Category Archives: Smithen

Photos: Smithen and related families

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These photos are primarily SMITHEN, Walker & related families. Most were taken in and around Navarro Co. & Ellis Co. Texas … Blooming Grove, Ensign, Lone Cedar, Corsicana, Cryer Creek, Dresden. Many of these have been previously published on my Ancestry.com family tree but I felt they would be more accessible to others via this website.

If I have misidentified anyone or if any caption requires modification, please email me at the address listed on my “Contact” page of this website. If you have any photos you feel are related to these families that you would like posted on this website, please email me.

Before using any photograph from this website, please read the letter posted on May 1, 2016, entitled RELEASE OF PHOTOGRAPHS.

Ed Smithen & Family, c. 1901. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen & Family, c. 1901. Top L to R … Harvey Smithen, Kate Pritchett, Carl Smithen … Middle … Ed Smithen, Althea Pritchett Smithen … Bottom … Birdie Smithen, Bessie Smithen, Willie Pete Smithen, Pearl Smithen (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen & second wife. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen & second wife. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Ed Smithen (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Wedding photo of Harvey Smithen & Myrtle Walker, 1920. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Wedding photo of Harvey Smithen & Myrtle Walker, 1920. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Three Smithen brothers. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Three Smithen brothers, Carl, Robert & Walter with Unk Lady. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Smithen brothers & sisters. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Unk man, Robert Smithen, Mary & Fannie Smithen, Walter Smithen, Birdie Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

A young Harvey Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

A young Harvey Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Walter Smithen, abt. 1984

Walter Smithen, abt. 1984

A young Walter Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

A young Walter Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Harvey Smithen & Myrtle Walker Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Harvey Smithen & Myrtle Walker Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Robert Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Robert Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Robert Smithen & wife, Ardis. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Robert Smithen & wife, Ardis. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Newton Rowell & Mary Smithen Rowell. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Newton Rowell & Mary Smithen Rowell. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Althea Caroline Pritchett Smithen, 1901. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Althea Caroline Pritchett Smithen, 1901. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Fannie Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Fannie Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Edna Collier Smithen & Willie Edward (Pete) Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Edna Collier Smithen & Willie Edward (Pete) Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

H.C. Smithen, Jr. & Margie Stringer Smithen. c. 1950. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

H.C. Smithen, Jr. & Margie Stringer Smithen. c. 1950. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Walter Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Walter Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

H. C. (Smitty) Smithen, Jr., c. 1945. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

H. C. (Smitty) Smithen, Jr., c. 1945. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Oscar Loosier, Laura Janette Hiler Walker, Harvey Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Oscar Loosier, Laura Janette Hiler Walker, Harvey Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Carl Smithen, Doroty Petty, Walter Smithen, Robert Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Carl Smithen, Dorothy Petty, Walter Smithen, Robert Smithen. (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2017)

Release Of Photographs

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Dear Cousins,

As some of you may be aware, I have taken a break from genealogy research for most of the past two years due a number of deaths within my immediate family and also demands of my business. Several weeks ago something happened to end my genealogy break …. I unexpectedly came into possession of a cache of family photos which appear to have been originally in the safekeeping of my grand aunt Evie Walker (Loosier) who was the daughter of John Alexander Walker and the grand-daughter of James Berry Walker and his second wife, Sarah Parker (Stills) (Walker). In addition to photos of James Berry and Sarah, the collection includes photos of individuals from these families: Walker, Loosier, Curl, Lassiter, Hightower, Hiler, Smithen, Stockard, Sabo, Seals, and others. Also, there are many photos of unidentified persons.

I plan to share ALL of the photos online … they will be posted on my Ancestry.com tree (where I am username 1jtay) and also my personal genealogy website located at www.genwebsite.com which is a free access site. For way too long many old photos have been withheld from other family members and fellow researchers for various reasons that may have begun with good intentions but still resulted in the photos being kept “hidden”. I hope my gesture of total release of these photos will encourage others to share theirs. Only two stipulations will apply to these photographs …. (#1) You may not rename or relabel any photo … in other words, in your mind & heart you may not believe that that’s a photo of L.D. Walker but you may not change, rename, relabel or otherwise alter that photo in any way … my grand aunt Evie knew her family members names and she wrote them on the photos during her lifetime, 1904-1975. (#2) You should properly cite the source of the photo when and if you reprint it elsewhere. The citation should read, “Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2016”.

