Daisy B. Smith and Family, Shelbyville, Illinois, 1880's

I have multiple cabinet cards of this young woman, Daisy Belle Rowell, showing her at different ages.

As I mentioned in my last post, Daisy was born in 1876 to Alma and Orange Rowell. Though she was born in Vermont, she moved with her mother to Illinois after her parents separated and spent most of her childhood there. While living in Shelbyville, Illinois, Daisy married Llewellyn "Liew" Smith, a carpenter. Daisy was 18 when she had her first son, Kimber, in 1894. She had her second son, Carl, in 1896. If you'll remember, I briefly mentioned Kimber and Carl in my post on Rev. Crews and his wife. Daisy and Liew went on to have two more children, daughters Mabel and Lois.

Kimber and Carl Smith

In June of 1898, Daisy, her two sons, and her mother, Alma, went back to Vermont to stay with family. They lived with Alma's step-mother, Julia A. Hastings, her widowed half-sister Rhoda Woodcock, and Rhoda's son Van for a year before moving permanently to Oklahoma.  Alma passed away in 1901.

As an adult, Carl Smith became a safe salesman and later worked in a cash register factory. His brother Kimber took a rather different route. He became a musician and toured the country in a C.A. Wortham show, a traveling carnival. In 1920, Kimber married Zylpha "Zip" Ardis Johnson, another musician, though I don't think the marriage lasted long. In 1930, Kimber is single and living with his parents. He also served in both WWI and WWII.

Daisy Smith died in 1938 at the age of 62.

If you know who this family may be, let us know in the comments!