by Rocky G. Macy
Great-Great-Grandnephew
William C. Smith was born in Tennessee on December 18th, 1839, and he died at his home near Seneca (Newton County), Missouri, on February 8th, 1920. William died a widower and without children of his own. At the time of his death he owned the farm and home at which he died in Missouri, as well as personal property - and a few business lots in the town of Miami, Delaware County, Oklahoma. All told, William was a fairly prosperous man by local standards.
Sometime prior to his death William visited a lawyer and had his will drawn up. He left his entire estate to be divided equally among the fifty-three heirs of his six siblings. All of his siblings had preceded him in death.
William C. Smith was the fifth child of Louisa Catherine Smith whose maiden name is unknown. Louisa Catherine (born in Kentucky, ca. 1810) and her children have been found on the 1850 census of the South Division of Smith County, Tennessee, and the 1860 census of McDonald Precinct of Jasper County, Missouri. There was no age-appropriate male in either census listing who could have been the father of the older seven siblings.
But there was an additional adult female named Elizabeth Smith in Louisa's household on the 1850 census with an indicated age of 37. There were also two additional children on the 1850 census, a boy and a girl, each one-year-old, who could have belonged to either woman or one baby to each woman. The parentage of the infants is unclear - and again there were no age-appropriate males in the household for the two infants other than Louisa Catherine's oldest son, John (age 18).
William was the fifth child of the seven older siblings, and they are the ones referenced in his will. The Smith children included: Mary Jane (born ca. 1828) who married James Mayberry Scarbrough and was living near Sien, Texas when their youngest child was born in December of 1868, Sarah (Sallie) Ann (born ca. 1830) who married Timothy W. Hankins and were residents of southwest Missouri, John A. (born January 11, 1831), who married Delania Poe and eventually lived in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, Andrew Jackson (born 1836) who married Clarinda Carr and lived in Franklin County, Arkansas, William C. (born December 18th, 1839), Elizabeth M. (born ca. 1841) who married David Wilson Boyd and spent their lives in Newton and McDonald Counties in Missouri, and Martha Parthena F. (born ca. 1844) who married James D.M. Cline and lived in Pope County, Arkansas.
William and each of his six siblings - as well as the two one-year-olds listed on the 1850 census - were all born in Tennessee.
William C. Smith married a woman named Lucinda (maiden name currently unknown) and they built a home and a life in Buffalo Township of Newton County, Missouri. Sometime before 1870 his sister, Mary Jane Smith Scarbrough and her husband died, probably in Texas, and their four children came to live in the home of William and Lucinda. The four (Sarah A. (age unclear), Nancy Anthaline (13), Catherine (8), and James "William" (born December 13th, 1868 in Sien, Texas) were residents in the home of their uncle and aunt by the time the 1870 census was taken.
Nancy Anthaline Scarbrough (who was my great-grandmother) was married to Samuel James Roark in the home of William and Lucinda Smith on December 10th, 1876 - and she went on to name her first daughter Lucinda Comfort Roark, presumably in honor of her acting mother (Lucinda Smith) and her husband's mother (Comfort Poe Roark).
Over the years William and Lucinda shared their home with other relatives and even a few non-relatives. When William died in 1920 his niece, Martha Alene "Allie" Cline Reed and her husband and small daughter were residents in his home. Allie was the daughter of William's younger sister, Martha.
But it was my great-grandmother, Nancy Scarbrough Roark, who seemed to have formed the closest attachment to her Uncle William. Not only were she and her younger siblings essentially raised in William and Lucinda's home, Nancy remained in the immediate area after she married a local youth, and she was likely one of William's primary caregiver's during his declining years.
Or at least she must have considered herself to have been closer to Uncle William than many of the others.
While reading through old newspapers a few years ago in search of family history nuggets, I came across a legal notice that ran in December of 1920 and January of 1921 regarding an effort by six individuals to keep the estate of William C. Smith for themselves and to partition away the other forty-seven inheritors. And the first name listed among the six plaintiffs was my great-grandmother, Nancy A. Roark.
I could not find any follow-ups in the press which gave the details of the case or its outcome, and getting the legal records from Newton County was not easy and took awhile, but eventually I secured the information.
The judge had apparently not been swayed by the arguments of the plaintiffs for excluding their relatives from the proceeds of the will, and he ordered the real and personal property of William C. Smith to be sold and the net proceeds divided equally among the fifty-three heirs - just as William C. Smith has intended. Justice prevailed - and my great-grandmother was probably not the least bit happy about it.
For the record, the six plaintiffs were - in the order posted in the newspaper: Nancy A. Roark, Margaret L. Sparlin, K.M. Nance, Lee Burkhart, Pearl Sellers, and John W. Burkhart.
