I am looking for my maternal grandfather; Nathanial ( Nick) Smith from Bernice LA.
He lived in Texas; Arkansas and California
Answers
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Hi Cynthia,
It is great that you’re interested in locating grandfather.Do you have any information on his wife?I found two that may be helpful
1875–Deceased
• G3MN-JTC
married
1897–Deceased
• L6K9-KNX
Wife listed as
LILLIE MAE SMITH are either of these familiar?
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@CynthiaSmith598 CynthiaSmith598
Can we get some more information from you on your grandfather? You mention he is from Bernice which is Union Parish. Without knowing any more information even some about information could help us help you identify the correct Nathaniel Smith.
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Thats just it i dont know much. This is what I know… he and my grandmother married in maybe 1935 or later. They had 6 children one being my mother. They moved from Texas to San Diego Ca then to Los Angeles in 1942. They divorced in the 50’s and he was never heard from again. I never met him. She said he moved to northern CA. He was married before they married and i know he had a brother named Joseph i believe.
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My grandmothers name is Ovarie Terrell Smith
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@CynthiaSmith598 CynthiaSmith598 looks like your grandfather was born 22 February 1911 in Bernice, Louisiana. He apparently died about May 1984. This same Nathaniel Smith can be located with his wife Orce Smith [probable short for Ovarie or possible transcription error] and four of the six children you mentioned. These said children being James E Smith, Opal M. Smith, L.M. Smith, Maryette Smith. It appears that James E. Smith may have possibly had a different mother. This mother was Hattie Belle (WARD), I'm not sure of when the marriage took place but I would guess sometime around 1935 or 1936. I would look for the marriage taking place around Dallas, Texas. Opal Marie was born 1 October 1936 in Gregg County, Texas so this is another location to search for the family. Of course there is a lot more information but this should give you a starting point.
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Wow thank you! James Is my grandmothers son. However, Nick did have a son with a his first wife. I believe they lived in Arkansas. Was Hattie Belle Ward his first wife? How can I find about his family(brothers sisters, etc) can I find out where and how he died in 1984?
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@CynthiaSmith598 CynthiaSmith598 It looks like your grandparents obtained a licenses on 11 September 1935. The marriage taking place 24 September 1935 in Gregg County, Texas
On the applications your grandmother's name was spelled Ovel Terrell and the marriage return your grandfather is listed as Mr. Nathaniel Smith. and your grandmother was listed as Ovre Terrell, Both records are listed separately and can be located on Ancestry
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Interesting as James E. Smith is listed in birth records as Nathaniel Smith being his father and Hattie Belle (Ward) as his mother. This information was located in Texas birth records.
Not sure about the marriage and living place being in Arkansas. Don't get me wrong I did see a Nathaniel Smith in Arkansas but he does not appear to be the same one. Your guy appears to possibly be living with his possible grandmother in Bossier Parish, Louisiana in 1920 but I'm not 100% sure on this as I'm not aware for the family dynamics. All of the children appear to have been born in Dallas County with the exception of Opal Marie who was born in Gregg County.
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@CynthiaSmith598 CynthiaSmith598 I'm not sure but your Nathaniel Smith appears to have been in D.C. District of Columbia his social security indicates that his SS was obtained in D.C. before 1951. It states that his last residence was 20010 Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA. this does not mean that DC was his last living location it only means that is where his last benefits were sent there. But I would definitely pay attention to him being at one time or another in D.C. he also worked for the W.P.A. (Works Projects Administration)
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Thank you, i have a lot of research to do. This is the farthest I have ever gotten. Ive been searching since 1989. I heard that my grandfather was orphaned at a young age and left wherever he was living with and lived on his own.
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@CynthiaSmith598 CynthiaSmith598 It just dawned on me I should probably tell you how or what records I used to locate the information so you could obtain these same records. In the case of your grandfather, I First tried to identify which parish Bernice was in. This is because most records are filed at the parish or county level. In this case I identified Union Parish. A cursory search for Nathaniel Smith in Union parish proved be inconclusive for locating in any information. I honestly needed a little bit more information than you gave from your original post.
I proceeded investigating by also giving an estimated age for your grandparents. At first I said Nathaniel was born about 1914 and that your grandmother was born about 1917 this is because you indicated they were married about 1935. I gave the legal marriage age for both 21 for males and 18 for females as a starting point. Granted these could have been off but it was a starting point. You indicated he was also in Arkansas. I did locate a Nathaniel in Arkansas who could have fit but I needed further information. This is when you provided the name of your grandmother. It was when I could put him with her that I was able to make positive ID.
First: I located the family in the 1940; Census Place: Dallas, Dallas, Texas; Roll: m-t0627-04177; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 255-155, Lines 66-71, house number 1411 Visitation 443, I could tell that your grandfather is who probably provided the information to the enumerator. It is here that the age was stated as 29 for Nathaniel and 23 for your grandmother. telling me my guess for their ages was correct for your grandmother and off three years for your grandfather.
Second: I located your grandfather in the WWII Draft Registration. Here I was able to find his exact birth date and place putting him as being born in 22 February 1911 in Bernice, Louisiana. This was a second record that helped confirm I had the correct person. This record gave his exact birth day. It also put him living at the same address as the census and identified your grandmother as his wife. By having this information I was able to eliminate other Nathaniel Smiths. but I was able to put him in a Social Security Death Index because of his name and birth date. This same put him in an area you didn't know he was possibly living but an area that needs to be investigated further. By putting him in several records with your grandmother I was able to dial in on their marriage. And the reason I was able to tell you were this actually took place. all of these records can be located either on Family Search or Ancestry.com. If you don't have access to Ancestry email me and I will make copies for you. My email is hofsearch@aol.com
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