Fern Sarah Smith

Brief Life History of Fern Sarah

When Fern Sarah Smith was born on 28 March 1914, in Bussey, Marion, Iowa, United States, her father, James Garfield Smith, was 31 and her mother, Anna Hughes, was 30. She married Frank Clair Vance on 30 November 1929, in Ottumwa, Wapello, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 6 daughters. She lived in Jefferson Township, Mahaska, Iowa, United States in 1930 and Cricket, Mahaska, Iowa, United States for about 5 years. She died on 22 April 2007, in Pella, Marion, Iowa, United States, at the age of 93, and was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Bussey, Marion, Iowa, United States.

Photos and Memories (2)

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Family Time Line

Frank Clair Vance
1905–1970
Fern Sarah Smith
1914–2007
Marriage: 30 November 1929
Betty June Vance
1930–2009
Patricia Joy Vance
1931–2022
Charles Leroy Vance
1932–1984
Mildred Louise Vance
1934–2004
Beverly Vance
1936–2024
Judith Elaine Vance
1939–2004
Janice Eileen Vance
1939–2007

Sources (25)

  • Fern Vance, "United States Census, 1950"
  • Fern Sarah Vance, "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014"
  • Fern Vance, "Iowa, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945"

World Events (8)

1916 · The First woman elected into the US Congress

Jeannette Pickering Rankin became the first woman to hold a federal office position in the House of Representatives, and remains the only woman elected to Congress by Montana.

1917 · Camp Dodge

Original construction of the Camp Dodge began in 1907 and was originally planned to provide a place for the National Guard units to train. In 1917, it was handed over to national authorities and expanded to become the regional training center for World War I forces. The Camp was named after Brigadier General Grenville M. Dodge, who organized Iowa's first National Guard unit. When the war ended, the camp was downsized and turned back over to the state until the start of World War II. Today, Camp Dodge has served only as a Guard and Reserve installation.

1941

Japanese attack Pearl Harbor.

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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