With all my best wishes,

Johnny Taylor

(Standing L.) Myrtle, James Dewey, Evie. (Seated L.) John Alexander Walker, Mattie, Laura J. Hiler Walker, Clarence. c. 1915-15 (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2016)

(Standing L.) Myrtle, James Dewey, Evie. (Seated L.) John Alexander Walker, Mattie, Laura J. Hiler Walker, Clarence. c. 1915-15 (Photograph provided by and in the collection of Johnny Taylor, Marshall, TX, 2016)

Smithen: The End Of The Line

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If tracing the SMITHEN line from present-day backwards, Ed Smithen may be the END OF THE LINE!

When I began researching the SMITHEN line back in the late 1970s, many of Edd’s children were still living and I was able to interview most of them. Other than anecdotal stories about Ed, NOT ONE of his offspring could tell me anything about his parents or siblings nor were they aware that any even existed.

Family legend has it that Ed Smithen was an orphan in Maury County Tennessee and was raised by the FITZGERALD family until he was old enough to make it on his own. In the 1880 census for Maury Co. TN there is a 12 year old Ed Smithson listed as a servant living with a family of FITZGERALDs that includes two unmarried sisters, Lizzie (age 40) and Louiza (age 35).

In my research investigation I kept hearing hints that Edd Smithen had had a mysterious benefactor named Louiza Fitzgerald who would occasionally visit him in Corsicana and bring gifts to the family. Several brave souls even shared with me the rumor that he might be the illegitimate son of Louiza’s. Then the rumor even got racier when I was told that his father was probably a Native American Indian. (This actually makes a little sense when one studies the bone structure of the Smithen males … i.e. the high pronounced cheek bones and the barrel chest … and the few photos show Ed to have dark skin.)

One lady researcher (who was the spouse of a distant cousin) very curtly told me that proper people did not discuss such matters (as illegitimate parentage) and I was never to phone her again … she passed away several years later. Several other SMITHEN researchers at the time told me that a lady named Florence Hogg, living in Claude, TX knew all the facts about the Ed Smithen family story. I wrote Ms. Hogg several times in 1979 and finally received a response postmarked 4 Dec 1979. Here is what she wrote,

“One of my cousins worked on the family history & I have it wrote down here so will send it to you. I knew Uncle Ed but I never knew any of his family. It seems that he was an orphan and was raised by a family. We came here in 1903 so I was kinda small & cant remember. If its convenient for you to come visit us in the spring when the weather gets better we could talk a lot. One of the Breedlove boys lives here in Claude. I just have a daughter that lives here. I have a few pictures but supposed that the folks had them too. I have been so busy I didn’t write much and my hand is kinda crippled.”

Unfortunately, with it being about a 6-hour drive halfway across Texas, I never made that visit to Claude. I did try to telephone Ms. Hogg several times only to find that phone conversation was almost impossible because she was almost deaf and she basically refused to let her daughter be the go-between communicator on the sensitive topic of Ed’s parentage when I tried to breach the subject.

According to the Social Security Death Index, Ms. Hogg died in 1986 in Claude, TX, so that possibly first-hand information source is gone. I will try to trace and contact her daughter (whose name I don’t know) and possibly someone from the Breedlove family. But, at this point in time, it is pretty unlikely that I will find anyone who has the closely guarded, missing information piece to a puzzle that is more than 140 years old!

Pritchett’s In The Civil War

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Muster roll for Company F. 60th. Regiment, Gordons Army of Northern Virginia C. S. A. Gilmer and Whitfield Counties, Georgia, Gilmer volunteers:

James M. Pritchett Pvt. Sept. 19 1861, captured and paroled at Fredricksburg, Virgina Dec. 13 1862, Captured at Spotsylvania Virginia, May 20 1864, Paroled at Point Lookout, Md. and transferred for exchange March 15, 1865. He was son of Lewis Pritchett and father of John Robert Pritchett. He married Delilah Spears. .
J. N. Prichett, Pvt. April 25, 1862, Captured at Gettysburg, Pa. July 3 1863. Exchanged at Point Lookout, Md. Feb. 18, 1865. He is Jasper Newton Pritchett son of Lewis Pritchett.

M. R. Pritchett, Pvt. Sept. 19, 1861. Surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, April 9, 1865. He is the son of Jasper and Barbary Pritchett Sr. born in Gilmer County, 1838.

