Biography of Elder Woody K. Smith of Spearsville, Union Parish Louisiana Submitted for the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives by Lyle Smith, 2/2005 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ ================================================================================= BIOGRAPHY OF HARMON AND ARMON SMITH, OF SPEARSVILLE, UNION PARISH LOUISIANA Researched and written by their nephew, Lyle Smith, 2005 ================================================================================== THE COMBINED BIOGRAPHIES OF HARMON AND ARMON SMITH (TWINS) Armon and Harmon Smith were twins brothers of my father, John Lee Smith. They are of special interest to me because they are twins, and to the best of my knowledge, the only twins recorded in the immediate Woody K. Smith family. Therefore I decided to share what I know of these two unique individuals. Armon and Harmon Smith were born July 5, 1887, at Lapile (pronounced La-Peel), Union County, Arkansas. They were the sons of Woody King Smith and Mahalia Elizabeth Head. Woody K. was born April 26, 1857, in Ouachita Township, Bradley County, Arkansas. Mahalia E. Head was born August 5, 1853, in Alabama. They were married September 2, 1880, in Union County, Arkansas. Children of Woody K. Smith and Mahalia E. Head were: 1- Thomas Jackson (Tom) Smith was born October 5, 1881, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. 2- William Hansford (Bill) Smith was born June 2, 1883, at Lapile, Union County,Arkansas. 3- Nancy Jane (Nannie) Smith was born June 12, 1885, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. 4- Armon Smith was born July 5, 1887, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. 5- Harmon Smith was born July 5, 1887, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. 6- Woody C. Smith was born July 9, 1890, at Lapile, Union County, Arkansas. After giving birth to 6 children between 1880 and 1890, Mahalia E. Head died March 20, 1895, in Union County, Arkansas, leaving behind 6 children of her own, as well as 2 step-children. Woody K. Smith married his third and final wife, Mary Rebecca Barron, 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 Rebecca purchased a team of mules; food and cloth material from which she and Lizzie, the twin's oldest sister, made 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 exceptions. She expected her new step-children to do noless. Their mother had been sickly for over 2 years and bedridden the last three monthsof 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 had duties assigned to perform. Armon and Harmon were almost 8 years old when the new lady of the house arrived. Mary would instruct one of the twins to fetch stove wood while she was cooking, but he would not do it, he just sort of wandered off. When approached about it, Harmon or Armon would say, "You must have told my twin brother to get the wood." Mary soon broke up their scheme. She instructed both of the twins to fetch the stove wood. Mary Rebecca said if one twin got sick, she knew to prepare the bed for the other one, because he too always came down with the same illness. John Lee Smith, the twins's youngest brother, and Delma Wall were married October 16, 1932. Her oldest brother, Carl Wall, came to visit. Carl was on the porch at John Lee's house when one of the twins drove by in a wagon being pulled by a team of mules. Several minutes later the other twin walked by going in the same direction, and Carl not knowing about the twins, stated that he was the walkingest fellow he had ever seen. In Union Parish in the early 1900s, taxes were paid by doing work on the dirt and gravel roads of the parish, by hand. A taxpayer would be notified as to what road they would be working on, and what day he was expected to show up with a shovel and hoe. On December 25, 1915, Uncle Harmon was scheduled to do road work. Uncle Armon reported in his place so Harmon could marry Mary Eva Rogers. The twins were 27 years old at the time.. When Harmon's oldest daughter, Ruth LaNelle, was very young, she saw both Harmon and Armon approaching up the hill and exclaimed, "I've got two daddys." During the first 8 years of their life, Armon and Harmon lived at Lapile (French word meaning pile), Union County, Arkansas, Randolph, Union Parish, Louisiana, and Blanchard Springs, Union County, Arkansas. The house