Artifact #76: Letter from Emmie L. Smith to Jefferson R. Smith III, 1912

Artifact #76 - Letter A
From Emmie L. Smith to Jefferson R. Smith III
October 16, 1912
Jeff Smith collection

(Click image to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

t don’t look like we will ever get any trace of Bascom"

 

 

 

 

Artifact #76 - Letter B
From Emmie L. Smith to Jefferson R. Smith III
October 16, 1912
Jeff Smith collection

 (Click image to enlarge)

 

Artifact #76 is a letter from Emma [Emmie] Lou [Lu] Smith, Soapy's sister, to Jefferson Randolph Smith III, Soapy's son.

     We know that Emma died on May 3, 1915, but her date of birth is a mystery. Interesting enough, each federal census, her year of birth changed.

• 1870 Census: Emma is listed as being born in 1867.

• 1880 Census: About 1870.

• 1900 Census: Oct 1873.

• 1910 Census: 1880.

The content of the letter is personal family matters, with mention of politics and of Bascomb (spelled "Bascom" in the letter) Smith, her and Soapy's brother.

 

Emma Lou Smith

 

Below is the transcribed letter.
 

Waco, Texas
Oct 16th 1912.

My Dear Nephew:

I was very glad to received your long looked for letter, was glad to learn all was well. Crops have turned out very good this year fruit and vegetables very plentiful. Cool weather has come and it is raining now and very cool for this time of the year. You asked who was the favorite for President. Wilson of course as Texas has been in the Democratic Columns always. I deplore the attempted assassination of Ex president Roosevelt and hope he will soon recover. I heard from Temple kins. Willie Jeff is Back in Temple and all was well. Emmie Taylor, my niece paid us a visit this Summer. Would be pleased to received the photos. It don’t look like we will ever get any trace of Bascom [sic]. Mr. Garner [Emmie’s husband] is fairly well and sends his regards to you all.

Love top all, your Loving Aunt
Emmie Lu Gardner
927 Franklin Street.
Waco, Texas

 

The letter speaks of family items, and about midway mentions the "attempted assassination of Ex president [Theodore] Roosevelt," which occurred two days prior to Emmies letter, on October 14, 1912.

     While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roosevelt was shot by a saloonkeeper named John Schrank. The bullet lodged in his chest after penetrating his steel eyeglass case and passing through a thick (50 pages) single-folded copy of the speech he planned to give that day, which he was carrying in his jacket. As an experienced hunter and anatomist, Roosevelt correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not reached his lung, and he declined suggestions to go to the hospital immediately. Instead, he delivered his scheduled speech with blood seeping into his shirt. He spoke for 90 minutes before completing his speech and accepting medical attention. His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Afterwards, probes and an x-ray showed that the bullet had lodged in Roosevelt's chest muscle, but did not penetrate the pleura. Doctors concluded that it would be less dangerous to leave it in place than to attempt to remove it, and Roosevelt carried the bullet with him for the rest of his life.

     

Artifact #76 - Envelope
From Emmie L. Smith to Jefferson R. Smith III
October 16, 1912
Jeff Smith collection

 (Click image to enlarge)

 

Emmie goes on to say, "It don’t look like we will ever get any trace of Bascom." Young Jefferson Smith no doubt asked if she might know of his whereabouts, but she did not. It is believed that Bascomb Smith died of a drug overdose in Omaha, Nebraska, previous to September 7, 1909 (see post Sept 24, 2020), three years previous to the writing of this letter. Between Bascomb's drug use and the family moving around, Bascomb would have had a hard time finding his siblings and nephew. 

     The envelope is addressed to "Mr. Jeff Smith, c/o The Times [St. Louis Times] Editorial Dept." The notes in the upper left corner are illegible. They were probably added after delivery, by Jefferson.

  

Lot where Emmie and husband's
home stood in 1912
Assuming addresses didn't change

 

(Click image to enlarge)

Emma Lou Smith

May 22, 2010

Emma Lou Smith: page: 22, 121, 377, 397, 403-04, 589.

"A number of moralists condemn lotteries and refuse to see anything noble in the passion of the ordinary gambler. They judge gambling as some atheists judge religion, by its excesses."

—Charles Lamb, Essays of Elia, 1832