Title: Smith Family Papers

Date/Date Range :   1836, 1906-1945, 1966

Extent: 5.5 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection houses correspondence, photographs, certificates, medals, genealogical information, newspaper clippings, calling cards, bridal shower favors, published works, clothing, and other materials documenting the lives of the Smart, Smith, Miller, and Wyatt families of Indiana and Tennessee.

Call number: MS-2918

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Jeff Goodson donated these materials to the University of Tennessee Special Collections Library in June of 2007.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Smith Family Papers, MS-2918. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of six boxes divided into six series:

1. Series I: Rachel Emenlina Smart and Daniel Smith Family, 1836, 1906-1934
2. Series II: Mary Alson Smith and Linwood Leonard Miller Family, circa 1910s-1943 (Bulk circa 1910s-1918)
3. Series III: Ellen Clark Smith, 1917-1939 (Bulk 1917-1919)
4. Series IV: Leola M. Smith, 1907-1944
5. Series V: Mary Alson Miller and Clarence Bowden Wyatt Family,1933-1945, 1966
6. Series VI: Other Papers, 1943, undated

Rachel Emenlina Smart was born to John and Lucinda (Clark) Smart on October 29, 1859 in Newton County, Indiana. She was the fifth of eight children: Ann Mariah (born 1851), Almirah Jane (1853-1916), George Washington (born 1855), Otho Ambrose (born 1857), Alonzo A. (born 1862), Julia Elizabeth (born 1864), and Charles LeRoy (born 1866). Rachel married Daniel Smith on April 12, 1882 in Newton County, Indiana and the couple had five children: Charles Bernard (born March 6, 1883), Leola M. (born in September 1884), Mary Alson (born in November 1887), John Harold (born March 30, 1891), and Ellen Clark (born February 1893). The family moved to Jackson, Tennessee sometime between 1893 and 1900.

Mary Alson "Peachie" Smith married Linwood Leonard Miller on November 16, 1914 in Jackson, Tennessee. The couple had three children: Mary Alson (born July 25, 1918), Daniel Linwood (June 20, 1920-January 1, 1975), and Charles Frederick (February 27, 1926-April 21, 2007). Mary Miller died in May of 1973, and Linwood followed in July.

Mary Alson "Molly" Miller married Clarence Bowden Wyatt in about 1940. Their only child, Mary Gail "Missy" Wyatt, was born on May 18, 1942. Bowden Wyatt began playing football at Kingston High School and continued playing while studying at the University of Tennessee. After he graduated, he worked as the assistant football coach at Mississippi State University from 1939 to 1946, except while serving in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. He later served as head coach at Wyoming (1947-1952), head coach at Arkansas (1953-1954), head coach at the University of Tennessee (1955-1962), and assistant coach at Oklahoma State (1964-1965). After his death on January 21, 1969, Molly Wyatt remained a devoted University of Tennessee football fan and involved herself with the treatment of alcoholics. She died on February 15, 1993 in Knoxville, Tennessee after a series of heart attacks and is buried in the Highland Cemetery.

Missy Wyatt married James Franklin "Jeff" Goodson and died on May 31, 1993 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Series I: Rachel Emenlina Smart and Daniel Smith Family houses typescripts, clippings, and correspondence documenting the Smart and Smith families of Morocco, Illinois and Jackson, Tennessee. Much of this information concerns Rachel's brother, George W. Smart, who was a homesteader and mine investor near Durango, Colorado in the 1920s. Also of interest are papers documenting the genealogy of the Smart family (including John Smith and Sarah Sarber's original 1836 marriage bond) and correspondence addressed to Rachel (Smart) Smith.

Series II: Mary Alson Smith and Linwood Leonard Miller Family houses correspondence, clippings, medals, publications, and ephemera documenting the Smith and Miller families of Tennessee. Sub-Series A: Correspondence is composed primarily of letters from Mary A. Smith to Linwood L. Miller written during their courtship (1912-1914). Sub-Series B: Other Papers documents fragments of Mary Smith's life prior to her marriage, her wedding to Linwood Miller, and Linwood and his brother George Frederick Miller's service with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France during World War I. Of particular interest are the Distinguished Service Cross bestowed upon George Miller after his death from wounds incurred in battle in the Ypres Sector and the World War I Victory Medal and American Legion medals awarded to Linwood L. Miller for his service in France.

Series III: Ellen Clark Smith and Series IV: Leola M. Smith house materials documenting the lives of two of Mary A. Smith's sisters. Series III contains primarily correspondence addressed to Ellen Smith from Jackson native James Lafayett Dodds, who was courting Ellen at the time. Most of these letters describe Dodds' experiences serving with Company L of the AEF's 23 Engineers in France during World War I, including his experiences on the front lines. Series IV: Leola M. Smith houses correspondence addressed to and written by Leola Smith. Most of these letters discuss family and social concerns.

Series V: Mary Alson "Molly" Miller and Clarence Bowden Wyatt Family houses correspondence, genealogical information, photographs, football information, poetry, sketches, and lists documenting the Miller and Wyatt families of Tennessee. Sub-Series A: Correspondence is composed primarily of letters that Bowden Wyatt wrote to Molly Miller during their courtship (1938-1940). Sub-Series B: Other Papers houses items documenting fragments of Molly Miller's and Bowden Wyatt's lives both before and after their marriage. Of particular interest are a letter detailing Molly Miller's genealogy and information describing Bowden Wyatt's football career.

Series VI: Other Papers houses correspondence, pictures, calendars, and postcards that could not be linked to a person documented in Series I through Series V. Of particular interest are a set of unused postcards depicting scenes from around the world, including Jackson, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

• Smart family.
• Smith family.
• Miller family.
• Wyatt family.
• Knoxville (Tenn.) -- History.
• Jackson (Tenn.) -- History.
• Jackson (Tenn.) -- Manners and customs.
• Tennessee Volunteers (Football team).
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
• Newton County (Ind.) -- Genealogy.