The forty-seven defendants were: M.F. Smith, Bennet A. Smith, H.C. Smith, Robert M. Smith, Nannie D. Davis, Stella M. Doty, Jim W. Smith, Thomas Smith, Newton Smith, Nannie Ramsey, J.W. Boyd, T.D. Rouse, Samuel H. Rainwater, Emily Nicholson, Lillie Sherer, Odell Burkhart, Lola Burkhart, Cleo V. Burkhart, Dorris Burkhart, Clarence Scarbrough, Sylvia L. Scarbrough, Nancy M. Scarbrough, Samuel W. Scarbrough, Theodore L. Scarbrough, J.W. Cline, J.A. Cline, Allie Reed, Cassie Cline, Roy Cline, John Cline, Clarence Cline, Oscar Reed, Mamie Smith, Ara Williamson, Lee F. Reed, Alta Quick, George Hankins, Andrew Hankins, Parrthena Hankins, Loula Smith, L.C. Hankins, C.R. Hankins, Alice Gregory, Nellie Wilsie, Sadie Smith, and W.B. Hankins.
For the past couple of years I have pursued a personal project of trying to track each of those fifty-three inheritors and get a general sense of how they were related to William C. Smith and what became of them. So far I have managed to track all but four: T.D. Rouse, George Hankins, John Cline, and Roy Cline. If any of those names ring a bell with anyone, please get in touch.
"Smith" is a surname that most people hate to encounter when they are doing family research. It is the most common surname in the United States, and when Smiths start appearing in family trees, confusion often ensues. I saw sorting through this particular group of Smith descendants as my contribution to clearing away a bit of the chaos.
If anyone who happens across this blog posting feels that they are connected to the descendants of Louisa Catherine Smith of Smith County, Tennessee and Jasper County, Missouri, I would be happy to share what information I have.
And anyone wishing to share this article in any way, please feel welcome to so so.
Great-Great-Grandnephew
William C. Smith was born in Tennessee on December 18th, 1839, and he died at his home near Seneca (Newton County), Missouri, on February 8th, 1920. William died a widower and without children of his own. At the time of his death he owned the farm and home at which he died in Missouri, as well as personal property - and a few business lots in the town of Miami, Delaware County, Oklahoma. All told, William was a fairly prosperous man by local standards.
Sometime prior to his death William visited a lawyer and had his will drawn up. He left his entire estate to be divided equally among the fifty-three heirs of his six siblings. All of his siblings had preceded him in death.
William C. Smith was the fifth child of Louisa Catherine Smith whose maiden name is unknown. Louisa Catherine (born in Kentucky, ca. 1810) and her children have been found on the 1850 census of the South Division of Smith County, Tennessee, and the 1860 census of McDonald Precinct of Jasper County, Missouri. There was no age-appropriate male in either census listing who could have been the father of the older seven siblings.
But there was an additional adult female named Elizabeth Smith in Louisa's household on the 1850 census with an indicated age of 37. There were also two additional children on the 1850 census, a boy and a girl, each one-year-old, who could have belonged to either woman or one baby to each woman. The parentage of the infants is unclear - and again there were no age-appropriate males in the household for the two infants other than Louisa Catherine's oldest son, John (age 18).
William was the fifth child of the seven older siblings, and they are the ones referenced in his will. The Smith children included: Mary Jane (born ca. 1828) who married James Mayberry Scarbrough and was living near Sien, Texas when their youngest child was born in December of 1868, Sarah (Sallie) Ann (born ca. 1830) who married Timothy W. Hankins and were residents of southwest Missouri, John A. (born January 11, 1831), who married Delania Poe and eventually lived in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, Andrew Jackson (born 1836) who married Clarinda Carr and lived in Franklin County, Arkansas, William C. (born December 18th, 1839), Elizabeth M. (born ca. 1841) who married David Wilson Boyd and spent their lives in Newton and McDonald Counties in Missouri, and Martha Parthena F. (born ca. 1844) who married James D.M. Cline and lived in Pope County, Arkansas.
William and each of his six siblings - as well as the two one-year-olds listed on the 1850 census - were all born in Tennessee.
William C. Smith married a woman named Lucinda (maiden name currently unknown) and they built a home and a life in Buffalo Township of Newton County, Missouri. Sometime before 1870 his sister, Mary Jane Smith Scarbrough and her husband died, probably in Texas, and their four children came to live in the home of William and Lucinda. The four (Sarah A. (age unclear), Nancy Anthaline (13), Catherine (8), and James "William" (born December 13th, 1868 in Sien, Texas) were residents in the home of their uncle and aunt by the time the 1870 census was taken.
Nancy Anthaline Scarbrough (who was my great-grandmother) was married to Samuel James Roark in the home of William and Lucinda Smith on December 10th, 1876 - and she went on to name her first daughter Lucinda Comfort Roark, presumably in honor of her acting mother (Lucinda Smith) and her husband's mother (Comfort Poe Roark).
Over the years William and Lucinda shared their home with other relatives and even a few non-relatives. When William died in 1920 his niece, Martha Alene "Allie" Cline Reed and her husband and small daughter were residents in his home. Allie was the daughter of William's younger sister, Martha.
