Aunt Edith in her later years when she lived in Hermiston, Oregon

Holding a beautiful bouquet on Mother's Day from Kathy and her family.

Their apartment

This is the apartment Aunt Edith and Brent lived in that I remember. It was a quadraplex. You went in the front door and then there were four more doors. Brent taught me how to jump on the pogo stick in the basement of this complex. It seems like it was across the street from the St. Louis Zoo. Anyone know for sure?

Swing Set

Aunt Edith wrote on the back of this picture "Brent and I. We always had fun."

What a dapper young man!

Pictures of Brent when he was little

Jeri's comment

If you failed to check out Jeri's (Aunt Juanita's daughter) comment, this is what she said:

"Some of the time they [Aunt Edith and Uncle Ralph] lived in Tenn. Uncle Ralph work on the Atom bomb in Oakridge Tenn. Of course they did not know at the time what they were working on. I remember in grade school giving a report on it."

Brent - their new baby!

Aunt Edith and Brent. Brent's first visit to their Spartan trailer home.

Uncle Ralph, Aunt Edith and Brent. Brent is about 7 weeks old.

Some pictures of Aunt Edith and Uncle Ralph shortly after they married.

Aunt Edith's wedding pictures

Aunt Edith and Uncle Ralph right after their wedding. They are standing with their Maid of Honor and Best Man.

Aunt Edith on the steps in front of the church where they were married.

Brent's wife Kathy (Beatty) Moran

Kathy emailed this information to me today. Thanks a bunch Kathy! I guess I had no idea Aunt Edith could cook...what was I thinking??!!! The way the other sisters cooked in that family...I should have known better. Anyway, this is what Kathy says:

"One correction is that Ashley was born October 10, 1983, and

Brent died November 20, 1983, of colon cancer at the age of 37.

We met the summer of 1972, at his apartment complex.

I was visiting a good friend, while I was home from college for the summer.

We married in September 1976. Edith was always very good to me,

although Brent would tell me how she didn't like

any of his other girlfriends! One of the things she used to love to do,

was have us over for a home cooked meal

(when I was dating Brent and in the early months of our marriage).

Soon after we married, we moved to Denver, Colorado for 1 1/2 years and then to Minneapolis, Mn.,. If I think of anything else, I will e-mail you.

Also, I think the picture of Brent was taken when we went to

Northern Minnesota and Canada in 1980---I think!!

So he would have been 34, and I was 29."

Aunt Edith and Family

Uncle Ralph Beatty - age 17 - graduation picture

.

Aunt Edith's husband Ralph Beatty in his late teens

Aunt Edith as a teen in her flapper dress and Brent

Brent (I'm not sure how old.)

Aunt Edith as a young teen in her flapper (Charleston) dress

Pictures to come

I will post some pictures of Aunt Edith and her family in a day or two.

EDITH MAY (SMITH) BEATTY

Date of Birth: September 29, 1910
Date of Death: August 13, 1995

There are few stories about Aunt Edith because she was the oldest of the Smith siblings. She left home before the other children were old enough to know her. What I know, I have learned from my mom and Aunt Alvena (always a great source!)

When Aunt Edith was a young girl she went to live with Aunt Cynthie Love (Grandpa Smith’s aunt), although nobody seems to know why she moved in with them. Aunt Cynthie taught her how to be a proper young woman. Aunt Cynthie’s husband died and was buried not too far away from their home and she would put on black clothing and a black hat with a veil and she would hitch up her horse to her hack and go to the cemetery every single day. That scared Aunt Edith and she was afraid of cemeteries all her life. I know from my mom, that until Aunt Edith passed away, she always turned her head the other way when they drove past Coffin Road on the way to the Tri-Cities, Washington because she had been so traumatized when she was young.

She went to St. Louis and Aunt Vergie (Grandpa’s sister) got her a job at the store in her neighborhood. The store owners were the Obermans and Aunt Edith lived with them and was their maid and nanny. Because she was "the hired help," they would not let her sit at the dinner table with them, but instead, she ate in the kitchen with the others that worked for them. Because the Obermans were wealthy and they expected her to teach their children the "correct" way to behave, she learned to be very particular with her clothing and all of her possessions. After she left Obermans, she became either a nurse or nurse’s aid. After Uncle Ralph left, she worked at Deconess Hospital for many years.