at Blanchard Springs was torn down the pieces marked and moved to 4 miles north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. For a couple of years or so, before the house from Blanchard Springs was reconstructed 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.) On January 20, 1896, Woody K. Smith purchased the following parcel of land from H.H. Rockett: "The Northeast Quarter, (NE ) 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. According to Smith family lore, they moved into the rebuilt house sometimes in early 1900. On March 20, 1895, Harmon and Armon, as well as Tom, Bill, Nannie and Woody Smith lost their mother, and the 2 oldest children by Woody K's previous marriage lost their stepmother. The twins were 7 years and 9 months old at the time. Armon and Harmon were identical twins, but there were some who could tell them apart. After they reached manhood, it appeared that Armon was a little fuller through the hips and waist. Harmon and Armon were extremely close as twins tend to be. In a dim photograph taken from a tintype made about 1897, one twin was touching the other on the knee and the other had his hand on the other twins arm. Both Armon and Harmon farmed and lived their entire lives in and around Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. Armon Smith purchased 80 acres of land from S.R. Templeton for $300.00 in 1909 Armon Smith purchased 10 acres of land from his brother-in-law, J.R. (Bob) Ogden for $100.00 in 1909. Armon Smith purchased 40 acres of land from his twin brother, Harmon Smith for $200.00 in 1916. Armon Smith purchased 10 acres of land from H.T. Rockett for $50.00 in 1917. Armon Smith sold 40 acres of land to his twin brother, Harmon Smith, for $350.00 in 1918. Armon Smith sold his minerals rights for $120.00 in 1919. In 1923, Armon Smith sold the mineral rights on his land he had purchased from J.R. Ogden. The lease sold for $153.00 for 5 years. In 1919, Harmon Smith purchased 60 acres of land from his twin brother Armon. Smith, for $900.00. Harmon and Armon Smith's lives were very close during their first 20 years, but it broadened out a little when Armon married in 1907. They continued to live in the same community, make land deals together, farmed, and were close as brothers for the remainder of their lives. ARMON SMITH: Armon Smith married Rosa Lea Ogden November 6, 1907. He was 20 years old at the time. Rosa Lea was born March 26, 1982, in Union County, Arkansas. She was 15 years old at the time of their marriage. They were married in Union Parish, Louisiana by J.W. Hunt, Justice of the Peace, as required by law, in the presence of at least 3 male witnesses. The witnesses were N.A. Graves, W.A. Mason and Minor Ogden, older brother of the bride. The Marriage Bond was signed by Armon Smith and H.T. Rockett. This marriage being duly filed and recorded in Book 11, Page 594 of Union Parish Marriage Records. Rosa Lea was a sister to Bob Ogden as well as Minor Ogden, who married the twin's older sister, Nancy Jane (Nannie) Smith. Rosa's parents were William Robert Ogden and Sarah Ann Elizabeth Breazeal. They were married April 6, 1875, in Union County, Arkansas. Bob was born July 7, 1852, in Union County, Arkansas; He died December 9, 1942, at Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. Eliza was born June 7, 1854, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She died September 18,1929,at Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. Bob and Eliza are buried in Spearsville Cemetery. From the information available it appears that Armon and Rosa Lea never lived more that 5 miles from the Woody K. Smith place. They lived all around the community, but never far from the ole home place. Children of Armon Smith and Rosa Lea Ogden were: 1- Harmon Loy Smith was born August 24, 1909, north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana. He was born in a log cabin west of where Minor and Nannie Ogden lived their last years. He married Velma Pauline Brien January 2, 1938, in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Loy was 20 years old when his mother died, and 24 years old when his father died. Children of Loy and Velma are: a- Loy Andrew Smith was born October 22, 1939. b- Edith Ann Smith was born June 29, 1941. c- Henry Edward Smith was born October 8, 1942. d- Betty Ruth Smith was born December 21, 1944. e- Barbara Mae Smith was born August 2, 1947. f- Catherine Louise Smith was born October 7, 1949. 