I was told a story by my grandfather, Gilbert Smith, Joseph’s son, that Smith was not his original last name. He said his name sounds like yow-da-kiss. My grandfather held grudges like no one else and said his dad left them when he was young. We thought that meant left to go marry someone else. Now we think he may have passed away when my grandfather was young.
The only documentation I have been able to find are census records. One record says Joseph was born in Oklahoma. The next census says he was born in Lithuania. We do know which is correct. We do know he married my great grandmother in Oklahoma and my great aunt was born in Grove, Oklahoma. Their next child was born in 1917 in Rockvale, CO. My grandfather was born last in 1927 in Milwaukee, WI and that Joseph was a boiler maker there.
I was told that the name could be a nickname meaning black eyes or something like that or possibly his original surname spelled like Yeudagis.
If anyone has a DNA match to me through this line or my great grandmother, Elizabeth, I would love to hear from you and find out how our trees may connect.
