Brief Life History of Bessie Lee
When Bessie Lee Smith was born on 28 February 1920, in Decatur Township, Decatur, Iowa, United States, her father, Benjamin Harrison Smith, was 30 and her mother, Oria Ethel Zornes, was 29. She lived in Aurora, Hamilton, Nebraska, United States in 1930 and South Platte Township, Hamilton, Nebraska, United States in 1940. She died on 19 February 2005, in Grand Island, Hall, Nebraska, United States, at the age of 84, and was buried in Grand Island, Hall, Nebraska, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (6)
- Bessie L Alvis in household of Ben Smith, "United States Census, 1940"
- Bessie Lee Smith, "Iowa, Delayed Birth Records, 1850-1939"
- Bessie Smith, "Nebraska Marriages, 1855-1995"
Parents and Siblings
1889–1950 Male
1890–1949 Female
Siblings (7)
1912–1983 Male
1915–1981 Male
1917– Female
1920–2005 Female
1923–1957 Male
+2 More Children
World Events (8)
1922 · Oldest radio station west of the Mississippi
Age 2
1923 · The President Dies of a Heart Attack
Age 3
1944 · The G.I Bill
Age 24
Name Meaning
English and Scottish: occupational name denoting a worker in metal, especially iron, such as a blacksmith or farrier, from Middle English smith ‘smith’ (Old English smith, probably a derivative of smītan ‘to strike, hammer’). Early examples are also found in the Latin form Faber . Metal-working was one of the earliest occupations for which specialist skills were required, and its importance ensured that this term and its equivalents in other languages were the most widespread of all occupational surnames in Europe. Medieval smiths were important not only in making horseshoes, plowshares, and other domestic articles, but above all for their skill in forging swords, other weapons, and armor. This is also the most frequent of all surnames in the US. It is very common among African Americans and Native Americans (see also 5 below). This surname (in any of the two possible English senses; see also below) is also found in Haiti. See also Smither .
English: from Middle English smithe ‘smithy, forge’ (Old English smiththe). The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived in or by a blacksmith's shop, occupational, for someone who worked in one, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Smitha in King's Nympton (Devon). Compare Smithey .
Irish and Scottish: sometimes adopted for Gaelic Mac Gobhann, Irish Mac Gabhann ‘son of the smith’. See McGowan .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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