But it was my great-grandmother, Nancy Scarbrough Roark, who seemed to have formed the closest attachment to her Uncle William. Not only were she and her younger siblings essentially raised in William and Lucinda's home, Nancy remained in the immediate area after she married a local youth, and she was likely one of William's primary caregiver's during his declining years.
Or at least she must have considered herself to have been closer to Uncle William than many of the others.
While reading through old newspapers a few years ago in search of family history nuggets, I came across a legal notice that ran in December of 1920 and January of 1921 regarding an effort by six individuals to keep the estate of William C. Smith for themselves and to partition away the other forty-seven inheritors. And the first name listed among the six plaintiffs was my great-grandmother, Nancy A. Roark.
I could not find any follow-ups in the press which gave the details of the case or its outcome, and getting the legal records from Newton County was not easy and took awhile, but eventually I secured the information.
The judge had apparently not been swayed by the arguments of the plaintiffs for excluding their relatives from the proceeds of the will, and he ordered the real and personal property of William C. Smith to be sold and the net proceeds divided equally among the fifty-three heirs - just as William C. Smith has intended. Justice prevailed - and my great-grandmother was probably not the least bit happy about it.
For the record, the six plaintiffs were - in the order posted in the newspaper: Nancy A. Roark, Margaret L. Sparlin, K.M. Nance, Lee Burkhart, Pearl Sellers, and John W. Burkhart.
The forty-seven defendants were: M.F. Smith, Bennet A. Smith, H.C. Smith, Robert M. Smith, Nannie D. Davis, Stella M. Doty, Jim W. Smith, Thomas Smith, Newton Smith, Nannie Ramsey, J.W. Boyd, T.D. Rouse, Samuel H. Rainwater, Emily Nicholson, Lillie Sherer, Odell Burkhart, Lola Burkhart, Cleo V. Burkhart, Dorris Burkhart, Clarence Scarbrough, Sylvia L. Scarbrough, Nancy M. Scarbrough, Samuel W. Scarbrough, Theodore L. Scarbrough, J.W. Cline, J.A. Cline, Allie Reed, Cassie Cline, Roy Cline, John Cline, Clarence Cline, Oscar Reed, Mamie Smith, Ara Williamson, Lee F. Reed, Alta Quick, George Hankins, Andrew Hankins, Parrthena Hankins, Loula Smith, L.C. Hankins, C.R. Hankins, Alice Gregory, Nellie Wilsie, Sadie Smith, and W.B. Hankins.
For the past couple of years I have pursued a personal project of trying to track each of those fifty-three inheritors and get a general sense of how they were related to William C. Smith and what became of them. So far I have managed to track all but four: T.D. Rouse, George Hankins, John Cline, and Roy Cline. If any of those names ring a bell with anyone, please get in touch.
"Smith" is a surname that most people hate to encounter when they are doing family research. It is the most common surname in the United States, and when Smiths start appearing in family trees, confusion often ensues. I saw sorting through this particular group of Smith descendants as my contribution to clearing away a bit of the chaos.
If anyone who happens across this blog posting feels that they are connected to the descendants of Louisa Catherine Smith of Smith County, Tennessee and Jasper County, Missouri, I would be happy to share what information I have.
And anyone wishing to share this article in any way, please feel welcome to so so.
1 comment:
Leaving the “entire estate to be divided equally among the fifty-three heirs of his six siblings” is dividing the estate per capita. That means assets pass equally to the heirs who are living at the time of the death of the testator at the level stated. Had Mr. Smith intended to cut off “laughing heirs” he could have done so.
If his will called for per stirpes distribution then the heirs inherit by representation. If all six siblings were alive at the time Mr. Smith died then they would all get an equal share. But if one was dead and left no heirs the remaining five would take an equal portion of the predeceased heir’s share. But if the predeceased heir left children or grandchildren who were alive then those persons would divide that share. That way some who are more distant relations receive less.
Mr. Smith was obviously a fair minded man who played no favorites. The courts will bend over backwards to follow the instructions of the testator. This was a classic case of Probate Law without any of the new fangled “Independent Administration” which has streamlined the probate of many modern estates. That being said there was likely no discretion granted to the Executor of the Estate to alter Mr. Smith’s intent. Typically the only subtractions from the estate in this type of matter are to pay all lawful debts. The testator wanted to have the last bills paid, and the costs of the funeral, and perhaps medical care; and the probate fees of course.
Nancy Roark no doubt felt entitled to a larger share by virtue of her selfless service to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith may even have told her that he was going to leave her more. Such evidence would not have been admissible. However Mr. Smith would have had to have either made a new will or written a codicil to the original. Introduction of a new will would likely have brought a lawsuit charging Ms. Roark, et al, with exerting undue influence on Mr. Smith or with being invalid because of his lack of mental competency. A codicil would bypass the competency claim because Mr. Smith’s competency would have related back to the date of the original will.
Because of the principle of comity the property held outside of Missouri is properly probated by the Missouri court. Multiple cases and multiple distributions, and the potential for multiple interpretations are thus avoided.
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