James M. Spears, Pvt. Feb. 25 1862. Sent to hospital in 1863. Died in Burton’s Hospital at Lynchburg, Virginia Feb. 1 1863. Buried there in the Confederate Cemetery, No. 10, 4th, line lot 189. He is the son of Friend Spears, who married Mary Caroline Pritchett Gilmer County, May 2, 1860. Mary Caroline is the daughter of John Wylie Pritchett, the brother of Lewis. Some researchers have this Mary Caroline as the daughter of Lewis this is in error\\

D. F. Spears, Pvt. Sept. 19 1861, surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, April 9, 1865. This is David son of Friend Spears.

W. B. Spears Pvt. March 4, 1862, wounded at Cold Harbor, Virginia June 27, 1862, surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia April 9 1865. This is William son of Friend Spears. He married Louisa somebody cannot make out the last name in Gilmer County, Aug. 21, 1851.

Muster Roll of Company D. 11th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia, C. S. A. Gilmer County, Georgia, known as the “Gilmer Boys”.

Francis Marion Pritchett, Pvt. March 3, 1862, died of Disease at Richmond, Virginia Jan. 20, 1862. He is the son of William Pritchett.

Major L. Pritchett, Pvt. July 3 1861. Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa. July 2 1863. Surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia April 9, 1865. He is the son of William Pritchett.

William Messer Pritchett, Pvt. July 3, 1861 wounded at Malvern Hill, Virginia July 1, 1862 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa. July 2, 1863. Also Williams son.

Muster Roll of Company A. 65th, Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry Army of Tennessee, C S. A. Gilmer and Pickens Counties, Georgia. “Gilmer Light Guards”.

Henry Pritchett, Enlisted in the Inf. Battn. Smith’s Legion, Georgia Vols, May 15, 1862. Appointed 2nd, Corporal. Transferred to Co. A. 65th Reg. Georgia, Inf. March 1863. Wounded in battle of Chickamauga and reported missing. Sent to hospital Feb. 22, 1864. Paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina May 1, 1865 with rank of 4th Corporal. He was also Williams son.

Major Pritchett and William Messer Pritchett Joined same day, July 3, 1861.

James M. Pritchett, M. R. Pritchett and D. F. Spears all joined Sept 19th, 1861.

William Messer Pritchett killed at Gettysburg July 2 , 1863.

Major Pritchett wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863.

J. N. Pritchett was captured at Gettysburg July 3, 1863.

Miles W. Lewis family researcher Gloria Davis has a lengthy report on this man in the Davis family tree] Was wounded in the groin at Gettysburg July 2, 1863 and died in the hospital at Gettysburg July 22, 1863 from his wounds.\

M. R. Pritchett, Major Pritchett, D. F. Spears and W. B. Spears all surrendered at Appomattox April 9, 1865.

There is a Major Pritchett that was wounded July 2, 1863 in Gettysburg and surrendered at Appomattox. He and his wife Aleva show up on the Gilmer County Census for 1860, 1870 and 1880. Both are buried in Turnip Town Baptist Church Cemetery in Gilmer County. Also on the same census is Henry W. Pritchett and his wife Sarah also buried in Turnip Town.
This is a good place to state how this family was involved in the Civil war and suffered from it. Three brothers and a brother-in-law were in the same company for the South. There were other brothers-in-laws that died while in other companies. Jasper Jr., and his brother-in-law Thomas J. Wells, James Marion and Jasper Jr… Jasper Jr. his uncle James and Jasper Newton all were part of Company “F” of the 60th Confederate Army were captured and sent to Federal prison and released, different times.

SOURCE OF THIS STORY:

The Steve A. Pritchett — Skinner Web Site/Page — Genealogy
The Descendants of Jasper Pritchett
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/r/i/Steve-A-Pritchett/BOOK-0001/0 002-0005.html#IND1429REF47

Ed Smithen Cemetery Error

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To add to the confusion & mystery which seems to surround Ed Smithen, I have now found a major piece of misinformation that will throw researchers off if they don’t catch it. Almost every cemetery index I have been able to find for Laflin Creek Cemetery in Grady County Oklahoma lists Ed Smithen’s year of death as 1971. The correct year of his death is 1936 which is clearly stated on his death certificate and engraved on his headstone.

I now manage the FindAGrave.com memorial page for Ed Smithen; it is #22480735. Hopefully, since many folks use FindAGrave.com informationto feed their online indexes, this correct information will show up in the future … unfortunately, most existing online cemetery indexes are rarely corrected and/or updated so the incorrect year of death will be there to confuse unwary researchers for a long, long time……