Samuel Smithson [Parents] was born on 10 Jan 1832 in Highland, Ohio. He died on 30 Jul 1902 in , Windsor, Randolph, Indiana. He married Mary A Ratcliff in Delaware, Indiana.
Other marriages:Thornburg, Margarett
Mary A Ratcliff.Mary married Samuel Smithson in Delaware, Indiana.
William E Smithson [Parents] was born on 31 Mar 1905 in Delaware, Indiana. He died on 29 Mar 1993 in Parker City, Randolph, Indiana. He married Reba R Remmel.
George Hasland Terrell [Parents] was born in Dec 1858 in Indiana. He married Malindae Dudley on 8 Nov 1879 in Delaware, Indiana.
Malindae Dudley.Malindae married George Hasland Terrell on 8 Nov 1879 in Delaware, Indiana.
Gloria Janice Smithson [Parents] was born on 17 Mar 1934 in , Perry, Dallas, Iowa. She died in Jan 1991 in , Seattle, King, Washington. She married Clyde Morrell.
Other marriages:Baldosare, Ralph
!Notes:
Sources:
1. Roxie Smithson Haden, RR #1, Panora, IA 50216Comments:
Gloria Janice Smithson [Parents] was born on 17 Mar 1934 in , Perry, Dallas, Iowa. She died in Jan 1991 in , Seattle, King, Washington. She married Ralph Baldosare.
Other marriages:Morrell, Clyde
!Notes:
Sources:
1. Roxie Smithson Haden, RR #1, Panora, IA 50216Comments:
Jonathan Chance.Jonathan married Lucinda Jane Smithson on 13 Jul 1846 in Highland, Ohio.
Lucinda Jane Smithson [Parents] was born in 1820/1825 in prob Highland, Ohio. She married Jonathan Chance on 13 Jul 1846 in Highland, Ohio.
Theresa Kay Smithson [Parents]
They had the following children:
F i Megan Renee Cooper M ii Andrew James Cooper
Jessie Green.Jessie married Cynthia Ann Smithson on 23 Jun 1859 in Clinton, Ohio.
Cynthia Ann Smithson [Parents] was born in 1841/1842 in Fairfield, Highland , Ohio. She married Jessie Green on 23 Jun 1859 in Clinton, Ohio.
Nathan A Kepler.Nathan married Celia Smithson on 22 Oct 1863 in Clinton, Ohio.
Celia Smithson [Parents] was born in 1832/1834 in Fairfield, Highland , Ohio. She married Nathan A Kepler on 22 Oct 1863 in Clinton, Ohio.
Robert Harvey Smithson [Parents] was born on 28 May 1914 in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa. He died on 22 Aug 1944 in Sassey, France. The cause of death was Shrapnel wounds to the left thigh. He was buried in Normandy American Cemetary, Omaha Beach, France. He married Helen Lucille Burton on 17 Feb 1935 in Adel, Dallas, Iowa.
Robert Harvey Smithson was born on May 28, 1914 in Des Moines, Polk Co, IA, the fifth of eight children of Henry Clyde and Jennie Ursula Miller Smithson. He lived with his parents and siblings at 1651 Lyon St. a few blocks from the Iowa Capitol Building. At an early age he became a member of the First Church of the Brethren where his parents were also members.
Bob Smithson, as he was known, attended Amos Hiatt Jr. High School where he played tuba in the band. In high school he was an average student in most courses but drew excellent grades in business math and bookkeeping. Music was his forte. He played tuba in the band and orchestra and sang in the chorus and glee club. Bob graduated from East High School on January 28, 1932.
Bob's musical talent was shared with church members where he was well known for his beautiful, clear tenor voice, singing songs of his faith.
After high school graduation Bob worked at the Des Moines Music House. In 1934 he met Helen Lucille Burton who moved into a house on Des Moines Street and began attending the First Church of the Brethren. They were united in marriage in Adel, IA on February 17, 1935. The couple lived in three different rented houses on Lyon St. and 613 E. 16th St., all within one block or less from the Smithson family home at 1651 Lyon St. To this marriage three children were born: Terry Bennett Smithson, Beverly Lou Smithson, and Myrna Ruth Smithson. After his marriage, Bob was employed at Browner Food Market as a clerk and meat cutter, Northland Dairy as a delivery man in a horse drawn wagon, and the U.S. Post Office as a letter carrier.