2- Martha Marie Smith was born February 7, 1912, north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, in the same log cabin that Loy was born in. She married Joe Reed Futch April 30, 1932, in Union Parish, Louisiana Marie was 17 years old when her mother died, and 21 years old when her father was killed. Children of Marie and Joe are: a- Frankie F. Futch, born August 2, 1933. b- Kay Francis Futch, born October 3, 1934. c- Fred Wayne Futch, born October 16, 1935. d- Bill Terry Futch, born February 28, 1937. e- Ike Jerry Futch, born January 31, 1941. f- Curtis Armon Futch, born October 7, 1943. g- Rosa Lee Futch, born July 9, 1945. h- Joe Rigney Futch, born May 6, 1948. i- Annie Sue Futch, born September 30, 1949. 3- Woody Knighton (W.K.) Smith was born April 16, 1914, north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, in a house directly across from where the present day William Ogden house stands. He married Evlyn Comeaux January 30, 1937, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.. There were no children from this union. W.K was 15 years old when his mother died and 19 years old when his father was killed. 4- Robert Minor Smith was born December 3, 1916, north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, in a house between New Hope Primitive Baptist Church and where the William Ogden house stands today. He married Hazel Caulk Summers May 25, 1948, in Bernice, Union Parish, Louisiana. Robert was 13 years old when his mother died and 17 years old when his father was killed. Children of Robert and Hazel are: a- Bobbye Dianne Smith, born January 25, 1949. 5- Curtis Armon Smith was born September 28, 1919, north of Spearsville, Union Parish, Louisiana, in the same house where Robert was born, on the west side of the road. He married Isabel Mary (Delly) Dias September 3, 1950, in Thibodaux, Louisiana. There were no children from this marriage. Curtis was 10 years old when his mother died and 14 years old when his father was killed 6- Olive Larue Smith was born November 13, 1923, in a house on the Boone Breazeal place. The exact location is where the present day John Lee Smith stands. She married Conrad Merville LeBlanc (Boo) March 26, 1943, in Schriever, Louisiana. Larue was 6 years old when her mother died and 10 years old when her father was killed. Children of Larue and Boo are: a- Michael James LeBlanc (Mike), born October 8, 1946. b- Keith Thomas LeBlanc, born December 21, 1956. Rosa Lea Ogden Smith died February 20, 1929, a little less than 37 years old. She died in the same house where her daughter, Larue was born. She was buried in Spearsville Cemetery. After Rosa's death, Armon courted and planned to marry Eliza Ogden, the niece of his late wife, and the daughter of his brother-in-law, Bob Ogden. Bob warned Armon not to marry his daughter. On November 30, 1932, Armon Smith, age 45, married Eliza Ogden, age 34, in Union County, Arkansas. They were married by O.A. Miles, Justice of the Peace.. Signing the Marriage Bond was Armon Smith and and H.T. Rockett. This marriage being duly filed and recorded in Book 14, Page 38 of Union County Marriage Records. Bob, who had been Armon's brother-in-law, now became his farther-in-law. Elder Woody K. Smith, Armon's father died June 26, 1933, and was buried in Spearsville Cemetery. He was 76 years old at his death. On the morning of October 31, 1933, Armon was cutting fire wood near his house with Prentice Clark, a local black man. Bob Ogden and J.R. (Bouy) Futch, Armon's son-in- law had been squirrel hunting, and on coming out of the woods they walked by where Armon and Prentice were sawing wood with a cross cut saw. Bouy took Armon's end of the cross cut saw from him and was letting him rest while he and the black man finished sawing the wood. Bob Ogden was seated on the log across from Armon. All of a sudden a gun went off and Bob fell backward off the log. Then Bouy saw Armon bleeding and slumped over, so he knew Bob had shot him. The charge from the shotgun hit Armon in the face and throat. He was killed instantly. The following column was found in the Gazette Weekly Newspaper. November 1, 1933. MAN KILLED BY GUNSHOT AT SPEARSVILLE Just as we get this issue of the paper made up, news reaches Farmerville