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. He was killed October 31, 1933, near Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. He married Rosa Lea Ogden November 6, 1907, in Union Parish, Louisiana. 6- Woody Columbus Smith was born July 9, 1890, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. He died May 27, 1975. He married Mattie Lou Barron October 10, 1925. They were married in Union County, Arkansas. Woody K. and Mahalia lived near Lapile and farmed there the first years of their marriage. During the first 14 years of his life Uncle Tom lived at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas, Randolph, Union Parish, Louisiana, and Blanchard Springs, Union County, Arkansas. After giving birth to 6 children between 1880 and 1890, Mahalia E. Head Smith died March 20, 1895, in Union County, Arkansas, leaving 6 children of her own, as well as 2 step-children. So in March Tom, Bill, Nannie, Harmon, Armon and Woody C. Smith lost their mother and the 2 oldest children by Woody’s previous marriage lost their stepmother. Tom was 14 years old at the time. Woody K. Smith married his third and final wife, Mary Rebecca Smith July 18, 1895, in Union Parish, Louisiana. Mary Rebecca was born November 2 1864, in Union Parish, Louisiana, during the Civil War. Mary Rebecca was a 31 year old, “OLD MAID”, having lived with her father, Henry Callaway Barron, and had her own crops on his farm, on Big Corney Bayou; south of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. Into the marriage she brought her life savings of $900.00. Mary purchased a team of mule, food, and cloth material enough for her and Lizzie, Tom’s older sister, to make sorely needed clothes for the entire family. Mary Rebecca Barron was raised a Barron, and that meant to have a place for everything, and everything put back in its place after it was used. She did all her chores at the exact same time each day, and always washed at the spring on the same day each and every week, with no exception. She expected her new step-children to do no less. The children’s mother had been sickly for over 2 years and bed ridden the last 3 months of her life; so there had not been much discipline in the home. Mary was a hard worker and a stern task mistress, if the need arose, and she ran the house in that manner from the start. Each child was given duties to perform. On January 20, 1896, Woody K. Smith purchased the following parcel of land from Hosea H. Rockett: “The Northeast Quarter, (NE ¼) of Section 26, except one acre where J.D. Barron’s house lot is, and nine (9) acres in the NW corner of the said quarter section in Township 23, north of Range 3 West, containing 150 acres, more or less. Witnesses were: John Murphy and H.W. Breazeal. The house the Smith family moved from in Blanchard springs was torn down carefully, the pieces marked and moved 4 miles north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. While the house was being rebuilt on Smith Hill, the family lived in a large log cabin off the “Big Cut”, just north of Little Corney Creek. (The Big Cut was a field.) Uncle Tom grew up on the Smith farm. He plowed and worked the fields and picked the cotton as did everyone else. Times were hard, but the family made enough to get by. Uncle Tom married a neighbor girl, who lived about a mile east of the Woody K. Smith farm, just a hop and skip for a walking man in those days. Thomas Jackson Smith age 25 years, of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, married Edna Tabitha Breazeal, age 18 years, also of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana on November 28, 1906, as the law required, “in the presence of at least 3 male witnesses,” in Union Parish, Louisiana. They were married by J.W. Hunt, Justice of the Peace. The witnesses were J.M. Murphy, W.K. Pryor, and H.H. Rockett. The Marriage Bond was signed by Thomas J. Smith and R.L. Williams. This marriage being duly filed and recorded in Book “11”, Page 384 of the Union Parish Marriage Records. Edna Breazeal was born September 21, 1888, at Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, and died November 3, 1957, in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana.Her parents were Hosea Woodford Breazeal, and Angeline (Angie) Williams. Angie was a sister to John Harrison Williams, husband of Sarah Elizabeth Smith (Lizzie). Woodford was born August 29, 1857, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and died September 6, 1936, in Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. Angie was born February 14, 1865, in Union County, Arkansas, and died February 24, 1940, in Union Parish, Louisiana. They are buried in Spearsville Cemetery. Children of Hosea Woodford Breazeal and Angie Williams were: 1- Izariah (Izy) Breazeal was born January 18, 1885. 