During World War II he served as an air raid warden until drafted on Jan. 29, 1944. He was processed at Camp Dodge in Des Moines (Army S/N 37685056) on Feb. 18, 1944 and spent five days there with his brother Lyle who enlisted in the U. S. Army at the same time Bob was drafted. He was then sent to Camp Croft, Spartanburg, SC. where he was assigned to the 34th Infantry Training Battalion, Company A. He returned home on furlough on July 2, 1944 before shipping overseas. He served as a rifleman in the 30th Infantry Division, 120th Infantry Regiment, Company I, then Company K, in France. He was killed in action on August 22, 1944, at Sassey, France (near Evereaux) as the result of schrapnel wounds to the left thigh and was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. He was buried in the temporary American Cemetery at St. Andre, France, on August 25, 1944. In 1949 his body was relocated to the new Normandy American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Colleville-sur-mer, Calvados, France, (Plot A, Row 23, Grave 4). On May 28, 1994, during the 50th anniversary of D-Day activities, a televised picture of his decorated grave was shown on an ABC News broadcast. The broadcast was seen by several family members.
As a member of the Brethren Church, Bob, who being considered as a deacon, could easily have declared Concientious Objector status when he was drafted. The church doctrine was pacifistic and participation in war forbidden. When it was suggested that he claim such status, his reply was, "If I don't go, someone else will have to take my place and I can't live with that on my conscience." So Bob answered his country's call to arms, leaving behind a wife and three young children. Assigned to the Infantry, he never once complained or questioned the decision of the Army. He was there to do his duty as best he could. Bob was a devout Christian who ministered to others. In a letter to his family written about three days before his death, he was jubilant that his buddy, "John" had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Unfortunately, that letter has been lost to time, but the memory of it has never faded. After the war, Vernon Miller of Des Moines, who was with Bob when he was hit, said that Bob had taken 3 or as many as 5 fellow soldiers to the Chaplain to be baptized three days before he was killed. Apparently Bob's lay ministry was even more extensive than first known.
Bob's grandfather, Benjamin C. Miller, faced a similar situation during the Civil War. Benjamin was also a member of the Brethren Church. When slavery became an issue, Benjamin felt so strongly that slavery was anti-Christian that he volunteered to fight against it. He entered the war and returned safely home at its end, only to be ostracized by the church.
Bob did not suffer criticism for his actions. World War II changed a lot of attitudes about war and the local church members considered his actions to be heroic. Bob absolutely abhorred war, yet he abhorred even more the oppression of people by war-waging nations. When he saw first hand the effects of the the war on the people of England and France, he was even more determined to put an end to tyranny. He followed his conscience, guided by Christian principles, and paid the ultimate price. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John13:15)
This is the legacy of Robert Harvey Smithson, husband, father, and citizen-soldier. (Terry Bennett (Smithson) Hildreth, 1997)
Source: Terry (Smithson) Hildreth - personal knowledge, conversations with Lyle, Dean and Myrna Smithson, letters written by Bob to family members, and multiple military documents.The following obituary was published in the Des Moines Register on September 15, 1944:
"Pvt. Smithson Dies in Action
Pvt. Robert H. Smithson, 30, husband of Mrs. Helen Smithson, 613 E. Sixteenth st., was killed in France Aug. 22, the war department has announced.
Private Smithson entered the service in February. 1944. Following training at Camp Croft, S. C., he was sent overseas early in August.
He was a mail carrier at the time of induction and before that was employed at Browner food market and Northland dairy. He was a member of the First Church of the Brethren.
Memorial services will be at 2:30 p. m. Sunday at Hamilton's funeral home.
