Tombstone Tuesday: William P. and Prudence (Maxson) Smith

My paternal 3rd-great grandparents, William P. and Prudence (MAXSON) SMITH, are buried in the Salamonia Cemetery, Jay County, Indiana.

William P. was born July 25, 1815 in Clark County, Ohio, the son of Jacob and Jane (ELLIOTT) SMITH.

Prudence was born June 15, 1817 in Greene County, Ohio, the daughter of Jesse and Sarah (SUTTON) MAXSON.

William and Prudence were married on October 3, 1836. After their marriage, they lived in Jay County, Indiana before moving to Cass County, Michigan between 1844 and 1851. By 1851 they were back in Jay County, Indiana. William served in the Civil War in Company I, 139th Indiana Infantry. After the war, they relocated to Humboldt, Richardson County, Nebraska between 1869 and 1881 when they returned to Jay County. William was a farmer and a minister, and was often referred to as Elder William Smith.

Children of William P. and Prudence (Maxson) Smith are:

• Jacob G. SMITH (1837- )
• John H. SMITH (1842- )
• Olive Jane SMITH (1846-1913); married William P. WEHRLY; 13 children
• Hosea Tilson SMITH (1849-aft1870)
  

Death Certificate: Luman Cooper LeMasters (1867-1933)

One of the successes of my recent genealogy research trip was obtaining this death record of my paternal great-grandfather from the Jay County Indiana Health Department.



Of note is the fact that the record spells the surname as LEMASTER versus LEMASTERS as in many records. The date of birth shown on the certificate matches what I have in my database, and the parents names match, albeit his father is listed by his middle name and they show his mother's maiden name as "Kathrine" as opposed to "Keziah" which is what I have. Will need to look into this.

Transcript of the record follows:

Name: LEMASTER, LUMAN COOPER
Date of Death: 2/11/1933
Time: 20:00
Sex: M
Age: 65
Months: 8
Days: 15
Hours: 0
Minutes: 0
Birthdate: 5/27/1867 Place: JAY COUNTY, IN
Death Address: MADISON TOWNSHIP
Residence: MADISON TOWNSHIP
County: JAY COUNTY
Marital Status: MARRIED Spouse: BARBARA ISABELLE WEHRLY
Race: WHITE Occupation: FARMER
Father: WALKER LEMASTER Birth: OHIO
Mother Maiden Name: MARY KATHRINE CHEW Birth: NEW JERSEY
Burial Place: SALAMONIA CEMETERY, SALAMONIA, IN
Burial Date: 2/14/1933
Funeral Home: NELSON R. WILLIAMSON
Address: PORTLAND, IN
File Date: 3/03/1933 Book No.: H-8 Page No. : 318
Physician: H.H. JONES, M.D., SALAMONIA, IN
Manner of Death: NATURAL
Cause of Death: CARCINOMA BLADDER

Family Milestones: November 9th

My maternal 5th-great grandaunt, Sarah WRIGHT, was born on this date in 1795. Sarah was the daughter of John and Sarah (FLEMING) WRIGHT, and the younger sister of my George WRIGHT. This is the only fact that I have in my database for Sarah.

My paternal 2nd-great granduncle, Wesley T. METZNER, was born on this date in 1855 in Jay County, Indiana. Wesley was the son of John and Catherine (YOUNG) METZNER, and the younger brother of my John Adam METZNER. Wesley married November 15, 1885 in Jay County, Indiana to Mary Emma ROSER, daughter of Evan and Catherine (SPRECHER) ROSER. Wesley was a farmer and contractor in Wayne Township, Jay County, Indiana. I need to find his date of death, the last record I have for him is the 1930 census.