Robert and Catherine

Robert Smith was born in Bingley on April 6, 1841. The birth certificate shows Robert’s father as Enoch, his mother as Hannah Moore Smith, and Enoch’s occupation as “Woolcomber.” Note that the “Signature of Informant” block contains “mark of Enoch Smith, Father.” Enoch was illiterate. The place of birth and residence of the informant are both Harden Lane. The birth was registered in Keighley, Bingley, County of York.
The 1841 census has Robert, age 2 months, living with his parents, Enoch and Hannah Smith, on Rycroft Road in Bingley, along with seven other children.
By the 1851 Census, Robert is 13. The family has moved to 65 Wapping Road in Bradford.
In 1861, the census found 20-year-old Robert living at 201 Wapping Road with his mother, father, and two brothers, Thomas and Joseph. Robert’s occupation is a Woolsorter.

Catherine Cameron Smith
The 1871 census has Robert as married with three children. He’s living in his father Enoch’s house at 277 Wapping Road. Hannah is apparently dead, Enoch’s marital status is listed as a widower. Robert’s wife is Catherine and the children are Mary Ann, age 7; John William, age 4; and David, age 2. Robert reports his occupation as a laborer.
Robert’s wife was Catherine Cameron. Exactly when Robert and Catherine were married I don’t know. We do know that it was after 1861 as she was not in the household for the census. If their oldest child was 7 years old for the 1871 census, then we can assume that they were married sometime around 1863/1864.
Catherine Cameron was the daughter of Robert Cameron and Ann Dreghorn Cameron. She was born in Bradford in Yorkshire on January 12, 1842. Catherine’s parents, Robert and Ann, were both born in Scotland. The family moved to Bradford around the time of Catherine’s birth.

In 1881, according to the census, Robert, Catherine, and now 7 children were living at 5 Carlton Street, Rycroft, Bingley. The census shows the following:

The obvious problem with this record is the listing for Mary Ann. They have her as Robert’s married sister age 67. I believe that this is an error and this is the oldest daughter and the age should be 17. The youngest son “Elexander” is almost certainly “Alexander”. Robert is an Agricultural Laborer, so he’s out of the mill but Mary Ann and John W are employed in textile mills. Edwin was my grandfather.

The family moved around a bit during the years between the 1871 census and the 1881 census. The first 4 children were born in Bradford, Edwin and Alexander in Keithly and James in Oakworth.

Based on United States census information for 1900, 1910, and 1920, all of which asked for information on arrival in the US, the family emigrated to the US in 1881. I found one reference (the 1900 census) that puts Robert’s date of arrival in the United States as 1879 and others indicating other family members as arriving in 1882. But I think the majority of citations put the arrival year as 1881.

The family originally settled in the Olneyville section of Providence, RI. Robert worked as a Wool Sorter for the Cranston Worsted Mills. In 1894 when Cranston Worsted moved to Bristol, RI, the family also moved to Bristol, taking up residence on Pleasant Street.

In 1884 the oldest daughter, Mary Ann married Robert Alfred Fletcher in Providence. Bob Fletcher was born in Haworth, Yorkshire in 1860, the son of James Judson Fletcher and Nancy Holmes Fletcher. Mary Ann and Bob may have known each other before coming to America, as Haworth is quite close to Bingley where the Smiths were living at the time of their emigration.

The 1900 census lists both Robert’s and Mary Ann’s year of emigration to the US as 1881.

Catherine Smith died on August 17, 1895, at her home on Pleasant Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. She was 53 years old. She was survived by her husband Robert and their children, Mary Ann, John, David, Anne, Edwin, Alex, and James. She was buried in the Pocasset Cemetery in Olneyville, RI. Her grave is in a section of the cemetery that has been disturbed over the years. As a result, it is impossible to determine the exact location. Cemetery records list it as site 195.

The Bristol Phoenix, August 20, 1895

Mrs Catherine E. Smith died Saturday evening at her residence on Pleasant Street after a few weeks illness from peritonitis. She was 53 years of age and was born in England, coming to the United States several years. She had resided here only a year. She leaves a husband, Robert Smith. The remains were taken to Providence for burial yesterday afternoon

Bridget Sullivan was Robert Smith’s second wife. The 1900 federal census lists Robert and his wife Bridget as living in Bristol, RI. Also in the household are James, son, age 23, Alexander, son, age 20, and adopted daughter, Mary age 14. According to the census Robert and Bridget had been married for 3 years. Robert’s occupation is wool sorter, James is a day laborer, Alexander is a ship rigger, and Mary is a woolen spinner.

Linda Matteson (Royden Matteson ->Esther Smith ->John William Smith) visited her uncle Arthur Matteson in 1999. I had asked her to ask Arthur about Bridgett. She wrote me: “You asked me to mention Bridget to him (Arthur ). He immediately laughed and said he had almost forgotten – Grandma (Esther Smith Matteson) used to mention her and said all of the kids hated her because she was fat and ate all the “ettle cakes.” They didn’t really accept her as part of the family.”

My father, Ted (-> Edwin Smith ->Robert Smith), used to tell about Grammy Sullivan coming out to the farm in Richmond when he was a child. He said they brought her out of the city to “dry out”. One family legend has it that Bridgett was 104 years old, 3 months, and 27 days when she died, the oldest resident of Newport. I’ve never been able to find anything to substantiate that.

Pocasset Cemetery records show Bridget as paying for Robert’s burial.

The Obituary of Robert Smith

The Bristol Phoenix, Tuesday, May 29, 1906

Robert Smith, residing at No 88 Thames Street died at 4:10 o’clock yesterday afternoon after an illness of about 3 years. Paralysis was the cause of death. His age was 65 years, 1 month and 25 days. Mr Smith was born in England and was a son of Edward and Eliza (Morse Smith. He came to this country in 1881, and located in Providence. When the Cranston Worsted Mills came to Bristol, Mr. Smith removed with his family to this town and since his residence here he has been employed at the mill as a wool sorter. He is survived by his wife Bridget, five sons, Edward (sic) and Alexander of Newport, John, David and James of Providence, and two daughters, Mary Ann Fletcher and Mrs. Annie Graham of Olneyville. The funeral will be held Thursday afternoon at 1 o’clock from his late home on Thames Street and interment will take place at Pocassett Cemetery Providence.

In August 1976, Esther Smith Matteson Edwards (Esther Smith->Jack Smith->Robert Smith) wrote to her granddaughter Linda Matteson: “Grandpa Smith was buried from the Church of Messiah. That is one of the first things I can remember, and that only like a dream. But Emmie said I was there.” (Emmie is Esther’s sister.)