One time she had a new dress she showed Mama and Aunt Ethel, but wouldn’t let them touch the dress because she didn’t want it dirty. She loved the opera and loved to go to dances where she had beautiful clothes she wore. As a teenager, she loved to dance the Charleston and from what I understand, she was a pretty good at it too. Once she left the farm she never looked back.
The first time Aunt Alvena met Aunt Edith, she was 13. Grandpa sent Aunt Alvena on the bus from Vichy to St Louis. He told her when he put her on the bus, after it stopped she was to go a certain number of blocks (she didn’t know what a block was). If she passed the railroad tracks she had gone too far. He gave her Aunt Virgie’s house number, but of course she didn’t know what a house number was either. Aunt Alvena started walking and saw this "old lady wearing a straw hat hanging up clothes on a line." Of course, Aunt Alvena didn’t know Aunt Virgie, but she thought this lady had to be her aunt because she "looked like an Aunt Virgie." She walked up to her and said "Aunt Virgie?" Aunt Virgie said "Do I know you honey?" Then she said "You’re one of Lawrence’s kids, aren’t you?" Aunt Alvena said yes. Aunt Virgie said "You go sit on the porch step and I’ll call your sister, Edith. When Aunt Edith got there, they were talking and finally Aunt Edith said "You better got see what that little girl wants...she’s been sitting on the porch since I got here. Aunt Virgie said "Well, let’s go see." She saw that Aunt Edith didn’t know Aunt Alvena and said "This is your little sister, Alvena." That was the first time Aunt Alvena and Aunt Edith met.

Aunt Edith would never let Brent get any dirt on him. She was immaculate and a perfectionist. The "cleanest" person my mom ever knew.
Before she married Uncle Ralph, she was in love with a young man. He married someone else and it broke her heart. That’s why she didn’t marry until her later years. When she was married to Uncle Ralph they had a Spartan trailer they pulled behind their car. Uncle Ralph worked in construction on several dams in the United States and they lived in that trailer, both before and after Brent was born. I think those were the happiest years of Aunt Edith’s life..

Aunt Edith and Uncle Ralph were married on April 9, 1944 in Clinton, Tennessee. They spent their honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Uncle Ralph filed for a divorce in 1958. Aunt Edith wore her wedding ring until the day she died (33 years) and considered herself a widow and not a divorcee. Their one son (Brent Reed Beatty) was born on May 9, 1946. Aunt Edith was 35 years old when Brent was born. Brent and Kathy were married and had one daughter (Ashley). Ashley was a few weeks old (I believe) when Brent died of cancer in October 1984. Her little family was the joy of Aunt Edith’s life.

The first time I remember Aunt Edith was when I was approximately 5 years old. If I remember right, Mama took me to Aunt Edith’s and Uncle Ralph’s because she went to see Grandpa in a nursing home. I’m not sure if I spent the night with them, but I know for sure there are two things I do remember. The first thing was my fabulous cousin who was 10 years old at the time. Brent treated me like I was a little princess (which of course, I ALWAYS thought I was.) He was so precious to me...never teased me or tried to make me mad. The second thing I remember was how horribly abusive Aunt Edith was to me (or so my five year old pampered little mind thought.) We were eating dinner and I did not do WARM milk! I thought all milk was ice cold and of course, if I wanted to drink it, I would, but if I didn’t want to drink it, my Mama and Daddy said I didn’t have to. Not so with Aunt Edith!! If that horrible glass of milk was cold to start out with, I have no idea. All I do know is by the time dinner was finished and I had not drank that milk, it was warm. I got up to leave the table and Aunt Edith said "You may NOT leave the table until you finish your milk!" Excuse me?! I don’t think so! Unfortunately, she definitely won hands down that battle of will. I can’t remember if I was still sitting there when my Mama came to pick me up, but Aunt Edith went on my pooh-pooh list and stayed there until the next time I went to Missouri.

Aunt Edith and Brent had an apartment in an old building that was once a house. They lived across the street from the St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park. It seems like they went to the basement and washed their clothes and then hung them on a line stretched across one of the rooms in the basement. When I was 10 and we were in Missouri for the summer, Aunt Edith took Mama, Brent and I to the zoo. The monkeys were so much fun to watch and the reptiles, although completely gross, were fascinating. It was a wonderful day and she completely redeemed herself from the warm milk incident. It was that year when Brent helped me learn how to jump on his new pogo stick. He was so patient with me and although I fell off more than I jumped, I still had a wonderful time!

Aunt Edith fell down the steps in her apartment and Mama came and took care of her because she broke some bones. When she was ready to travel, she came home and lived with my parents. When she moved in with my parents in Hermiston (after I was an adult), I got to know Aunt Edith so much better. She had a sweet and gentle spirit and I loved her very much. We exchanged letters on a regular basis and she talked so much about Ashley, Kathy and her new family. They were truly her world. I was surprised when Mama called and said she had died. I know she had colon cancer, but thought it had been taken care of. I think of her often and with fond memories. I look forward to spending eternity with her.

Grandma's Brother and Sisters after her death

October 1, 1984 Jimmy Hayes gave this picture to Mama.

Myrtle McDowell, Thomas Bunton, Leda Sharp, Sarah Hayes, Pearl Treace. (Both Grandma and her brother Martin were deceased.) These are the children of John and Martha Bunton.

Grandma Smith's Family

John and Martha Bunton. Mother and Father of Lula (Bunton) Smith

Grandma Smith's sister, Sarah, her husband George and their children (from left to right) Jimmy, Therman, Oscar and Stella.

