Herbert Booth Smith served as pulpit supply at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan circa 1909. The 8 April 1909 edition of The Matawan Journal said he had been paid $1,368.24 as of 31 Mar 1909, according to a treasurer's report on the front page of the paper. Only $90 had been paid for other supplies.
According to the 1900 Federal Census, Herbert lived with his parents and four siblings in Baltimore, MD. His father, J Addison Smith, was a preacher who was born in Jul 1856 in Texas. His parents were born in Kentucky. His mother was Eva Smith, born in Aug 1858 in Virginia. Herbert was the eldest of the four Smith children -- Herbert (Aug 1883 MO), Eva (Jul 1887 MO), Peyton (Oct 1889 MD), Rhoda (Jan 1894 MD), and Lucile (Sep 1899 MD). They had a black servant named Bertie Sie, age 23, born in Maryland.
The 1910 Federal Census showed him lodging at a boarding house at 175 Fulton Avenue in Rochester, Monroe County, NY. He was 26 years old, single, born in Missouri to a father from Texas and a mother from Virginia. He was a clergyman at a church.
Rev Smith submitted a US passport application in Jun 1912 while living in Knoxville, TN as a clergyman. He was 5' 7" tall, clean shaven, had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a dark complexion. He was 28 years old, having been born 7 Aug 1883 in Des Peres, St Louis County, Missouri.
Rev Smith was a fraternal delegate of the Presbyterian Church to the Waldensian Synod, according to the Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, 1914, pg 185. He was living in Westfield, NJ when he joined the US Navy in 1917, according to The History of Westfield, by Charles A Philhower, pg 91.
He was living in Los Angeles and working for the Synod of California in 1919, according to Minutes of the General Assembly that year. He had earned his Doctorate of Divinity degree.
The 1920 Federal Census showed Herbert Booth Smith, age 36, living at 223 South Alexandria Avenue in Los Angeles, CA as a clergyman, pastor of a church. His wife was Jean C Smith, age 38. She was born in Tennessee to a father born in Virginia and a mother in North Carolina. Their children included Herbert B Smith, Jr, age 5, born in the District of Columbia; and James C Smith, age 3, born in California. Also living with them was Jean's son from a prior marriage - J Hoyle Ragsdale, age 12, born in TN to a father born in Missouri and a mother born in Tennessee. They also had a maid servant named Helen Awadesto, age 22, born in California to a Mexican father and a Californian mother.
He nominated Charles Erdman as moderator of General Asssembly at Columbus in 1925, according to The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundmentalists, Modernists, and Moderates, by Bradley J Longfield, pg 150.
The 1930 Federal Census showed Herbert B Smith born about 1883 (47 years old) in Missouri to a father from Texas and a mother from Virginia. He was a minister at a Presbyterian church. He was head of household living at 744 South Serrano Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. He was 30 when he first married. His wife was Jeane C Smith, age 41, born in Tennessee to a father from Virginia and a mother from North Carolina. Their children in the household included Herbert B Smith, Jr, age 15, born in Washington, DC; James C Smith, age 13, born in California; and Joseph W Smith, age 5, born in California. Herbert and Jeane were married about 1912-13.
He was still living in Los Angeles when he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCUSA in 1941, according to a transcript of the 22nd Annual Presbyterian Dinner held 5 Dec 1941.
The Smiths expected a visit to their home in Lima, NY from their grandson, 2nd Lieutenant Gene F Smith, according to The Lima Recorder, 27 Mar 1952 edition. He hoped to arrive in time to attend their golden anniversary celebration.
He wrote a book on pre-retirement planning for ministers as a member of the PCUSA Board of Pensions, San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1972.
No comments:
Post a Comment