iPentimento | Genealogy and History

On April 18, 1889, a tiny bit of a girl was born to Mary Elizabeth and Harvey Lawson Smith at McCammon Cave Farm in Howell County, Missouri. She was so tiny and fragile that she spent the first few months of her life being cared for by her mother, neighbors and friends. Her mother had no other way to keep her warm but to put her in the oven of the wood stove.

Most likely, she was only taken out when she needed to be fed or her clothing changed, at least in the first weeks. The little girl was named Lillian Mirtha Maude May Smith. Why so many names? Because she was named in honor of all the ladies who came to take care of her so my Great Grandmother could attend to her other household duties and the older children, Jasper, James, William and Della, as well as her husband Harvey.

Miriam, Elizabeth and Mary Elizabeth circa 1917

(see where I get my good looks?)

This story was told to me by “Mirtha’s” daughter Allene Moore Chapin, as well as a written copy of the story. As the mother of four other children that were living at the time of Mirtha’s birth, Mary Elizabeth was no doubt considered a “veteran”. It is likely that many of the women in rural America gave birth with the help of mid-wives which was the case here. I can’t be sure of it, but Mary Elizabeth’s own mother Elizabeth Jane Smith Hunter might have been in attendance for this birth and knew what to do. Elizabeth was known to have helped deliver many babies in her time, as I was told by the women who knew her.

Back row L-R: Jasper, Eli, William, James and Della;

Front: Mirtha, Minnie (my grandmother) and Mary Elizabeth Pentecost Smith

 

Lillian Mirtha Maude May Smith Moore

 

As you can see, Mirtha thrived and grew up to be a strong and robust young woman. She went on to marry Richard D. Moore and have three children of her own: Allene, Richard, and Bette.

To see more about this family please visit my Family Tree on Ancestry; or visit my FTM page here.

 

 

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