Vina Smith, mother of Barbara, Jeanne and Sue, had a tough, early life. Understanding her early life helps to understand her later decisions.
She was the youngest of 7 children, of which, 5 survived. A set of twins, Joseph and Jeremiah, were born and died 22 Feb 1920. Vina was born in 1922. All but one of the children were born at home in the “back hills” of Idaho. When her mother, Grace, went into labor she would send one the children to the shed for a harness that she would use to “pull on” during labor. She would send one of the other child to fetch one her female cousins to help her through the birthing process.
Vina’s father, William Francis Smith, “wandered off” often, coming home just long enough to get Grace pregnant (again). Grace divorced William in 1926. Divorce was a rare and scandalous thing to do in 1926, especially if there were 5 children at home. Vina was 4 at the time.
From a letter written by Vina’s sister, Dolla, the following reveals how tough life was: (The grammar and spelling are as written.)
Dad & Mother separated in 1925 & divorced in 1926. All of us were poor and sick –
Dec 1925 we all had the flu- then in the spring of 1926 we all had whopping cough – & a couple of months later almost all of us had measils – the Red Cross took care of us – we lived then in McCall, Idaho.
The Red Cross explained to mother that another winter in McCall would be impossible because of our week lungs – in this interval mother had a miscarage & we nearly lost her.
Us children went to Boise with our grandparents while mother cooked in a loging camp & Bert worked with the same contractor.
Our grandparents could not accept the divorce & we moved to Enterprise, Ore.
Mother then left me to work for a family in Enterprise & took the younger children to her sister Maude Dougherty in Kendrick, Idaho.
She then gathered up all us children & went back to McCall, Idaho & sold the small ranch & moved to John Day, Oregon.
Dad came to see us once or twice there.
By the time Vina had her 16th birthday, her mother, Grace, was ready to be done with raising children.
Grace married Vina off to her handsome handyman, Gordon Christopher.
Vina and Gordon were married, April 2, 1938 at the Geiser Grand Hotel, Baker City, Oregon. She was 16 and he was 22. She hadn’t wanted to get pregnant but it happened anyway; there weren’t many ways to prevent it in 1938. She said “I remember exactly when it was. We were celebrating our first anniversary, and I got careless.” Vina liked to dance and have a good time. Having a baby was not what she had in mind.
Vina struggled to cope with being married and being a mother to a premature baby. Her mother, Grace, who lived next door, was a frequent and unwelcome intrusion. Grace would interfere and tell Vina what she should and shouldn’t do. She would insist that Vina iron the handkerchiefs she used as diapers to make sure they were good and dry.
Then there came the day when she took Barbara, and ran away from Gordon, her mother and Canyon City, Oregon.
Stay tuned…..
Ancestor Sleuth 