2- *Edna Tabitha Breazeal was born September 21, 1888. 3- Gordon W. Breazeal was born December 15, 1892. 4- Zula Elizabeth Breazeal was born April 22, 1897. 5- Clarence Elijah Breazeal was born March 24, 1902. Children of Tom and Edna were: 1- Ruby Angie Smith was born September 7, 1907, at the home of her grandfather, Woodford Breazeal, north of Spearsville. Dr. McDonald was attending. Ruby married Clinton Cisco Barron January 27, 1929 .They were married in Union Parish, Louisiana, south of Spearsville, in the home of Rev. Carlus Rockett, Cisco’s cousin. Children of Ruby Smith and Cisco Barron are: a- Clinton Ned Barron was born April 17, 1930, south of Spearsville, Louisiana, in the home of his grandparents, Tom and Edna Smith, with Dr. Dudley attending. b- Bruce Richard Barron was born February 16 1938, south of Spearsville, Louisiana in the home of his grandparents, Tom and Edna Smith, with Dr. Dudley attending. 2- Clifton Breazeal Smith was born April 11, 1909 in Tom and Edna’s home just east of the present day Guy Barron home, with Dr. Dudley attending. Cliff died November 19, 1978, at Minden, Webster Parish, Louisiana. He married Robbie Burnside August 29, 1931, in Union Parish. They were married by D.K. Sawyer, Minister of the Gospel. This marriage was duly filed and recorded in Book “13”, Page 467 of Union Parish Marriage Records. Signing the Marriage Bond with Cliff was his Uncle John Lee Smith. Robbie’s parents were William Thomas Burnside and Lena Upshaw. Cliff and Robbie had one child: a- Julia Ann Smith was born October 21, 1935, in Spearsville, Louisiana. 3- Thomas Franklin Smith (Frank) was born November 27, 1914, at his parent’s home 2 miles north of Spearsville. Dr. Dudley was attending. Frank died March 17, 1989, in Monroe, Louisiana. He married Addie Bell Taylor September 25, 1936, in Spearsville, Louisiana. Signing the Marriage Bond with Frank was his Uncle Woody C. Smith. This marriage was duly filed and recorded in Book “24”, Page 552 of Union Parish Marriage Records. Addie was born August 3, 1919, and died March 6, 1978. Her parents were George Arlin Taylor and Sarah Ophelia Byrom. Addie and Frank are buried in Spearsville Cemetery. Children of Frank and Addie are: a- Rodney Dwight Smith was born September 24, 1939, at Spearsville, Louisiana. b- Eddie Jerral Smith was born January 7, 1942, in Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. c- Rebecca Ann Smith was born May 29, 1951, in Bernice, Union Parish, Louisiana. d- Jeffery Scott Smith was born April 2, 1961, in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. e- Kevin Frank Smith was born June 11, 1962, in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. 4- Graydon Richard Smith was born May 22, 1919, in his parents home 2 miles north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. Dr. Dudley was attending. Graydon married Kathleen Turnage July 27, 1940, in Bernice. They were married by L.B. Dandy, Justice of the Peace. This marriage was duly filed and recorded in Book “26”, Page 119 of Union Parish Marriage Records. Kathleen was born November 5, 1922, in Farmerville, Union Parish, Louisiana, the daughter of Amos Ross Turnage and Imor Jean Tucker. Kathleen died December 8, 1999, in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. She was buried in Spearsville Cemetery. Children of Graydon and Kathleen are: a- Thomas Richard Smith (Tommy), was born August 23, 1945, in Fort Sumter, New Mexico. b- Virginia Lee Smith was born January 7, 1954 in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. 5- Virginia Dale Smith was born April 21, 1929, south of Spearsville, Louisiana, in her parent’s home. Dr. Dudley was attending. Dale married Glen Melvin Haynes August 8, 1951, in Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. They were married by J.E. Mason, Minister of the Gospel. Glen was born June 5, 1926, in Lisbon, Louisiana. His parents were Milo Jesless Haynes and Gladys Montique Trichel. Glen died November 27, 1985 in Monroe, and is buried in Spearsville, Cemetery. Children of Dale and Glen are: a- David Glenn Haynes was born January 22, 1955, in Little Rock, Arkansas. b- Michael James Haynes was born July 11, 1956, in Bernice, Union Parish, Louisiana. Dale married Roy Holloway June 24, 1996, in Fordyce, Arkansas. According to Social Security Records, Thomas Jackson Smith was born October 5, 1881, and died June 15, 1966. His Zip code was 71277. His SS # was 433-78-8378, and was issued in Louisiana. T. J. Smith sold 80 acres of land, more or less, to Harmon for $290.00 in 1909. R.W. Rhodes was a witness. T.J. Smith sold 40 acres of land to Harmon Smith and wife in 1916. The Justice of the Peace was I.P. Breazeal. T.J. Smith bought 80 acres of land from Harmon Smith for $700.00 in 1921. Sometime during 