Uncle George Hayes (Grandma Smith's brother-in-law, husband of Sarah)

Jimmy and Ethel Hayes.

Aunt Leda, Uncle Thomas and Grandma Smith. (Grandma's brother and sister) (Notice the pistol strapped to Uncle Thomas's side.)

Grandpa's sister Virgie and brother Walter

Uncle Walter and Aunt Etta Morelock.


Aunt Virgie (Grandpa's sister) and Uncle Albert at home on Comfort Avenue in Maplewood, Missouri. My mom (Gertrude) said she and Aunt Ethel would get mad at something or someone at work, quit and go stay with Aunt Virgie. When Mama and Aunt Alvena were talking about that, they remembered that Uncle Anderson nicknamed my mom "Got mad and wouldn't pull." How cute is that? By the way, Aunt Alvena is named after Aunt Virgie (Virgie Alvena Huston).

Some of Grandpa Smith's family

W.Y. Morelock ad Augusta Smith Morelock. Grandma Morelock was the mother of Lawrence Smith. Her husband, David Smith, died when Grandpa was 5 or 6 years old.




Just home from church. Grandma and Grandpa Morelock and Cousin Alfred Smith.

My mother, Gertrude, wrote the following on the back of this picture. "Grandmother Smith Morelock. Age 59. Born Augusta Frits. Married Giesler, Smith, Morelock. Buried at Hickory Grove Cemetary as Augusta Morelock, near Vichy, Missouri. Mother of Lawrence Smith.

A little history about Grandpa and Grandma Smith

Taken from geneology info sent to me by my cousin Geraldine Heinz

(daughter of Juanita Pottgen)

Lawrence Smith

Lawrence Smith was born to Mary Augusta and David Smith on April 7, 1890, in Salem, Missouri. Mary Augusta (Gusta) Fritts was married three times. She married her first husband, William E Giesler, on December 8, 1878, when she was 18. He died on October 23, 1881. They had one son, John Robert Giesler. Two years later, on December 6, 1883, she married David M. Smith. David and Gusta had four sons and one daughter. Their youngest son, Clarence died as a teenager, but their other four children lived to adulthood (Ralph Smith, Lawrence Smith, Virgie Smith and Arthur Smith). David died, but there are no known records for the date of death or where he was buried, although some say he was buried along the trail between Missouri and Oklahoma. Gusta married William Yancy Morelock on February 24, 1898. They had 2 children, Ava Morelock and Walter Morelock. Augusta died on November 18, 1926. William Morelock died on April 16, 1939. (Note: My mom (Gertrude) and Aunt Alvena said they both remember "Grandpa" Morelock saying to Grandma "I think your kids and my kids are all beating up on our kids." They got a big kick out of that.)

Aunt Alvena writes that Lawrence Smith was Scotch-Irish with black hair and blue eyes. He had black hair over most of his body. He was sick from childhood with excessive vomiting. He grew to adulthood as a tall and slender man until his later years when he reached 235 pounds. He was proud, honest, "high-strung," tender hearted, hard working, intelligent, interested in government and world news. He was affectionate to his wife and children when he was feeling well, but when he was in pain, he could be harsh. He was self-taught. He loved music and taught others to read music and taught them Christian hymns. He lead singing in church. He also taught himself how to play the organ and fiddle. He loved to play and dance the "Highland Fling." At one time he was said to be the strongest man in Lanes Prairie.

Louisa (Lula) Bunton

Louisa (Lula) Bunton was born to John Bunton and Martha Hussey on November 24, 1888. John Bunton was married two times. He married his first wife, Martha Hussey on October 27, 1886 and they had seven children; James, Myrtle, Sarah, Lula, Pearl, Thomas and Leda. John Bunton married his second wife Sarah Daniels on December 27, 1929. Evidently John Bunton left home for long periods of time and would not tell anyone where he had been. He had been gone for so long at one point and presuming he was dead, his wife Martha remarried, once on August 4, 1908 to S.H. Campbell. After Campbell’s death, she married John Bunton’s brother, Gail, in 1910.

Some of Grandpa Smith's hogs

Barney

This is Grandpa Smith horse, Barney. He is the first horse I ever rode and after that I was hooked for life (even though he went under a clothesline and the line went under my chin and I hit the ground.) I would bet he is the one Jeri's dad, Uncle Al, and Jeri fell off of on their way down to the hills.

Miscellaneous of Grandma Smith

Aunt Edith is feeding Grandma and helping her into the kichen in these two pictures. (I think this is taken at Aunt Juanita's house. Is that right?) Also, who is the little boy?

Grandma and her baby she called James.

Helping Aunt Juanita with the communion trays. Probably at McKnight Road Church of Christ.

Is this Uncle Al's mother and of course Grandma Smith. Who are the little ones?

Grandpa and Echo Pottgen

Jerri, did I mail this picture to you? Is this your dad's sister? She kind of looked like Aunt Florence, don't you think?