WILLIAM HENRY SMITH
MARY JANE CARR
1852-1932
1856-1922

The oldest living son of William Worthington Lassengree Smith and Anna Scott Evans Smith was born in Carroltown, Illinois and named William Henry "Harry" Smith. When Harry was 1 year old, he came to Shasta County in one of the first wagon trains to cross the Nobles Trail from Susanville in 1853. In 1879, he married Mary Jane "Molly" Carr of Millville, Molly was born in Delhi, New York and came to Shasta County in 1874 with her father, Francis Carr, her step-mother, Mary Ann McParland Carr and her small half-sister, Theresa. The Smiths lived in the Shingletown/Parkville area for over 65 years.

Harry and Molly Smith settled on a large ranch in Parkville, Molly was a city girl and probably never enjoyed living on a ranch, but, during the period 1881 - 1900, ten children were born to them, only six of whom lived to adulthood. The children were:
Electa b. 1881 d. 1883
Phillip b. 1883 d. 1883
Katherine H. "Kate" b. 1884 d. 1921
Francis J. b. 1887 d. 1907
Joseph A. b. 1889 d. 1965
C. Fred b. 1891 d. 1969
George W. b. 1893 d. 1947
Marcus H. b. 1895 d. 1912
Theresa L. b. 1897 d. 1971
Robert E. b. 1900 d. 1968

The Smith children attended the Parkville Grammar School and Hgh Schools in Redding and Anderson. Fred, Joseph, and George served in the army during World War I, and Fred later worked as an estate appraiser for the Redding area under Governor Edmund Brown, Sr. Theresa became a registered nurse, and Robert was engagd in mining in the Grass Valley area. Due to her mother's plans for her children to have higher education, Kate became a much-beloved teacher whose untimely death in 1922 interrupted a productive career. In Shasta County, Kate Smith Lemm, taught at the following schools: Eureka, Salt Creek, Sierra, Shingletown, Mountain Grove, Whitmore, Pine View, Balls Ferry, and Coram.

Descendants of William H. "Harry" Smith and "Molly" Carr Smith include eleven grandchildren, two of whom are deceased. The remaining nine live in California. Jane (Lemm) Long was given a large garnet pin encircled with small pearls, when she was a child, from her grandmother, Molly, because she was the 1st granddaughter and this is a family heirloom.

Source: Shasta Historical Society

Home
Biography Index