Follow Us
Like Us
Matching family tree profiles for Matilda Mae Smith
view all
Immediate Family
-
son -
husband -
mother -
father
-
mother's partner
-
half brother -
stepfather
-
half sister
-
half brother
-
half sister
-
half sister
-
stepfather
About Matilda Mae Smith
A partly peeled mystery wraps Matilda Olsen like an onion skin, promising deeper answers and deeper mysteries: Just who was her father?
Matilda Mae's mother, Olive Olsen, was born Olea Myhre in Norway in 1866. She emigrated to the US before the turn of the century, struggled to make a living in Washington state, and lived through tragedy as her husband -- Albert Olsen -- died in a grusome factory accident in 1896. Mathilda herself was born four years later in 1900, the daughter of James Braden from Ireland -- and his entire life is a mystery. The only evidence of Braden's life is a birth record from the Spokane hospital where she was born.
The rest of Matilda's life is well documented: she moved in with her older sister Johanna in Spokane, to attend high school and college, married Ross Smith, and gave birth to a son, Ross Smith Jr., in 1936. She died in 1977. But who was her father? Was he an immigrant, a neighbor, a family friend? Did he play a part in her life? We may never know.
view all 13
Matilda Mae Smith's Timeline
| 1900 |
March 2, 1900
|
605 E. 29th, Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington, United States
|
|
| 1936 |
September 24, 1936
|
Washington, United States
|