Katherine (Unruh) Smith (1885 - 1967)

Born 6 Jan 1885 in Durham, Marion, Kansas, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Cornelius Tobias Smith — married 18 Aug 1904 in Marion County, Kansas, United States

Descendants

Died 5 Sep 1967 at age 82 in Greensburg, Kiowa, Kansas, United States

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Biography

Kate was born in 1885 in Durham, Kansas to Peter Unruh and Anna Frey. She was #7 of 14 children.

Kate is listed with her parents in 1900 census in Marion County. She is 15 years old, attending school and she can read and write. One of their neighbors in Logan Township, is the Smith family, including young Cornelius, age 23.

Katie and Cornelius Smith were married in 1904 by the probate judge at the Marion County Courthouse. That fall, their first child, a daughter named Laura, was born, and lived only 6 days and was buried in Kansas. They moved to Oklahoma after that and their next child, Rosie, was born in Oklahoma.

Cornelius filed a land patent in Woodward, Texas, Oklahoma in 1910 and they and three children, Rosie, Dennis and Viola are in Oklahoma in the 1910 census. All three children are listed as born in Oklahoma.

They were still living in Oklahoma in 1912 when Beatrice was born but moved to Kansas by the time Della was born in 1915. They are listed in the 1915 Kansas State Census in Ursula Township, Kiowa County, Kansas.

They remained in Ursula Township through the 1940 census. At some point after that, they moved to Greensburg. Grandpa Cornelius was sick with lung cancer. He passed away in 1946. Grandma had seen many deaths in recent years. Rosie in 1931, Lillian (known as June) in 1937, and Della in 1938. And in Feb of 1950, Naomi died.

Kate was living in Greensburg in the 1950 census with a boarder, 78 year old Mary Wendell. She was 65 years old and worked cleaning people homes.

Sources

• Fleener's Funeral Home (Greensburg, Kansas), "January 13, 1965 to January 20, 1970," record 134, Katie Smith burial entry; privately held by Fleener Family, Greensburg, Kansas, 2004.
• "Funeral Services Tomorrow for Katie Smith, 82," obituary, Kiowa County (Kansas) Signal, 6 September 1967. Schmidt Family Papers.
• Katie Smith funeral card, Schmidt Family Papers; privately held by Rita Schmidt Martin, Kansas City, MO, 2017. Papers collected by Harvey, Ken & Rita over the years.
• Luberta McCulloch, compiler, Benjamin G. Unruh Family Record, rev. edition (Unknown: privately printed, 2000).
• United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch Record: ML75-PWC; 2020), Cornealous T Smith "sic" household, Nabisco Township, Texas, Oklahoma, United States; citing ED 258, Sheet No. 5A, page 152, dwelling 102, family 102, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982).
• "Kansas State Census, 1915," database with images ,FamilySearch, (FamilySearch Record: QGTN-X66G); 2020, C. T. Smith household, Ursula Twp, Kiowa County, Kansas, United States; citing page 2, line 18, dwelling 11, family 11, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm, Topeka, Kansas.
• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch Record: MF6V-3X5; 2020), Cornelious Smith household, Ursula Township, Kiowa, Kansas, United States; citing ED 14, Sheet No. 3B, dwelling 50, family 50, NARA microfilm T625. Washington, D.C.: National Archives & Records Administration.
• "Kansas State Census, 1925," database with images ,FamilySearch, (FamilySearch Record: QGVS-ZC5V); C. T. Smith family, Kiowa County, Kansas, United States; citing pages 10, 11 (Roll 72), Dwelling 60, Family 69, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm, Topeka, Kansas.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch Record: X7QZ-889; 2020), Cornelius T. Smith household, Ursula Township, Kiowa, Kansas, United States; citing ED 49-14, sheet no. 2A, stamped 214, dwelling 19, family 19, NARA microfilm T626. Washington, D.C.: National Archives & Records Administration.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch Record: VRKD-YWF : 28 May 2020), C J Smith, Ursula Township, Kiowa, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 49-14, sheet 2A, line 21, family 21, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1238.
• "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (FamilySearch Record: 6F71-9C1Z : Sun Jan 29 17:51:58 UTC 2023), Entry for Kattie Smith and Mary Wendell, 22 April 1950.
• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, no images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch Record: J1RK-GMC: accessed ), Kate Smith, born 6 Jan 1885, Kansas, died Sep 1967; last residence Greensurg, Kiowa, KS 67054 ; issue year 1957-58, citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).