52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #3 - Joseph Smith

This is #3 in a Genealogy Blog Challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow over on her blog "No Story Too Small." The challenge is to write 52 blog posts on 52 ancestors throughout 2014.

When coming across a name in a family tree like Joseph Smith, most genealogists I know will roll their eyes and sigh. Trying to narrow down all the Joseph Smiths that are out there to the one you are related to can sometimes be difficult.  Just try searching the white pages for "Joseph Smith" to see how many are around now!

In a way, though, I had it a little easier. I already knew that Joseph Smith was my great-grandfather.  I had information on his birthday and death day.  I knew that he was related to me.  I even had an idea about his mother's name - Vilma Purez (or Furez or Feher) Smith. My grandmother, Joseph's second daughter, Rose, started working on genealogy when I was still a child.  She shared a story with me in a letter I have kept about her grandmother, Vilma.

"Any time I would ask my grandmother about my grandfather, she would mutter something in Hungarian and then spit."

 I don't think their relationship was a good one. 

"Buda Bowling League 1920 Champions"
Joseph Smith is on the Bottom Left.
All other men, unknown.

Joseph Smith was born as Josef Schmidt on 21 Jan 1892 in Pankota, Austria / Hungary.  In May of 1907, he, his mother Vilma (age 33), and his younger sister, also named Vilma (age 11), sailed from Bremen, Germany to New York on the Graf Waldersee. They arrived in New York on the 11th of May, 1907.  Though he was only 15, his occupation is listed on the passenger manifest as "Blacksmith."

Their destination, as declared on the manifest, was Philadelphia, PA where they would be meeting up with a "brother-in-law" named Johann Feher who lived at "N. Amerikaan St. 8" in Philadelphia.  Google maps shows that this is the location of Christ Church Neighborhood House. Who Johann Feher was, where he lived, and how he was related to the Schmidts is still a mystery.

Sometime between arriving in New York, and 1916, he moved to Chicago, but for all I can tell, his mother and sister did not. I have not been able to find them in any census records yet.

Joseph, his wife Florence,
and his mother-in-law Ida -
photo most likely taken at Ida's farm in
Kalamazoo, MI

In the 1910 Census, there are two Joseph Smiths who were born in Austria / Hungary and who immigrated to the US in 1907. One, who lived on N. Kimball Ave in Chicago's 27th ward is listed as being 16 years old and working in a Bakery.  This residence is one block away from where Joseph's then future wife Florence Genotte was living.  Because of this coincidence, I think that this is the right Joseph. I wonder how they met. 

On 26 November in 1916, Joseph and Florence Genotte were married and lived in Harvey, IL. They subsequently had three children: Florence, b. 1918; Rose, b. 1920; and Harry, b. 1924.

Joseph filed his Declaration of Intent on 26 March 1917. He then filed his petition on the 25th of January 1921. One of the witnesses for his petition was his father-in-law Leon Genotte. He was finally Naturalized on the 23rd of March 1922. At the time of his naturalization, his name was officially changed from Joseph Schmidt to Joseph Smith.

We actually found his Naturalization certificate in old family papers that my mother had in the attic, along with a receipt for $5 for the judge who married Joseph and Florence.

Florence and Joseph Smith
with their grandsons
Phillip and Dennis Donnelly
ca. 1944

Throughout the remainder of his life, Joseph worked as a laborer in various industries. In 1920, Joseph, Florence and their first daughter, Florence were living with Joseph's in-laws on the Dixie Highway in Flossmoor.  At this time, it appears that Joseph was working either as a Farmer or as a Farm Laborer. But in 1921, they had moved to Harvey, IL where he was working as a machinist. 1930 found Joseph's little family renting a house on Douglas Ave in Flossmoor, IL. During this time in his life, he was a building contractor. By 1940, he, Florence, and their two youngest were living in an apartment on East 62nd street in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. At the time, he was working as a tool and dye maker for a Refrigeration company. He continued to work as a tool and dye machinist until his death in 1955.

He had eight grandchildren; five from his daughter, Rose, and three from his son, Harry.

Joseph died on the 13th of January, 1955. He is buried in St. Lucas Cemetery in Chicago with his wife, Florence and their children Florence (d. 1960) and Harry (d.1952).

Joseph is my great-grandfather. His daughter, Rose, is my maternal grandmother.

Joseph Smith ca. 1950s

*This post was edited to indicate when his name was changed.