Smith Leland "Carl"
Source: Zach, Karen Bazzani.
I include a biography for this man, because, as many other just as deserving folks in Montgomery County, Indiana, he has never had one. Since he is my grandfather (his daughter, Kathryn Smith Bazzani, is my mother, married my father, Fred Bazzani April 1946), and I dearly loved him and admired him here ya' go. Hopefully, someday in the future it will be helpful to someone and wish I could write one for every man, woman and child having lived in my home county, but alas, that would be almost impossible, unless of course I lived to be 300 and not expecting that one :) kbz
Born on the 10th day of September in 1892, he was the sixth of seven childern born to Joseph Monroe and Almarinda (Lang) Smith. He attended school in Rockville, Indiana where both the Langs and Smiths had lived for decades. His grandfather, Simons Smith, helped build the courthouse in Rockville and was a friend of Governor Joseph Wright. While in New York, Simeon Smith helped begin the Senaca, New York library system. A hauler and carpenter, he was active in building the raft they used to come to Sullivan County, Indiana, with several other families. It was the year 1818 and in another ten years he had migrated on up into Indiana to Parke County where he and wife, Hester (Helms) are buried in the old cemetery in Rockville. An ancestor my grandafther was pleased with.
My Papaw's grandfather, however, he was not over excited about having in the family. He was quite a drinker, divorced twice from his second wife, but being married to the wife of most of his children until she passed away in her late 30s. Reuben was the 9th of 11 children.
His son, 7th of 9 children, Joseph Monroe Smith was my great grandfather and not the world's best provider, either. He just did odd jobs, carpentry and saw cutting his main tasks. He loved to fish and in later years, lived on the left hand side of the turn after going north through the Deers Mill Bridge, heading north to the old Girl Scout camp. The home is long gone. Earlier on, the family lived in Rockville on the East side down the road that goes by the old cemetery where the earliest Smiths are buried.
He and his wife, Allie Lang Smith died two weeks apart from each other and are buried in the Fredom Baptist Church. Joe was a reader like Simeon and my grandfather certainly took after him.
My Papaw, Carl Smith was very smart, especially in Math. He had a book in his hand constantly and read every book (like me) in the Waveland Library some over and over again. We used to discuss books we'd read. After having quite a bit of sharpnel from WWI in his legs, he did mostly work where he could sit down and rest his legs. For awhile, he was a surveyor's assistant, worked for several years as the manager of the Putnamville Prison's wood shop. We have several tables they made there. Believe his last job was janitor at the Waveland School which he did 4-5 years before retiring. He delved into local politics some and was a staunch Democrat.
He met my grandmother (Sarah "Hazel" Morgan) because he loved pies and he had heard her mother's pies were amazing. So, he went to their church social and purchased my grandmother's basket so he could get the pie. ONLY pie he didn't like (nor do I although I have a couple more - not many though) was coconut so he stuffed the piece in his coat pocket when my grandmother turned around to put things back in the basket. They dated a very long time as she was a few years younger, plus he went off to the war. Some of her relatives were with him much of the time.
Pap got bowel cancer in his late 60s. He was one of the forerunners in our area anyway to have a colostamy (spelling?) bag and they also cut his muscles and nerves in the area and he really had no pain and lived (although they gave him no more than a year) and lived probably close to ten years more, all but the last few months in pretty good shape. He missed my grandmother immensely when she died in the summer of 1959. I missed her too. Less than 5' tall, she weighed probably 300 # and fairly sure she had Sugar Diabetes before they really tried to treat it. He loved to garden and she and mom and my aunt (Hulda) all put the goodies up.
A wonderful man, some thought he was lazy but he did what he could with the pieces of led he carried around in his legs (quite a bit of it). To me, he was sweet, nice and challenged my brain.