Surviving besides his widow are three children, Terry, Beverly, and Myrna Ruth; his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Smithson, Des Moines; three sisters, Mrs. J. W. Beal, Maxwell, Ia., and Mrs. William Guellow and Myrna Smithson, both of Des Moines; and four brothers, Warren Smithson, in the Navy at Norfolk, Va.; Pvt. Lyle Smithson, in the Army at Camp Butner, N. C.; Dean W. Smithson, in the Navy at Key West, Fla., and Donald Smithson, Des Moines."
On March 26, 1945, Pvt. Lyle Smithson, serving with the 283rd Combat Engineers, was in Paris waiting for supplies. He contacted Graves Registration and found his brother was buried a few miles away. He managed to borrow a Jeep and drove to the American Cemetery at St. Andre, France. There he found a white wooden cross with one of his brother's dogtags attached to it. He took pictures of the grave and sent them home to the family. Lyle remembers the date because it was his 34th birthday.
Lyle remembers the area around St. Andre as "looking like a giant lawnmower had cut everything off three feet above the ground." Lyle did not know until many years later that his brother's unit was fighting in St. Andre the day before he was killed.
The "lawnmower" effect was the result of an artillery battle with elements of the 34th Regiment of the 17th GAF Division defending the large airfield at St. Andre-de-L'Eure. The airfield, German aircraft, and several prisoners were captured on August 21, 1944 by the 120th Infantry Regiment. The next day, Pvt. Smithson was killed in Sassey, a village about ten miles north of St. Andre and 2-1/2 miles northeast of Evereaux. Sassey was located at the northeastern edge of another German airfield which was found abandoned. German units were located in the woods just to the east of the airfield and used small-arms, mortar, and light-artillery fire to impede the attack of the 120th Infantry Regiment.
Note: Extensive research has been accomplished on the military life of Pvt. Robert H. Smithson. This information is being compiled separately. Also compiled separately is the story of the events leading to the showing of his grave on TV and the events of the following days. TBH
Odds & Ends:
Bob was a tall, slimly built man with dark brown hair and eyes. At an early age his hair thinned into a distinctive "widow's peak". He was a quiet man, yet well known for his kindness and friendliness. As a father, he was a strict disciplinarian, yet he was also compassionate.
In one picture believed to be taken at Camp Croft, Bob is wearing his Army qualification badges. An extreme enlargement of the photo is inconclusive, but it appears that he was "Expert" in at least one weapon (probably rifle) and either marksman or sharpshooter with all other weapons of the infantry. His service records were destroyed in the 1973 Records Center fire in St. Louis, so much of the detailed military medical and service information has been lost.
(Update 7/17/98 - Conversation with Lyle Smithson confirmed that Bob was qualified "Expert" in two weapons (not sure of which two but believed Rifle was one of them. Qualified as "Sharpshooter" in all others.)
From a conversation with Lyle in 1996 - Vernon Miller of Des Moines was beside Bob as they charged, while under hostile fire, through an open field during a frontal attack on GAF troops. Bob cried out, "I'm hit!" Vernon hesitated, turned, and saw Bob lying on the ground. Bob shouted to Vernon, "Don't stop, keep going." Vernon then continued the attack. He never saw Bob again.
From a conversation with Lyle in 1998 - Vernon Miller also said that three days before his death, Bob had taken 3 or possibly 5 fellow soldiers to the Chaplain for baptism. Apparently Bob's battlefield ministry was more extensive than originally known.
An examination of remains in 1948 when his body was disinterred for transfer to Normandy reconfirmed identification by means of the other dog tag and S-5056 stamped in the waist band of his trousers. The body was clothed in OD combat uniform. The lower extremities were fractured.
Helen Lucille Burton was born on 3 Jan 1914 in Ankeny, Polk, Iowa. She died on 1 Mar 1991 in Limestone, Washington, Tennessee. The cause of death was Cancer of the colon. She was buried in Fairview Cemetary, Jonesborough, Tennessee. She married Robert Harvey Smithson on 17 Feb 1935 in Adel, Dallas, Iowa.
