Brief Life History of James Wesley
When James Wesley Smith was born on 21 June 1923, in Dearborn, Platte, Missouri, United States, his father, Arthur William Smith, was 48 and his mother, Eva Elizabeth Pile, was 32. He lived in Seattle, King, Washington, United States for about 1 years and Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington, United States for about 31 years. He died on 28 June 2002, in East Wenatchee, Douglas, Washington, United States, at the age of 79.
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Family Time Line
Sources (12)
- James W Smith, "United States 1950 Census"
- James W Smith, "United States Social Security Death Index"
- James Smith in entry for Mrs Elizabeth Smith and Trimble, "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1927
Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis.
1940
Galloping Gertie is the reference used to describe the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It opened on July 1, 1940 four months later it no longer existed. On November 7, 1940 the wind gusts came up to 40 miles an hour causing the bridge to twist and vibrate violently before it collapsed into Puget Sound. The only victim of the bridge collapsing was a three-legged paralyzed dog named Tubby whose owner tried to rescue him from the car but he wouldn’t go with him.
1944 · The G.I Bill
The G.I. Bill was a law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans that were on active duty during the war and weren't dishonorably discharged. The goal was to provide rewards for all World War II veterans. The act avoided life insurance policy payouts because of political distress caused after the end of World War I. But the Benefits that were included were: Dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college or vocational/technical school, low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. By the mid-1950s, around 7.8 million veterans used the G.I. Bill education benefits.
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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