1924, Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna lost their farm near the present day Guy Barron farm; in fact I believe their place ended up being part of the Barron farm. Uncle Tom signed a 4 man loan on property with 4 other men. If all 4 did not pay their payments on a certain date, then all 4 lost, even if the other 3 men had their money. One of the 4 men did not have the money, and Uncle Tom lost his place north of Spearsville. Sometime after that he purchased the place south of Spearsville, where he and Edna spent the rest of their days. Uncle Tom could be abrupt with his speech if it need be, and his cards and letters were even shorter. His older brother, Jim, wrote from LaPorte, Texas asking for the date of the Primitive Baptist District Meeting. To which Tom answered, on a card: Dist Mt. on Oct. 15. You and Sister Ida come forward. T.J. S. The only time I can find that Uncle Tom lost his temper was when his younger brother, Armon, was killed October 31, 1933. Uncle Tom walked to town regularly after he retired. He walked to town in the morning, and walked home for dinner, and walked back to town after dinner. One day Keith Bryam came up behind him on a motorcycle and stopped along side. “Do you want a ride, Mr. Tom?” he asked. Uncle Tom replied, “I wouldn’t ride to town with you if you were in a car, much less on that thing,” and kept walking. Uncle Tom was playing checkers at “Puddin” Rockett’s station, when Frankie Bennett and Ronnie Lane Elkins came. Ronnie told him, “Mr. Tom, you have snuff running down both sides of your mouth.” To which Uncle Tom replied, “It’s my mouth and my snuff, and I’ll dip it any way I choose.” Aunt Edna and Uncle Tom had Elder Reason Rhodes over for dinner one day during the week. Aunt Edna had a few biscuits left over from breakfast, and she intended for Bro. Rhodes to have most of those biscuits. When the bread plate was passed, Uncle Tom got a couple of the biscuits. Each time the plate was passed he got another biscuit. Aunt Edna kicked him under the table to get him to stop taking biscuits. Uncle Tom quickly told her, “Edna, don’t kick me under the table, for I happen to like your biscuits as well as Bro. Rhodes does.” The following happened about 1914. There was community footpath stretching from Tom and Edna’s house, near the present day Guy Barron house and south west across the woods toward New Hope Primitive Baptist Church, also giving access to Edna’s parent’s home just up the Beech Grove road. The trail crossed Steep Bank creek over a very large log to which a set of hand rails had been affixed. Unless there had been a heavy rain, there was not too much to Steep Bank, but it could be a deep, swift flowing body of water when flooded. Edna was carrying Cliff and started across the foot bridge. Her oldest child, Ruby, was lagging behind, and panicked when she saw her mother in the middle of the foot bridge. She began running and stumbled, falling into the torrent of narrow swift flowing water. Edna, who could not swim, reacted quickly. She threw Cliff to the far bank of the creek, and immediately plunged in after her daughter. Edna was wearing the full dress of that time, and it was freshly starched and ironed. When she hit the water, the skirt blossomed out, caught enough air to help her float, and she stayed on the surface of the water and held Ruby until she caught a tree root and was able to pull herself and her daughter from sure death. Edna, Ruby, and Cliff were not harmed by the scare, and continued on their way. Edna’s new wide brim hat was later found hung on a limb where Steep Bank flowed through Bob Ogden’s pasture. Uncle Tom joined New Hope Primitive Baptist Church on May 4, 1918, and was baptized by his father, Elder Woody K. Smith. Aunt Edna joined the church July 3, 1929. They were long time members and faithful in attendance of their church. They often had visiting church people in their home. As a young boy I can remember the grown-ups sitting on the cool front porch at their house and talking about the Bible. Uncle Tom influenced my father as an older brother and also influenced him when he joined the church and first started preaching. The following is taken from the Primitive Baptist, “Signs of the Times” June, 1966 publication: THOMAS JACKSON SMITH Our father, the late Elder W.K. Smith, was married three times, and had a total of eleven children. The subject of this notice was the oldest by the second wife, Magalia E. Head. He was born in Union County, Arkansas, October 5, 1881, and passed away March 10, 1966, at the age of more than 84 years. At the age of fourteen he moved with his parents to near Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, and the remainder of his seventy years was spent in this vicinity. He was married to Edna Breazeal November 