Died: 1924
This child, who burned to death in Depew with her brother, was the daughter of John William Smith (1890-1947) and Mary Croft Smith. John William was the son of George Washington Smith (1861-1927) and the grandson of John Best Smith (1831-1902), buried along with his wife in this cemetery. Their family is the subject of a long article in the Lincoln County Oklahoma History (pp. 1269-70).
Since there’s no child unaccounted for on John William Smith’s 1920 census, and since the girl is referred to as a child rather than an infant, she would have had to be born within a year or two after the 1920 census (taken 3 January in North Keokuk Township, where the family was living). This would make her three or four years old. Her grandfather, no doubt, brought her body to the McCorkle cemetery, where his parents were buried. In 1962, the DAR could read the inscription on her stone: "small child of Mr and Mrs Smith."
This is the story that ran in the Lincoln County Publicist on On 10 January 1924 :
Child Burned To Death
The body of a young child of Mr. and Mrs. John Smith was brought to Chandler today, from Depew, for burial in the McCorkle cemetery northwest of Chandler.
According to reports the accident happened as follows: The Smith's reside in a small house in Depew, on Wednesday, Mrs. Smith went out for a pail of water, leaving the two small children in the house. While she was out, an oil stove caught fire. George Smith, father of John, rushed in and carried the little boy to safety and had returned for the little girl when the stove exploded and, in an instant, the whole place was as a "roaring furnace." The girl was burned to death and George sustained "severe burns". The little boy, too, was seriously burned and his recovery is doubtful.
The Smiths formerly resided in Chandler, operating a dray line here.
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