Peggy Smith-Hake's
"Window to the Past"
Sarah (Boyd) Smith
By Kelly Warman-Stallings
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Published to "Window to the Past" March, 2021
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Sarah Eliza (Boyd) Smith (on the left) was born 9 July 1888 in eastern Miller County, Missouri. Her parents were James Boyd and Cecelia Adeline (Shelton) Boyd and she was the second daughter born to this union. Not a lot of information is found on Sarah's parents other than what has been passed down through the family generations. James Boyd was born in Miller County on 20 June 1859; he was the son of Greenville [1835-1931] and Jane (Freeman) Boyd [1840-1928]. Cecelia (Shelton) Boyd was born in May of 1859, also in Miller County and was the daughter of Edmund F. Shelton [1834-1886] and Clarissa (Lawson) Shelton [1843-1893].
The children of James Boyd and Cecelia (Shelton) Boyd included:
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Mary Isabel Boyd
Leonard Ivory Boyd
Conard Boyd
Sarah Eliza Boyd
Minnie Jane Boyd
Azalia Boyd
Nollie Boyd
Walter Boyd
Clara Alta Boyd
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All the children were born in Miller County, Missouri except for the last child (Clara), who was born in Oklahoma. According to family legend, James and Cecelia left their native state of Missouri and migrated to the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma around 1897 and settled near Stroud (in Lincoln County). Cecelia died in Oklahoma not long after the birth of her 9th child (Clara) in 1898 and is said to be buried in an unmarked grave somewhere near Stroud. Sarah Eliza - who was known as "Lizzee", pronounced as "Lie-zee" - was only 10 years old when her mother died. Her father, James Boyd, married a woman named Bertha McCormick in Oklahoma, not long after the death of his first wife, and they had one son - William Boyd .
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Sometime prior to 1905, James Boyd and his 2nd wife, along with the younger children traveled back to Miller County, Missouri. For reasons unknown, it was said the three older children remained in Oklahoma. Not long after returning to his native county, James Boyd died from pneumonia (in 1906) and is buried in a grave marked by a field stone in Duncan Cemetery in eastern Miller County.
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Another family legend contends that not long after James' death, Bertha (McCormick) Boyd took her son, William Boyd, and left Miller County and traveled to Kansas City, leaving James' other children behind to fend for themselves. It was said that the older children basically reared the younger children during this era. Another story proclaims that neighbors (and possibly other Boyd family members) made sure the children had food to eat and firewood to keep them warm during the Winter months. Sarah "Lizzee" Boyd - at 18 years old - was the oldest female in the household during these crucial, informative years.
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On 16 December 1906, Sarah "Lizzee" Boyd married Henry F. "Cap" Smith, a son of Wm. Harrison Smith [1841-1927] and Lucy Ann (Gardner) Smith [1843-1926]. While no family stories have circulated, I am most certain the younger children were still taken care of by Sarah during this era of time and her duty was not complete until the younger children were grown and able to take care of themselves. How would I know this? Sarah "Lizzee" Boyd Smith was my great-grandmother and that was the type of woman she was. :)
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married: William Clark
married: Mary Lou Bradford
married: Dennie Moon
married: Henry Franklin Smith
married: 1) Ferman Jones Clark; 2) Sam Simmons
married: 1) Carl Musgrove; 2) Roy Sowder
married: Michael Hanvey
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1883 - ?
1884 - 1943
1886 - 1972
1888 - 1969
1890 - 1980
1893 - ?
c/1896 - ?
1897 - ?
1898 - 1899
From Sarah "Lizee" and Henry "Cap's wedded union, seven children were born:
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Conard Ivory Smith [1908–1970] - married: Tressie L. Gale
Carl Everett Smith [1912–1912]
Gene Oliver Smith [1914–1980] - married: Verlie A. Wyrick
Priscilla Idolia Smith [1919–2006] - married: 1) Clark T. Davis; 2) James L. Karr; 3) Arthur Woodcox; 4) Lawrence Cameron)
James William Smith [1923–2004] - married: Faye F. Jones
Glen Raymond Smith [1924–1970] - married: Dorothy Roberson
Sharlene Jeanette Smith [1928–1929]
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Pictured: H. "Cap" Smith & Sarah "Lizee" Boyd Smith with their children (l-r) Oliver, James, Glen and Idolia. Taken c/1926. Note: Oldest son (Conard) is not in photo.
It is not exactly clear where Sarah (Boyd) and Henry "Cap" Smith were living during the early years of their marriage, but most likely it would have either been in the eastern portion of the county where many other Boyd families lived or closer to the Iberia area, where the Smith family were known to dwell during that era.
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By the early 1930s, Sarah "Lizzee" and H. "Cap" Smith moved into the [original] outer city limits of Iberia and built the first house on what is today's Walnut St. [today, inside the Iberia city limits]. The house was a simple 4-room dwelling with a livingroom, a kitchen with it's own water pump, and 2 bedrooms. The handy outhouse was located nearby. As the years went by, two sons - Conard "Cap" and Oliver Smith- would also obtain houses on the same street (Walnut St.) and rear their children to adulthood. Imagine the close-knit family connection while growing up on that street! My mother, Peggy Smith Hake, was the first grandchild born to Sarah "Lizzee" and H. "Cap" Smith in 1935.
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Sarah (Boyd) Smith lived the remainder of her years in Iberia in the simple 4-room house that her husband and sons had built in the early 1930s. She died at Charles E. Still Hospital in Jefferson City, Missouri on 20 May 1969. Sarah "Lizzee" (Boyd) Smith was buried in the Iberia Cemetery next to her infant children (Carl and Sharlene). I may be biased because Sarah "Lizee" (Boyd) Smith was my great-grandmother, but I see her story as one of strength, endurance and genuine love.
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