27, 1906, and she preceded him in death about eight years. To this union five children were born; Ruby (Mrs., Cisco Barron), of Spearsville, Louisiana, Clifton, of Minden, Louisiana, Frank, of Monroe, Louisiana, Graydon R., of Minden, Louisiana, and Mrs. Glen Haynes (Dale), of Junction City, Arkansas. All of these survive, together with twelve grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Surviving also are three brothers and three sisters; Harmon Smith of Spearsville, Louisiana, Woody C. Smith of El Dorado, Arkansas, Elder John Lee Smith, of Spearsville, Louisiana, Mrs. Lizzie Williams of Dubach, Louisiana, Mrs. Nannie Ogden, of Spearsville, Louisiana, and Mrs. Irene Risinger, of Spearsville, Louisiana. Tom united with New Hope Church, May 4, 1918, and was baptized by his father. On May 1, 1921, he was ordained a deacon, which office he filled with fidelity for nearly forty-five years. His character in church as well as the community was above reproach. Several years following Tom, his noble, lovely wife, Edna, came into the church. The Old Baptist always found a warm welcome in their home when they visited them, as did their relatives, friends, and neighbors. I would be cautious not to over praise the man, but rather would I render all praise to the God of his Salvation, who made him what he was; a true, faithful, meek, humble, and unassuming saint of God. He was always unswerving and uncompromising where he felt the truth and righteousness were at stake. He had an above average understanding of the Scriptures, and loved to converse upon eternal things. While he was unyielding in his belief, he was not dogmatic. Few, if any times, did he fail to attend his church’s services, unless providentially hindered, and he found great delight in going far and near to be with the saints in their various meetings. Elders R.W. Rhodes and W.W. Hudson, Jr., were blessed to conduct a lovely service at the home church, after which his mortal remains were placed in the Spearsville Cemetery beside his wife. Thus he is gone from us to his God, a subject of divine mercy; we have every reason to believe. “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) This is written at the request of his oldest daughter, Mrs. Cisco Barron, by his youngest brother, Elder John Lee Smith Spearsville, Louisiana The thing I remember and liked the best about Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna was the size of their hearts. All the years of their married life was spent helping others. Never was a soul turned away from their home: On the morning of October 31, 1933, Tom’s younger brother, Armon, was shot and killed by his father-in-law; leaving 5 children with no father, no mother, only with a step-mother of less than a year with the family. a- Harmon Loy Smith was 24 years old when his father was killed. b- Martha Marie Smith was 21 years old when her father was killed. c- Woody Knighten (W.K.) was 19 years old when his father was killed. d- Robert Minor Smith was 17 years old when his father was killed. e- Curtis Armon Smith was 14 years old when his father was killed. f- Olive Larue Smith was 10 years old when her father was killed. Armon Smith’s funeral was held at New Hope Primitive Baptist Church with Elder R.W. Rhodes officiating. Burial was in Spearsville Cemetery beside his first wife, Rosa Lea Ogden Smith. Family members recall that as Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna left the Cemetery after Armon was buried, Aunt Edna stopped, squared her shoulders, looked up at Uncle Tom and said, “I’ve got to go back and get those little children of Armon’s” and that is just what she did. Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna kept their nieces and nephews off and on until they were all grown and married. Robert and Curtis stayed there when they returned home from World War II. The children of Armon and Rosa Lea never forgot Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna. At different stages of their marriage, Aunt Edna kept house for five of her children, five of Armon’s children, Uncle Woody Smith, her brother Gordon Breazeal, and just about anybody else that came by. Her daughter Dale remembers 20 pallets set up in the hall at their house for visiting church people who came home with them. Dale was assigned to sleep at the front hall door and warn her cousin, Curtis, who usually came in late. Aunt Edna did not want him to blunder in the darkness and step on someone. It is an absolute marvel how Aunt Edna and her daughter, Dale, did all this, but they got it done, and Aunt Edna never complained When Curtis Smith died, Rodney Smith and his wife, Frances, and I traveled to South Louisiana for the funeral. Elder Graydon Smith is my first cousin, as well as being a first cousin to Curtis. Graydon