A lot has happened Smith-wise since my last post about the Smith children.
I had an e-mail from a fella on the other side of the country who saw the family photo I had posted for Susan (Smith) Crawford. He had been looking for his great-great grandmother for 20 years and finally found her. Hooray! To say the least, we were both Very Excited to have made contact.
Following up on that contact, and working on more information for Susan, I found on Find a Grave that a fella named Rich was posting obituaries from a commercial newspaper site, and two days before I heard from the Crawford descendant, Rich had posted an obituary for Susan. I had been looking for her as a Crawford but thanks to David Crawford, my new correspondent, I noticed that he gave her last name as Wallace. There had been another marriage. You can see Susan's Find a Grave memorial here.
We added to each other's family information, but there was still a lot to wonder about.
So this past Wednesday I made another trip to Coffeyville, Kansas. That was my farthest point to go, but I also wanted to look over Nowata County, Oklahoma.
In Coffeyville, at the City Clerk's office, I found burial information for Susan and her son Ernest. They are both buried in Fairview Cemetery, a large one in the northwest part of Coffeyville. The cemeteries there are interesting in that many acres are devoted to several adjacent cemeteries. Kind of nice to have them all in once place, but confusing once on the grounds to make sure you are in the right one. There were no barriers to speak of, just roads wandering from one section to the next. Nevertheless, experienced cemetery searcher that I am (!), I quickly found the section for Susan and Ernest with only one short miss-turn. They are buried at the back of the property in a section that seems pretty old. Ernest died in 1908 and Susan in 1910, so that section is over a hundred and ten years old. Still, there was a burial there in 1985, probably in a family plot.
This is a long view of Section W, with me standing at the south end - the narrow one. You can see that there are not many markers. My theory is that they have settled into the ground.
It was soft ground and I found parts of markers along some of the rows.
There were no markers for Susan or Ernest, just locations from the city clerk:
---October 16, 2019, Coffeyville City Clerk, Fairview CemeteryErnest E Crawford, died 12/22/1908, buried section W, 1st row, plot 16.
and
S M Wallace / J H Crawford (Burial?), died 10 January 1910, buried section W, 2nd row, plot 105.
The clerk and I discussed the question about burial; I thought that since J H is supposed to have died in Iowa, it meant that, while owner of the plot, they weren't sure he was buried there.
Next time I go, I plan to take more photos of the markers that are visible and compare them with the burial records at the clerk's office, to see if I can pinpoint where Susan and Ernest might actually be buried.
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At the Coffeyville library, I looked once again through the Interment Register photocopies, now that I knew Susan and son were buried in the city. I found records for both of them. I also looked for more Smiths and Crawfords, but didn't find any I thought to be part of this particular family.
Ernest:
---Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Public Library, Interment Register, Fairview Cemetery, photocopies of register, page 3 [16 Oct 2019 LC]
Crawford, Ernest E, 29y 8m 1d; date of death 12/22/1908; cause of death: consumption; place of death 710 Spring Streer; Lot 16, single grave; paid for opening grave 6.00; Undertaker: Cof[feyville] Fur[niture] Co[mpany]
Susan:
---Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Public Library, Interment Register, Fairview Cemetery, photocopies of register, page 4 [16 Oct 2019 LC]
Wallace, Susan M, 53 yr; date of death 1-10-1910; cause of death: consumption; place of death 409 W 9th; paid for opening grave 6.00; Undertaker: Cof[feyville] Fur[niture] Co[mpany]
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Here are the postings from Rich, the fella who is going through the commercial site to post obits:
For Susan:
---Find a Grave posting by Rich, 9 October 2019
--Coffeyville Dailey Journal, Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Monday, January 10, 1910, p 4
Death of Mrs Susan M Wallace
Mrs Susan M Wallace, aged 53 years, died Monday morning at 5:40 o'clock of consumption. Death came at the home of her daughter, Mrs Abe Barkus, 102 1/2 North Union street, where she made her home. Funeral services will be conducted at the home Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, Revd Stanton Olinger, pastor of the Presbyterian church being in charge.
--The Morning News, Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Monday, January 10, 1910, p 1
--The Weekly Independent, Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Thursday, January 13, 1910, p 5
--The Coffeyville Weekly Journal, Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Friday, January 14, 1910, p 7
-Funeral services over the remains of Mrs Susan M Wallace, who died at the home of her daughter, Mrs Abe Barkus, 102 North Union street, Monday morning, were held at the home Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock, Rev Stanton Olinger being in charge. Interment was made in Fairview cemetery.
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For Susan's son Ernest:---Find a Grave posting by Rich
The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Wednesday, December 23, 1908, page 1
-Earnest E Crawford died at his home, 710 Spring street Tuesday night at 11:35 o'clock of consumption.
-The deceased was 29 years old and well known in Coffeyville. The funeral services will be held Thursday at 2 o'clock from the home and interment will be in Fairview cemetery.
---Coffeyville, Montgomery Co, Kansas, Public Library, Interment Register, Fairview Cemetery, photocopies of register, page 3 [16 Oct 2019 LC]
Crawford, Ernest E, age 29y 8m 1d; date of death: 12-22-1908; cause of death: consumption; place of death: 710 Spring; physician attending: Dr Houston; burial Lot 16, single grave, paid for opening grave 6.00; Undertaker: Cof Fur Co
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Isn't that a wonderful tree?
From Ball Cemetery, I doubled back to Nowata and found the Museum. Wow! What a museum. It is completely professional and the fellas there that day were very friendly and helpful. I took plenty of photographs.
This room was great and I found some more Crawford information. There is a series of binders with names and photographs and information about Nowata County veterans. Some of Susan's descendants are remembered here.
There was also a binder just of Purple Heart Recipients
and one of the above Crawford veterans is in this book.
So, all in all it was a good day. Great October weather, fine travelling, new information, two cemeteries and a fascinating museum. But I sure was tired and ready to head for home. It is a long drive to Coffeyville. Next time I go - in a few weeks, hopefully - I will be able to stay a few days and not feel so pressured to keep moving.
Yet, the drive home from Tulsa was magnificent. The sky was clear of clouds and as the sun retired for the day, the western sky slowly changed from pale blue to a soft yellow, then to warm gold, then a deep rich orange. It was as though God was leaving a night light on for me to travel by. I reached the end of the turnpike and Poof! the light went out. I was safely back in home territory.