Graduated from Madison Township High School, Trotwood, OH
Graduated from Balthasers College (business school) in Greenville , OHLouella Mae Robinson Burton, mother of Helen Lucille Burton, died when Helen was less than 1 year old. Unable to care for the children by himself, John Franklin Burton placed his children in various relative's homes. Helen lived with the Whittmer family for a few years while her father, who had been an Ass't. Cashier in a bank and then a Brethren minister, attended Bethany Seminary in Chicago. Her father married Emily Dyer of Chicago. The family was reunited and moved to Ankeny, IA, Greene, IA, then Trotwood, OH. After completion of schooling, Helen and her brother Floyd moved to Des Moines, IA. (with family in 1932-1933) (Grandpa to Lena in Aug 1933) It was there that Helen met Robert Harvey "Bob" Smithson. (See notes - Robert H. Smithson)
After Bob's death, Helen married Homer James "Jim" Hildreth of Ankeny. The "Hildreth family", consisting of Jim, Helen, and Terry, Beverly, and Myrna Smithson moved to Mason City, IA. It was there that son John James Hildreth was born. The family also resided in Clear Lake, IA and briefly in Dayton, OH, before removing to Des Moines, IA. The marriage ended in divorce in 1955.
Helen worked for Economy Forms Co. in Des Moines from 1955 to about 1963. She then worked for the Des Moines Water Works until her retirement in about 1979.
Helen married Verl M. Weber in 1962 and lived in Des Moines. The marriage ended in divorce in 1981. Helen then moved to Jonesborough, TN, where she resided with her daughter, Beverly, until her death.
Helen was very active in volunteer service at the John Reed Nursing Home in TN. Shortly after her death, the dining room there was renamed "The Helen Weber Dining Room" in a formal ceremony with her children as honored guests. A large oil painting and bronze plaque commemorate the event. The memorial was historic for she was the first person so recognized, not for a monetary gift to the home, but rather for the gift of love, caring, and many hours of service.
Helen became a resident of the John Reed Home just two weeks before her death. She spent the first week visiting other residents. When she could no longer get out of bed, residents visited her in her room. Many people remarked, "I went to her room to cheer her up - and she cheered me up!" Hours before she lapsed into a coma and died, she was still laughing and smiling. She did not fear death.
When she was diagnosed as having terminal cancer, her greatest anguish was not facing death - it was telling her children and family.
Obituary (believed to be published in the Kingsport, TN newspaper on Mar 2, 1991)
"HELEN L. WEBER
JONESBOROUGH - Mrs, Helen Lucille Weber, 77, Route 5, Jonesborough, died Friday (March 1, 1991) at the John Reed Home in Limestone after an extended illness.
Mrs. Weber was a retired Des Moines Water Works Dispatcher and a member of Johnson City Citizens Musical Voices. She was a volunteer at the John Reed Home and a past president of the John Reed Home Auxiliary.
Surviving are two sons, Terry Hildreth, St. Louis, Mo., John Hildreth, Ankeny, Iowa; two daughters, Mrs. Beverly Graeber and Mrs. Myrna Bruett, both of Jonesborough; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two brothers, Harold Burton, Ventura, Calif., Eugene Burton, Cleveland, Ohio; several nieces and nephews.
Calling hours are from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the First Church of the Brethren in the Boones Creek community.
Services will be conducted at 8 p.m. Sunday at the church with the Rev. Frank Herbert, the Rev. Edward Murray and the Rev. Phillip Graeber officiating.
Graveside services will be conducted at 9 a.m. Monday at Fairview Cemetery, Jonesborough.
Memorials may be made to the John Reed Auxiliary, c/o John Reed Home, Route 2, Limestone, Tenn. 37681 or to the Kingsport Church of the Brethren piano fund, 1369 Warpath Drive, Kingsport, Tenn. 37660.
Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home, Jonesborough, is in charge."Mom planned her own funeral. Since she knew she was terminal, she had given it some thought and wrote the service. She showed the handwritten outline to each of her children for their approval. She contacted each minister and asked them to participate. She asked the Musical Voices if they would sing. The only deviation from her written plan was that Terry and Myrna spoke, sharing some of the writings in her journal. Her funeral service was a celebration of her life on earth and her "graduation" to a greater life beyond.
SSN 481-30-2183
They had the following children:
F i Beverly Lou Smithson F ii Myrna Ruth Smithson