Eliza Ellen (Crawford) Smith (1879 - 1946)

Born 5 Sep 1879 in Bibb County, Georgia

Ancestors

Wife of Levi Marion Brookshire — married 23 Jul 1898 in St. Clair, Alabama

Wife of Jacob Breckinridge Smith — married 15 Aug 1906 in Fulton County, Georgia

Descendants

Died 14 Mar 1946 at age 66 in Haralson County, Georgia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sabrina Combs [send private message]

Please add sources if editing this profile.

Biography

Eliza Ellen Crawford^[1] was born on Sep. 5, 1879 in Bibb County, Georgia to William David Crawford and Clara Johnson Crawford. ^[2]

On the 1880 Census, Eliza was listed as a nine month old, white female living in Bibb County, Georgia with her parents and siblings: Milton Crawford, Frances Crawford, and Julia Crawford. According to this census, she and her parents were born in Georgia.^[3]

On July 23, 1898, she married Levi Marion Brookshire (aka Marion Levi Brookshire) in St. Clair, Alabama. They had three children: Jessie William Brookshire, Milton M. Brookshire, and Lydia Marian Bookshire.

On the 1900 Census, Eliza was living in Polk County, Georgia with her husband, Levi, and son, Jessie William Brookshire.^[4]

Sometime between the 1900 Census and her second marriage to Jacob Breckinridge Smith in 1906, Levi Brookshire died leaving Eliza struggling to support her three children. She was finally forced to place them in an orphanage. It was a heartbreaking decision for her.

After her marriage to Jacob Breckinridge Smith on August 15, 1906 in Fulton County, Georgia, Eliza and Jacob went to the orphanage to bring her children home to live with them. ^[5] Jacob was himself a widower and the father of four children. By all accounts, Jacob raised Eliza's three children as his own. Jacob and Eliza went on to have three additional children: Ruby Smith, Lillie Ann Smith, and Rosie Irene Smith. In addition to raising all of these children, Jacob and Eliza later took in and raised their granddaughter by Ruby Smith; her name was Lura Ellen Hendrix.

On the 1910 U.S. Census, the family had moved to Waco, Haralson County, Georgia. All of the children, except for Rosie Irene Smith who hadn't been born yet, were living with them.^[6]

On the 1920 U.S. Census, the family is living in Bremen, Haralson County, GA. In the household are Jacob and Eliza Smith, three daughters (Ruby Smith, Lillie Smith, and Rosie Irene Smith), and a boarder named Walter M. Smith.^[7]

According to the 1930 U.S. Census, Jacob B. Smith and Eliza Ellen Smith were living in Bremen, Haralson County, GA with two daughters: Lillie Ann Smith and Rosie Irene Smith. Jacob and Eliza were also raising their granddaughter, Lura Ellen Hendrix.^[8]

On the 1940 Census, the family is still in Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia. The household consisted of Jake Smith, Eliza Crawford Smith, and their granddaughter, Lura Ellen Hendrix aka Lura Ellen Smith.^[9]

On March 14, 1946, Eliza passed away. Eliza's daughter, Rosie Irene Smith Munroe, told me that she fell down some icy steps and suffered a head injury. Another [living] family member told me that Eliza had a stroke. According to her death certificate^[2], Eliza died of a Cerebral Hemmorhage which could fit with either a fall or a stroke. At the time of her death, she had been a resident of Haralson County Georgia for almost 50 years. She is buried in a small family-owned cemetery called Smith Cemetery which borders Bremen City Cemetery in Bremen, Georgia.

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

• 1880 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8LH-PDK ), Liza Crofford in household of David Crofford, District 519, Bibb, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district 7, sheet 20A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0134; FHL microfilm 1,254,134.

• 1900 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3J1-Z66 ), Eliza Brookshire in household of Levi M Brookshire, Militia District 1076, Hampton Etna town, Polk, Georgia, United States; citing sheet 6A, family 101, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,240,217.

• Marriage License of Jacob B. Smith and Eliza Ellen Crawford Brookshire; State of Georgia; County of Fulton; 15 Aug 1906

• 1910 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLK5-DZK ), Liza Smith in household of Jake Smith, Waco, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 102, sheet 8B, family 72, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,201.

• 1920 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ6Q-TX9 ), Eliza E Smith in household of Jake B Smith, Bremen, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing sheet 1A, family 7, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,261.

• 1930 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3WQM-PW2 ), Eliza E Smith in household of Jake B Smith, Bremen, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0009, sheet 6A, family 125, line 26, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 368; FHL microfilm 2,340,103.

