The Elusive Lucinda Smith

Over the course of my research I have ran into what I would term "Elusive Ancestors" that is, the ones that are hard to find. My second great grandmother Lucinda Smith is just one of those ancestors. I have very little information on Grandmother Lucinda with which to base my research on.

I do not yet have a maiden name for her and thus I know nothing about her parents nor who she descended from. To make matters even worse, she was from Wayne County Missouri as well and the courthouse burned not once but twice and with it a big part of the records were lost or destroyed. So,  Grandmother Lucinda presents a challenge.

This post should just be considered research notes on her. I am beginning my research with information I have on hand and working forward. I will use this post to document said research.

The first information I have for her is a suggested birth date according to the 1880 Census. It states she was born about 1853 in Missouri. On this years census she is listed as living with her husband Charles F. Smith and their two children:

• Dasthuler Smith-age 5 (This is Dorthula Dalue "Dorothy" Smith Eads)
• James A. Smith

In the household next to Charles & Lucinda is an Alexander Smith and wife Sarah and their son Alexander and a Niece with the last name of Smith and no first name Given. I assume this to be Charles father and mother or step mother. Living in that household is Alexander Smith age 57 born 1823 in Tennessee. His wife Sarah is 58 and born in 1822. Their son Alexander is 17, born 1863 in Missouri. Lucinda states both her parents were born in Missouri. The niece living with Charles parents states her mother was born in Georgia and her father in Tennessee. her first initial is S. Perhaps this was Alexander Sr`s niece, belonging to his brother hence the surname Smith and the fact that her father was born in Tennessee.

The 1880 Census is the first census record that Charles and Lucinda appear together as man and wife. Looking back at the 1870 census we find Charles living with his parents and siblings and there is also a man named Thomas Odell living in the household. Said Thomas was born 1848 in Georgia. We do not yet know who this Thomas is and how he fits in, but it does bear in mind to mention in the 1880 census where we found the niece of Alexander Sr and how she stated her mother was born in Georgia. Perhaps this Odell was a brother to this Nieces mother? So in a sense it might bear to look for a marriage record between an Odell and a Smith in Georgia.

The next census we move to that we can expect to find Lucinda in is the 1900 Census. However, when I pull it up this is what I find:

• Alexander Smith age 76
• Catherine E. Smith age 77
• Charley Smith-age 42
• Alexander W. Smith age 38
• Tabitha Smith-DIL (Tabitha Roach) age 21
• Ella C. Smith-Granddaughter

No mention of Lucinda whatsoever and Grandfather Charles does not state that he is Divorced. In fact he states he has been married for 25 years. So, if I do the math correctly it looks like he and Grandmother Lucinda must have gotten married in the year:1875.

United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M3D2-QDG : accessed 23 Mar 2013), Charley Smith in entry for Alexander Smith, 1900.

Now, I have a year with which to conduct a marriage record attempt. The first thing for me to do is to see when that courthouse burned in Wayne County, Missouri. According to a Wikipedia article the courthouse burned in 1854, that was before their marriage. Also, the records in the courthouse were stolen in 1866 and then it burned again in 1892. So, given that bit of information I can only assume that in all likelihood any account of me finding a marriage record for Grandfather Charles and Grandmother Lucinda are slim to none. I checked with the Missouri State Archives who has some Wayne County Records on Microfilm and it would appear that no Marriage records exist before the year 1892.

Now, moving on to Grandfather Charles death certificate it lists him as being both widowed and divorced.  

More to Come soon!