that a man was killed at Spearsville Tuesday just before noon. The indefinite news said a man named Ogden had shot and fatally wounded Armon Smith. Both men were residents of the Spearsville Community. Sheriff Pat Murphy and deputies had gone to the scene of the killing at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, but had not returned when this was written. Rumor said the shooting was accidental. Armon Smith's funeral was held at Hew Hope Primitive Baptist Church with Elder R.W. Rhodes officiating. There was a large crowd attending. Burial was in Spearsville Cemetery beside his first wife, Rosa Lea Ogden Smith. Family members recall that as Armon's older brother, Tom, and his wife, Edna, left the Spearsville 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 kids of Armon's, and that is just what she did. Tom and Edna kept their nieces and nephews off and on until they were all grown and married. Curtis and Robert stayed there when they came back from World War II. The children of Armon and Rosa Lea never forgot Uncle Tom and Aunt Edna. Ever since Armon"s death people have had various ideas about how he died and why it happened. Armon Smith is still missed by his family, especially those who never got to meet him. At the time Armon was shot and killed, his twin brother Harmon, was several miles away plowing, when he suddenly felt very bad. He unhooked the mule from the plow and rode him to the house. He did not dismount at the barn like he usually did, but rode on to the porch and slid off without touching the ground. Those there said he was deathly gray in the face. When asked what was wrong, he replied, "I feel like I am going to die." Later when they compared times, it was noted that this incident occurred at the same time Armon was killed. HARMON SMITH: Harmon Smith, age 27, married Mary Eva Rogers on December 25, 1915, in Union County, Arkansas. They were married by J.H. Lee, Justice of the Peace. The Marriage Bond was signed by H. Smith and J.R. Saunton. This marriage being duly filed and recorded in Book U, Page 356 of Union County Marriage Records. Harmon was born July 5th in Lapile, Union County, Arkansas and died December 18, 1967. Eva was born June 29, 1899, in Robeline, Louisiana. She died February 6, 1986, in Monroe, Louisiana. Her parents were Henry Rogers, born in North Carolina, and Sallie Shinpock, who was born in Georgia. They were married August 7, 1898, in Union Parish, Louisiana by D.H. Webb, Minister of the gospel. Harmon and Eva were buried in Spearsville Cemetery along with his father, Elder Woody K. Smith, six of his brothers and two of his sisters. Harmon Smith was a farmer. I can remember back to when I was a small boy and he was bringing his cotton in. On his 70th birthday on July 5, 1957, my younger brother Carl and I helped him chop cotton. We ate with them that week and Aunt Eva sure could still cook. Uncle Harmon was also a very good right handed baseball pitcher. His younger brother, Woody C. was his catcher and a good one. Woody was 10 inches taller than Uncle Harmon and they sure did make a pair. I quote from a letter sent to me by Uncle Harmon's oldest living child, George Harmon Smith. "I recall seeing my father, Harmon Smith; pitch a double header on the Fourth of July. He beat "Seb" Bowles who pitched for the Chicago White Soxs, 1 to 0, them he turned around and beat some pitcher named Albritton 2 to 1. Uncle Boone Breazeal who played center field, and to my amazement could really hit the ball at the plate. He would intimidate the opposing team by going to his position and sitting down! "They ain't gonna touch Harmon, so I'll just rest my legs, he'd yell."" WRITER'S NOTE: I recall hearing that one day Mr. Boone rode a pine sapling down in centerfield, because there was nothing else to do with Harmon pitching. I also remember hearing Uncle Harmon talking of throwing pitches called, "In shoot, outshoot, out drop, and in drop". They are called different names today, but the base ball makes the same movements he was telling about. I could tell he knew what he was talking about. Uncle Harmon had a good singing voice. He attended singing schools when he was young. His voice was not as loud or deep as his younger brother, Henry, but he sang in Church very well. There is a picture of the school held at the New Hope Primitive Baptist Church in 