and I were talking in the office of the funeral home before he was to conduct the service for Curtis. Graydon asked me, “Lyle, boy, would you like to trade places with me this morning? Curtis was just like a brother to me; we were raised together in the same house by my mother and daddy. This will be a hard thing for me to do.” I reminded Graydon what my father, and his uncle, Elder John Lee Smith told me. I asked Dad how he was able to conduct the funeral for his brothers and nephews. His reply was, “The Lord will see me through.” Graydon replied, “You are right, he will see me through also.” But this shows just close Graydon and Curtis were and what Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna did for their nephews. Tom’s nephews Robert and Curtis Smith both served in the military during World War II. Curtis apparently had some pretty rough times on the front lines in Europe. When the war ended, he came home to Tom and Edna’s house. Curtis’ nerves were pretty well shot and he was probably suffering from battle fatigue. When he went out he would sometimes drink, and drink a great deal. When he came home he would be under the influence, and more times than not he would be sick. Everyone knew that Aunt Edna was a teetotaler, bar none. But when Curtis came in indisposed late a night, she ran all the others out and took care of him like he was her son. She would clean him up and put him to bed. There were times that Curtis would get into fights and get beat up pretty bad. Part of this was due to the drinking, and his nerves, and quite probably some of it was due to the frustrations of early childhood when his father was killed. When he came in bloody and swollen, Aunt Edna was clean him up and treat him, always asking him why he wanted to go out and get into fights and get beat up. But she always looked after him. This was before Curtis married Isabel Mary Dias (Delly) on September 3, 1950, in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Delly told Curtis many times how lucky he was to have had someone like Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna to love and care for him like they did. Robert Smith was living with Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna when he was going with his future wife, Hazel Caulk Summers. They married May 25, 1948, in Bernice Union Parish, Louisiana, Both Robert and Curtis never forgot the love and kindness extended them by their Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna. Curtis Smith joined the National Guard while attending Arkansas A & M at Monticello, Arkansas, and went on active duty when the United States became involved in World War II. He was in the 206th. Anti-Aircraft, the 4th division, 22nd Infantry. He was in the Aleutian Islands when the Japanese attacked there. He experienced some very rough and trying times there. He returned to the states for a while and then was sent to Germany. He stayed there until the war was over, spending a great deal of time on the front lines. The only time Curtis talked to me about his military experiences, he told me he fought under General Patton, and that he had a lot of respect for him. On March 23, 1956, my oldest brother, Winford, married Terry Hanako Taira in Honolulu, The Territory of Hawaii. They were married in the United States Naval Station Chapel, at Pearl Harbor, by F.H. Wickham, LCDR. ChC. USN. Witnesses were Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Fenner. This marriage was duly filed and recorded as License Number 37401, Territory of Hawaii, and File Number 0955. This was three years before Hawaii became a state. Terry Smith, my new sister-in-law, whom we all love dearly, made her first trip to Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, arriving there May 30, 1857. Being a Hawaiian of Japanese descent, and 5,000 miles from home, and meeting her in-laws and the Smith family for the first time in the Southern United States; it could be said that she might have been a little bit apprehensive. But her greeting could not have been better if we had planned it. My younger brother, Carl, and I, adored her and picked at her the entire time she was at our home. It was not long before she was giving back as much as we put on her. The visit went extremely well, and all the neighbors and kinfolk came by to meet our new sister. For some reason, Terry seemed to think that I talked slow. The best was left for near the end of their month long visit. Winford and Terry received a call, and were invited to visit Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna and eat a noon meal at their house. In their usual fashion, Aunt Edna and Uncle Tom made them feel welcome, and the visit was a joyous one that Winford and Terry will never forget. Aunt Edna had an afflicted brother named Gordon