Smith, Julia Etta 1852 -1928

SMITH, BAILEY

Posted By: Doris Hoffman, Volunteer (email)
Date: 2/23/2015 at 15:42:07

OBITUARY OF JULIA E. SMITH

Mention was briefly made in these columns last week of the death of Mrs. Julia E. Smith, one of the earliest pioneer residents of Akron. The following memorial of her life and personal tribute was read by her pastor, Rev. Wilson Gow, of the M. E. Church, at the funeral service:

Julia Etta Bailey, daughter of Samuel and Dorcas Bailey, was born at Cape Town, on the coast of Maine, February 16, 1852, and passed away at Akron, Iowa, November 22, 1928, completing an earthly pilgrimage of 76 years, 9 months, and 6 days. She was one of a family of six--five daughters and one son--all of whom have passed on. When she was only nine years of age her parents moved from their home on the Maine coast to Leets, Wisconsin, near Madison. The family had lived at Leets but a few years when the father died and Mrs. Bailey brought her family to Iowa, locating at Waterloo. This remained the home of the family until Julia reached young womanhood.

On April 24, 1870, she was united in marriage with Allen H. Smith, and shortly thereafter, in the spring of 1872, she came with her young husband to Plymouth County, Iowa, and filed on a homestead two miles north of Ruble, where they remained one year. In 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Smith came to Portlandville, which later was named Akron. When Mr. and Mrs. Smith came to Portlandville there were but few residents and they endured all the hardships and inconveniences of those pioneer days. The had but two children, Olive (now Mrs. E. M. Hammer) being the eldest, and the other child, a son died while yet in infancy. There was no public burying ground here when Mr. and Mrs. Smith lost their little one, so they laid it in a temporary resting place on their residence lot, and when the present, Riverside Cemetery was laid out they moved the body to the new cemetery. Only the two children mentioned came to bless the Smith home, so they adopted a son eight years of age, named Leonard, now a resident of Sioux City, Iowa.

Mr. Smith was engaged in the real estate business during his long residence in Akron and on March 8, 1911, was unexpectedly called, in a very similar way to his companion.

When Mr. and Mrs. Smith came to Portlandville there was no church organization in the village and it was only occasionally that services were held in the community. Mrs. Smith immediately took an active part in religious work and was one of the leaders in organizing a community Sunday school. Her home was open for religious services and the circuit riders of that day always found a welcome and sometimes held the services in her house. When the Methodist Church was organized here a little over fifty years ago, she was one of the charter members and at the time of her death was one of the only two surviving members of the church. During all the history of the church she was identified with all its activities and the interest of the church was very near her heart. The last service she attended was the Fiftieth Anniversary, September 2, 1928, and it was a great inspiration to her to be present and to hear one of her former pastors preach.

Mrs. Smith was the last of her family to go. Her companion, four sisters and only brother having passed on some years ago, but she found comfort in having her daughter, Mrs. Olive Hammer; her adopted son, Leonard Smith, besides nine grandchildren and five great-grandchild. It is rather remarkable that of this large company of descendants only one has passed across --a grandchild. Not only was Mrs. Smith identified with the early history of the Akron Methodist Church, but she was also a charter member of the local Eastern Star Lodge and took an abiding interest in the activities of the order.

"For tho from out our bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar."

Mrs. Smith was a woman of strong faith, her piety was free from cant and catchwords, her consolation was in Christ, her book was the Bible, her experience was like a deep and noiseless river whose sources were in living mountain springs. Her ever prayer was, "Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I will be whiter than snow." This was on her lips like a proverb and was keynote of the harmonies of her soul. No vain regrets embittered the retrospect, no soul dispositions neutralized the sweets of the living present, no forbidding views shadowed the brightening future. As nature embroiders its shroud on the borders of the tomb so her life took on its liveliest hues when the autumn years brought her nearest the winter of the grave.

Those who knew her best sought her most. The entire community and church recognized her as a mother and sympathizing friend. She was the consoler in the house of mourning and the ready nurse in times of sickness. The summons was sudden but the wing was ready. her mental faculties were unimpaired to the last, but her body had grown weak, yet her faith was buoyant.

"There's a dear and precious book,
Tho 'tis worn and faded now,
Which recalls those happy days of long ago,
Then I stood at mother's knee,
With her hand upon my brow,
And I heard her voice in gentle tones and vow.
She loved song and the old hymns were her favorites.
My latest sun is sinking fast,
My race is nearly run,
My strongest trials now are past,
My triumph is begun.
O come angel band,
O bear me away on your snowy wings,
Come and around me stand,
To my immortal home."

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon, at 2:15 at the home and at 2:30 in the M. E. Church, the pastor, Wilson Gow, conducting the services. The church auditorium was well filled with friends who assembled to pay a final tribute of respect to an esteemed and beloved pioneer resident. A quartet composed of Mr. J. C. Kennedy, Miss Clara M. Stountenburg, William Thorne and G. H. Wooton, sang favorite hymns; "No Night There," "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "Under His Wings." Members of Vesper Chapter Eastern Star, attended the funeral in a body and conducted the beautiful and impressive ritualistic burial service of the order.

The pallbearers were E. O. Thorson, J. H. Pollock, Milo S. Mills, W. W. Ross, N. J. Williams and Chas. Wise. There were many beautiful floral tiributes. Interment was in Riverside Cemetery.

Out of town relatives who attended the funeral were: Mrs. Hattie McDougal, of Waterloo, Iowa; Mr. andMrs. Frank Brown, of Hudson, Iowa; Mr. and Mrs. Gus Anderburg, of Colton, S. D.; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Eldridge and son, Warren, of Ft. Pierre, S. D., all the above being nephews and nieces of Mrs. Smith; Leonard G. Smith and wife and Glenn Hammer, of Sioux City, Iowa.

Akron Register Tribune
Thursday, November 29, 1928
Akron, Iowa