The Smiths
In 1881 Robert (pictured here) and Catherine Smith left England and traveled to America with their children, Mary Ann, John William, Anne, Edwin, Alexander, and James. They came from the northern county of Yorkshire in England. Robert had worked in the woolen mills and followed the same work here.
They first settled in the Olneyville section of Providence, R.I. Robert worked as a “wool sorter” and later followed this trade from Olneyville to Bristol, R.I.
What follows is what I’ve discovered about this American family.
The Goulds
Nicholas Rodman Gould, pictured here, lived and worked in Peace Dale, Rhode Island his entire life. He was born in 1827. He was my Great Great Grandfather. The Gould family has lived in Southern Rhode Island since John Gould set up his blacksmith shop on South Road in Kingston sometime around 1706. They fought in the American Revolution and worked in the local fields and factories.
I’ve put together some short histories and stories about the Goulds and their families. I hope you enjoy them.
The War
Edwin (Ted) Smith Jr, my father, (pictured here). was born on a farm in Richmond, Rhode Island on June 21, 1912. Helen Elizabeth Gould, my mother, was born in the village of Peace Dale, Rhode Island on October 15, 1914.
They met in high school, dated throughout the Great Depression, married in 1942, endured 3 years of separation during WWII, and lived the American dream of family, home ownership, and comfortable retirement.
As with millions of others of their age, World War II was the defining event in their lives. For them, history was divided into two distinct sections, “before the war” and “after the war.”