I am searching for my grandfather, Francis Smith. His obituary in the Great Bend Tribune says he was born in LaPorte, Indiana on April 10, 1874. He worked as a carpenter, traveling the country, and came to Kansas where he helped build many of the houses in Ellinwood. He came to help my great-grandfather, Charles Rose, build his house at Raymond, KS. This is where he met my grandmother. They were married and had 3 children. I have found his record in 1930 at Raymond, Ks with my grandmother on the U.S. Federal Census. But other than that I can't find any real firm information on him. He died on June 21, 1934 at Raymond and was buried at the Lakin-Commanche Cemetery in Ellinwood, KS. His obituary says he had 2 brothers and 1 sister in Indiana.
We were always told that he had changed his name, but my Mom and Grandma didn't say much otherwise. I had been doing some research on the Rose side of the family and took it out to my uncle. He gave me a picture of my grandpa Smith on a tractor and binder. That's the only picture we have of him. He also told me a story he recalled that Francis had changed his name (probably from Roberts or something like that) when he was 14. Something happened with his family and some farmland was given or sold to someone else, rather than to Francis and/or his brother(s). He then changed his name to Francis Smith and worked throughout the country as a carpenter.
The 1930 Census says that the marriage in 1927 was his 1st. I've searched through many census records and can't find any Francis Smith/Roberts/Robert that is a carpenter and isn't married. We don't know his parents or siblings first names either.
I have a copy of their Marriage Certificate from 1927, but that's all. Sometime, I want to go to Topeka to see if I can get a copy of the Death Certificate in case it may reveal a little more information.
Please let me know if there's any place else I could search for information. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks very much,
Jim Loesch
Postal Address: 716 N Oak
Hoisington, KS 67544
jloesch75@hotmail.com
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