Harrison Smith - Project 6 - Maitland A&H Blog Entry 4

In the previous post, Lindsey and I focused on the background, lineage, and history of J. Andre Smith’s older brother George Milton Smith. The post focused on information about George from 1941 until his death in 1951. This blog post will focus on and introduce George and Andre Smith’s sister Augusta Smith. This blog post will focus on Augusta’s life between the years of 1876 to 1930 as well as provide additional details into the lives of her brothers George and Andre Smith. It is important to note that less sources pertaining specifically to Augusta in comparison to her father, brothers, husband, etc. due to record keeping practices of the time period she lived in. Many of the records connected to Augusta are tied to her through male-counter parts; I just wanted to disclose this information because more information on her may be discovered as continued genealogical research into her male counterparts are conducted.

Augusta Smith was born in 1876 in China to mother Elizabeth Connor and father John Henry Smith. Augusta was the first born to Elizabeth and John and was the eldest sibling of George and Andre Smith. Little is known of Augusta’s whereabouts between the years 1876 to 1890 but she was more than likely with her family during this period because of her age. According to the 1920 census Augusta immigrated to the United States in 1890 at the age of 16 with her family. Augusta married Francis Yeates Joannes on October 21, 1909 in Pine Orchard, Connecticut. Francis Yeates was born on September 27, 1877 in Green Bay Wisconsin and was an architect and scenic designer. (*Hypothetical* but may have had some influence with Andre, his art, and Maitland complex) Augusta would give birth to a baby girl named Frances Taft Joannes born on October 22, 1914 in Montreal Canada. Francis’ World War I Draft Registration Card was completed at local board 125 in New York City, New York on September 12, 1918. On his registration card Francis lists Augusta as his “nearest relative” living at 165th West 82nd Street; meaning that Francis, Augusta, and Frances were residing in New York City in 1918. In 1920, Augusta was living in a rented home in Branford Connecticut. Augusta (44) was living with her daughter Frances (5) and her brother Andre Smith (40). For unknown reasons Francis was not living with Augusta or Frances, but it is important to note that Augusta marital status is still categorized as “married”. According to the 1920 census, Augusta does not have an occupation but is living in a rented house with her daughter and Andre; whose occupation is listed as an artist working at his own studio on his own account. (this confirms Andre Smith was an artist as early as 1920 and had his own art studio in Connecticut) Augusta is listed as the head of the household but without an occupation it is safe to assume that Francis (who was probably working abroad) was sending or wiring money to Augusta to pay for the rent and other necessities. By 1930 Augusta (51) was living with Francis (53) Frances (15) and Andre Smith (50) in Branford, Connecticut. Francis’ occupation was listed as an architect, and Andre’s Smith was listed as an artist. This solidifies that Andre Smith was still residing in Connecticut in the year 1930.

Digital History elements from the readings assigned have been applicable to this application of research. As Lindsey and my research continues I am certain that other digital tools (newspapers.com, fold3, and familysearch) will help us find additional sources and the locations of where additional information of the Smiths will be located. Through this research Lindsey and I have introduced Augusta Smith and uncovered information about her life between the years of 1876 to 1930 as well as provided more details on George and Andre Smith’s early life. The next blog-post will focus on Augusta’s life between the years of 1930 to her death in 1961 and provide more information on Smith family.

(Genealogical sources found will be saved and added to a shared google doc folder between Lindsey and myself. Lindsey and I will provide access to the google folder to Dr. Cheong, Ms. Thomas and any A&H Staff that would like to view the sources.)