Smith Family Reunion update

WANTED

ALL DESCENDANTS OF
WILLIAM FRANKLIN SMITH


REWARD: 2008 William F. Smith Clan Reunion!

DESCRIPTION

William F. Smith (1865--1921)

Known to be a former Texas Ranger and homesteader---also suspected of being the the MOST COMMON ANCESTOR of over 267 descendants.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT

for persons suspected of having any of the following ancestors:

TOM SMITH---ERNEST SMITH---ROSA CRAIN---JULIA BARTON

ALSO: OLA SMITH MAY---FRANK SMITH---OLLIE SMITH--FRANCES SMITH RUSSELL---WILLIAM SMITH---MARION SMITH MILLER---ADA SMITH SPENCER---BELLE SMITH RAWSON---VERNA SMITH CHOATE---JOHN SMITH---ROSA FAIRCHILD FARRELL---AMY FAIRCHILD BOYER---JACK CRAIN---FLOYD CRAIN---BETTY BARTON GASTON---JUANDA BARTON MIDDICK---ROSE BARTON HUNN---TIL BARTON JR.

ALL PERSONS ANSWERING THIS DESCRIPTION ALONG WITH THEIR FAMILIES ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND THE BIG WILLIAM FRANKLIN SMITH CLAN REUNION TO BE HELD SEPTEMBER 13 AND 14, 2008, NEAR OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA.

IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE FITTING THIS DESCRIPTION, PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF THE NUMBERS LISTED BELOW FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

mrsimms@peoplepc.com pamruss@frii.com jwright@weconvey.com

Phone 803-996-3567 Phone: 970-484-9368 Phone 405-373-2134

Seldon Russell has passed away

I'm sad to report that Theron Seldon Russell passed away April 19, 2008, in Ozark, Arkansas. He was 86. Seldon was the eleventh child of Elias Russell and Addie Jane Mahaffey Russell and the last one to pass from this earth. His siblings were Bertie, George, Bonnie, Doyle, Nannie, Nellie, Bill, Carter, Sidney, Charles and Harold. Seldon married Mary Hazel Wisdom in April of 1948 in Paris, Arkansas, and their children are Jimmy, Sue, Patricia, Nancy, Teresa, and Judy. Mary Hazel Russell passed away in 1982. Seldon married Mary Emily Wright in February 1984 and she passed away in 2007.

Upcoming family reunion in September in Oklahoma

The Smith side of this family is having a family reunion in Oklahoma City the weeekend of September 13 and 14, 2008. We are still in the planning stages and no invitiations or announcements have been mailed so please don't feel left out if you've not heard about it. The event is being planned by Mary Simms of South Carolina, Pam Russell of Colorado, and Joanne Wright of Oklahoma. Mary is the only one of the three with Smith blood in her veins. Pam and Joanne are married to descendants of William Franklin Smith and his wife Sarah Frances Buchanan Smith. The photo at the top of this post is of the three reunion planners.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. We encourage everybody to come and bring the kids and grandkids. Please email Mary Simms with any questions or comments you may have - her email is mrsimms@peoplepc.com

Smith/Buchanan family research

My sister-in-law Mary R. Simms is doing extensive research into what she calls "The Smith Family Curse" which is a genetic hearing loss suffered by many members of our extended family. In the last six months Mary has contacted numerous cousins and second cousins, many she has not seen or heard from in decades. Part of the reason for her reaching out to these cousins is to get to know them better and to share family facts, photos, and stories. But she has another reason too. She has asked them to complete a questionaire about that the status of their hearing, whether or not they wear hearing aids, and if they have an audiogram to copy and send to her. Mary plans to compile all this information and submit it to an expert in the field of genetics, particularly the genetics of audiology. We suspect this affliction came into the family from the Buchanan aka Buckhanan aka Buckhannon line. We welcome input from any Buchanans out there interested in this topic.

Cass, Arkansas and the Mulberry River

I found a great collection of photographs, offered as a slideshow, taken along the Mulberry River near Cass, Arkansas in Franklin County, AR. My husband's father, Doyle J. Russell, was from there and he talked about it often. Check out this link.

Mulberry River and it’s tributaries

Found a cousin

I was doing a little internet search for information about a cousin in Arkansas who is also related to a friend here in Fort Collins, trying to see how this friend and my husband are related when I stumbled upon the writings of yet another distant cousin named Lee Cowan. She now lives in Fox, Arkansas, with her husband Mike where she has an art studio and Mike grows grapes and makes wine. A few years back Lee worked as a psychotherapist in Little Rock and I think that's when she began writing. The first story I read is at http://www.stonecountyart.com/scn/scnpunishment.htm and that's what got me interested in her life and work. But my favorite story is about her Aunt Flora Turner who is a woman I've heard about from my father-in-law, Doyle Russell. Flora and her husband, Champ, operated a store at Turner Bend and Doyle talked about them several times to me. This story is at
http://www.stonecountyart.com/scn/auntflorascn1.htm I like the way Lee writes.

Last Russell Uncle

We got an email from Ken today saying that his Uncle Seldon has suffered a series of strokes recently and is in a nursing home near his home in Ozark, Arkansas. Seldon is the last of the eight Russell boys, the sons of Elias and Addie Jane. There were four girls in the family, too, but they have all died. It seems that strokes caused a lot of the deaths. In fact, I don't think any of the kids died of cancer - heart disease seems to be the main culprit. I'm assuming that if someone dies of a stroke that it is considered heart disease for statistical purposes. I might be wrong about that. I sure did hate to hear that Seldon's health was not good.