W. Breazeal (Dony) who was four years younger than she was. After his parent’s died, Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna kept him in their home until his death on October 16, 1949. Gordon had to be watched constantly, He was diabetic and loved to get into the sugar bowl. Aunt Edna had to look after him like a nurse. Gordon was buried in Spearsville Cemetery. Uncle Tom managed to get by and raise his family, but times were hard. Yet he never turned down one of his younger brothers if they needed a loan. He might not have had the money to spare, but he always did spare it to his family. When Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna were first married, he hewed cross-ties for a living. During this time they lived in a rail car sitting on the tracks. Uncle Tom also kept a store on several different occasions. He worked in a store that was owned by Mr. Tom Bennett. Mr. Bennett wanted out and the store was purchased by Uncle Woody Smith and Mr. Hugh Rockett, and Uncle Tom continued to work there. Uncle Tom worked as a gin inspector on one occasion, and he checked cotton acreage in the parish. He hired Billy Bennett to drive him around. He would tell Billy to go north, south, east, west or some other direction. Uncle Tom took the job of janitor for Spearsville High School and included some grand sons as his assistants. Once, a sister-in-law of Uncle Tom was visiting in their home with her 5 year old son. While they were at the dinner table, the young boy did something to perturb his mother, and she picked him up from the table and shoved him under a bed for punishment. The little boy was alone and scared under the dark bed. A long arm reached under the bed and gently pulled the little lad out. “You sit by Uncle Tom,” he said as he put him on the bench beside him, we don’t treat little boys like this at my house.” The sister-in-law bit her tongue, and a little boy loved Uncle Tom Smith for the rest of his life. And after Uncle Tom’s death he still loves him and has fond memories of him. Rodney Smith, grandson of Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna, recalls coming in from school in the evenings and always walking down to see Momma (what they called their grandmother.) In the winters she baked ginger cookies or had baked sweet potatoes for him and his younger brother, Eddie, to eat. In the summer there were usually frozen peaches. Aunt Edna froze fresh peaches in quart fruit jars, and Rodney remembers eating a full quart as they watched TV at his grandmother’s house. He also recalls that once a year at Christmas time, a whole hoop cheese came in from the store. Aunt Edna would melt the cheese, and they would put it in hot biscuits. She also sliced very thin slices for them to eat by themselves. Betty Smith Odum, daughter of Loy Smith, once related to me that she would not have had grandparents in north Louisiana if it had not been for Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna. The children in her family came up to Spearsville in the summer and spent 2-3 weeks at a time with Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna. Betty and Uncle Tom were best buddies. He wrote to her several times after she got married in 1964. Her brothers and sisters thought Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna hung the moon. That was another group who will not forget Tom and Edna Smith. Another group of kinfolk are remembering Tom and Edna Smith in a special way. Grandsons, Eddie Smith, and Rodney Smith, with help from Ned Barron and Bruce Barron are attempting to rebuild their old home south of Spearsville, so it will be livable to use when members of their families return to Spearsville to visit. Some of the lumber came off Uncle Tom’s old place, and the cypress lumber came from grandson, Ned Barron and his wife, Mary’s place. When Aunt Edna died in 1957, she and Tom had a son, Frank, and his family living on the edge of their place, and their oldest daughter, Ruby, and her husband, Cisco Barron, lived just up the hill toward Spearsville. Ruby and Cisco ended up adding two rooms and a bath to their home, and moved Uncle Tom in to live with them. So, some of Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna’s goodness was being paid back. Tom lived with them until he went into the hospital before his death. Rodney Smith, Tom and Edna’s grandson, said that “Momma” (his name for Aunt Enda) dying caused death to hit him as a reality for the first time. Her body was bought to her home, and Rodney stood on the north end of the front porch and cried and cried. Uncle Tom was buried beside his beloved Edna in Spearsville Cemetery. “Two loving souls are back together.” Lyle M. Smith February 16, 2005 ########################################################################