1909. They made a photo one day, and it contained 5 of the children of Elder Woody K. Smith. Those attending from the Smith house were: Irene Smith age 6 John Lee Smith age 9 Henry Smith age 12 Woody C. Smith age 19 Harmon Smith age 22 It was a one room Church and the wide spread group of ages attended in that one room. The teachers had to be good. This one was Miss Icy Webb. There was a teacher at Spearsville High School who could be talked into letting some of the male students walk up town to Cousin Hugh Barron's store to watch the World Series on TV. The way this was accomplished was for one or two of the boys to hug her neck and tell her how pretty she looked. It worked almost every time. I was telling Uncle Harmon about this and what we did to get to see the World Series. He had a lot of dry wit, and told me, "it would not be worth seeing the game for me to tell her she was pretty, for she is as ugly as a mud fence daubed with tadpoles." Children of Harmon Smith and Eva Rogers were: 1- A still born daughter. Dr. Dudley did all he could to save the child. 2- George Harmon Smith, born January 12, 1920. He married Willa Dell Horne December 22, 1945, in Union Parish, Louisiana. Children of George and Billie were: a- George William Smith, born October 14, 1946. b- Donna Elizabeth Smith, born August 23, 1950. c- Betty Dell Smith, born July 26, 1951. d- James Bryon Smith, born August 22, 1953. e- Angela Lynn Smith, born December 20, 1962. 3- William Rudolph Smith, born May 28, 1923. He married Dorothy (Dot) Grace Rita Naquin July 5, 1947. Children of Rudolph and Dot were: a- William Rudolph Smith Jr., born October 28th 1948. b- Ananell Rita Smith, born December 1, 1949. c- Phyllis Ann Smith, born April 16, 1959. 4- Ruth LaNelle Smith, born October 27, 1924. She married Marshall Mitchell Rambin (Buck) June 1, 1946. Children of Nelle and Buck are: a- Mitchell Lavon Rambin, born October 17, 1950. b- Harmon Glenn Rambin, born March 3, 1953. 5- Thomas Lavon Smith, born August 7, 1926. He married Janie Wilkins November 3, 1950. Children of Lavon and Janie are: a- Linda Karen Smith, born March 4, 1952. b- Thomas Smith (Tommy), born in 1956. c- Eric Smith, born April 27, 1972. Lavon married Patsy Jewel Slaton. 6- Billy Kenneth Smith, born July 14, 1928. He married Irlene Monroe October 17, 1947. Children of Billy and Irlene are: a- Kenneth Allen Smith, born November 10, 1952. b- Benjamin Davis Smith, born December 5, 1955. c- Cynthia Joyce Smith, born March 17, 1962. d- Philip Lane Smith, born July 16, 1964. e- Debra Kay Smith, born January 16,1969. 7- Bette Zane Smith, born October 17, 1930. She married Arthur Richard (Art) Theis August 21, 1949. Children of Bette and Art are: a- Marsha Colleen Theis, born November 24, 1951. b- Sandra Ellen Theis, born April 21, 1955. 8- Elizabeth Ann Smith, born December 12, 1934. She married Bobby Uriah Elkins November 22, 1952. Children of Elizabeth and Bobby are: a- Bobby Stephen Elkins (Steve), born May 14, 1954. b- Richard Dale Elkins (Ricky), born September 30, 1957. c- Carol Ann Elkins, born August 4, 1960. My best memories of the Harmon Smith home are it being a warm friendly place, with good food to eat. Uncle Harmon and Aunt Eva were always friendly and took time to talk to their nephews and nieces. I remember especially their 3 daughters being married there at their house with my father, Elder John Lee Smith performing the ceremonies. I remember a trip by train to California in 1947. Mother, Carl and I stopped by to visit in Colorado with Uncle Bill Smith, my father's older brother, and Aunt Annie. It was the only time I ever saw them. But I remember Uncle Bill well, for he always reminded me of the size and shape of Uncle Harmon. At the time of John Lee Smith and Delma Wall's marriage, Woody K, and Mary Rebecca offered their 150 farm to their sons, Henry and John Lee for the total of $1359.10 that was owed upon it. Uncle Henry accepted, but my Dad declined, without even mentioning it to my mother, so 3 days after John Lee and Delma were married, Woody K Smith sold the farm to Uncle Henry and Uncle Harmon, on October 19, 1932. That is how close I came to living on Smith Hill. Uncle Harmon lived out the rest of his years there. He was a good man. "I MISS HIM STILL" Lyle M. Smith January 28, 2005 ###########################################################