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| Christiana Elizabeth Howard Smith |
I wanted to take a moment and share some letters that were written by my 3rd great grandmother, Christiana Howard Smith (1832-1897) between the years 1877 and 1888. I acquired digital copies of these from a distant cousin a few years ago. The letters can be difficult to read due to the handwriting, grammar, and spelling; but, nonetheless, they contain quite a bit of information that depicted a hard life for a widow in 19th century Florida.
First, I'd like to share a bit of background information. Christiana Elizabeth Howard was born in Liberty County, GA on the 8th of October, 1832 to Jacob Howard and Rebecca Moody Howard. On the 2nd of January, 1851 she married James Bryant Smith in Liberty County. By 1860 she was
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| Christiana's father, Jacob Howard (1801-1877) |
On a side note, her sister-in-law, America Smith Lewis was murdered on the 29th of August, 1902. This fascinating story, as told by Ty Starkey, can be found here. The murderers are known to be the last men to be legally hung in the state of Florida.
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| Tom Faircloth and Theodore Smith hung on the gallows Levy County, Florida (1902) |
And... here are the letters that you have been waiting for...
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| Transcription: click here |
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| Obituary for Christiana Elizabeth Howard Smith |
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| Graves of James Bryant and Christiana Smith Ebenezer Cemetery, Levy County Florida |
To see Letters written by Christiana's daughter, Laura D. Smith, check out this post.
Here is a previous post about my 2nd great grandfather, CSA Private John Henry Tedder POW
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These gallows were left standing to remind the locals about the consequences of committing crimes. My father, who is Raymond Parks Smallwood, said every day he looked out the window of his high school, around 1938, and studied the gallows still standing. He always remembered the impression they made upon his young mind and heart. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, who were murdered, were my mother's, mothers grandparents so this story has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you for sharing! It was definitely a tragic time in our families lives.
DeleteThe hinges from the trap door of those gallows are here in Bronson... They are in a fireplace mantle in a house.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing! yet... macabre. I did not know about that. Being from Bronson, you wouldn't happen to know where the Lewis house was located would you? I was wondering if it was still standing. All I know is that it was about 5 miles south of Bronson.
DeleteThis is a fascinating blog. Thank you for sharing your family, as well as other's comments.
ReplyDeleteDo you know the name of the last child born to C.E. Smith. I fount a family of Nathan Bryant in the 1900 census Kissimmee, Florida. They had an adopted daughter listed as Benie Smith born 1881 but thats not always accurate. My grand father's mother's name was Vollie or Vola smith, she married Jehu Robert Smith, death certificate states parents as Barnie Smith and ? Crews. I can't find her parents and was wondering if maybe Benie could be my great grand mother. Thank you for posting your family story, I can't wait for more. Victoria
ReplyDeleteKindred Roots,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your family's stories and pictures.
I happened to run into your blog on Facebook. I started reading and couldn't stop. I love it. 6th generation. Early Florida Pioneers Simmons.
Shirley Fields Ingram