• 1940 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7G8-B46 ,Eliza Smith in the household of Jake Smith, Bremen, Militia District 1251, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 71-10, sheet 8A, family 174, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 683.

• In Recent Invasion; The Dadeville Record; Dadeville, Alabama; 28 Dec 1944; Page 2.^[10]

• The Dadeville Record; Dadeville, Alabama; 18 Jan 1945; Page 4.^[11]

• Death Certificate; State of Georgia; County of Haralson; Haralson County Courthouse, Buchanan, GA; 14 Mar 1946.

• Obituary of Eliza Ellen Crawford Smith; The Bremen Gateway; Bremen, GA; 21 Mar 1946; Spouse: J. B. Smith; Daughters: Mrs. W. P. Otwell, Mrs. Otis Bolden, Mrs. Ivey Davis, Mrs. Clifford Munroe; Sons: J. W. Brookshire and M. M. Brookshire; Pallbearers: W. P. Otwell, J. W. Smith, J. T. Smith, J. J. Smith, C. M. Brookshire, Ivy Davis.

• Grave Marker of Eliza Ellen Crawford Smith; Bremen City Cemetery; Bremen, Haralson County, GA.

• "Georgia, Death Index, 1933-1998," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V4MT-729 ), Eliza E Smith, 14 Mar 1946; from "Georgia Deaths, 1919-98," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2001); citing Harals, Georgia, certificate number 5662, Georgia Health Department, Office of Vital Records, Atlanta.

• Memorial of Eliza Ellen Crawford Brookshire Smith; Find-A-Grave; Burial: Smith Family Cemetery^[12]; Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia, USA; https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=33387949.

• Death Certificate; Lydia Marian Otwell; Date of Death: 25 Sept 1977; Place of Death: Higgins General Hospital, Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia, USA; Burial: Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia, USA; Birth Date: 5 Sept 1903; Birth Place: Georgia, USA; Parents: Levi Brookshire and Liza Crawford; Spouse: Paul Otwell; citing: Death Certificate Number 030882, Buchanan Court House, Buchanan, Haralson County, Georgia, USA.

• Obituary of Ruby Smith Davis; The Haralson Gateway-Beacon; Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia, USA; 5 Sept 1996; Spouse: Ivey Davis; Parents: Jake B. Smith and Eliza Crawford Smith; Sister: Irene Munroe.

• Obituary; Rosie Irene Smith; Haralson Gateway-Beacon; Bremen, Haralson County, Georgia, USA; 17 May 2001; Parents: Jacob B. Smith and Eliza Crawford Smith.

1. ↑ A number of genealogy websites have her name listed incorrectly listed as Elizabeth. Her given name at birth was Eliza and NOT Elizabeth.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Death Certificate; State of Georgia; County of Haralson; Haralson County Courthouse, Buchanan, GA; 14 Mar 1946
3. ↑ 1880 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8LH-PDK ), Liza Crofford in household of David Crofford, District 519, Bibb, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district 7, sheet 20A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0134; FHL microfilm 1,254,134
4. ↑ 1900 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3J1-Z66 ), Eliza Brookshire in household of Levi M Brookshire, Militia District 1076, Hampton Etna town, Polk, Georgia, United States; citing sheet 6A, family 101, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,240,217
5. ↑ Marriage License of Jacob B. Smith and Eliza Ellen Crawford Brookshire; State of Georgia; County of Fulton; 15 Aug 1906
6. ↑ 1910 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLK5-DZK ), Liza Smith in household of Jake Smith, Waco, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 102, sheet 8B, family 72, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,201
7. ↑ 1920 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ6Q-TX9 ), Eliza E Smith in household of Jake B Smith, Bremen, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing sheet 1A, family 7, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,261
8. ↑ 1930 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3WQM-PW2 ), Eliza E Smith in household of Jake B Smith, Bremen, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0009, sheet 6A, family 125, line 26, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 368; FHL microfilm 2,340,103
9. ↑ 1940 Federal Census; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7G8-B46 ,Eliza Smith in the household of Jake Smith, Bremen, Militia District 1251, Haralson, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 71-10, sheet 8A, family 174, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 683
10. ↑ Milton Brookshire was home visiting his wife, the former Elma Harrelson, and his mother in Bremen, Georgia. The article stated that he was part of the Philippine Invastion.
11. ↑ Milton Brookshire was home visiting his wife, the former Elma Harrelson, and his mother in Bremen, Georgia
12. ↑ The Smith family cemetery borders Bremen City Cemetery. It was started by Jacob B. Smith on a part of the land that he owned at the time. The family still owns and maintains this cemetery. It is not a part of Bremen City Cemetery.