Nancy Ann Smith

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17990350/nancy-beal-freeman

The above photo was found on Ancestry.com and depicts Nancy Ann Freeman Smith and her children. Back row, left to right: Henry Lunt, Francis Claire. Middle row, left to right: Nancy Ann, Edith, John Woodruff. Front row, left to right, Alvin Nathaniel and Hyrum Heaton Smith. There is another photo under the Media Tab above which shows Nancy Ann Freeman Smith and her husband Jesse Nathaniel Smith, Jr., and may have even been taken on their wedding day. This photo was found on Family Search.org, but it was on the page for his father, Jesse Nathaniel Smith, Sr., and was not labeled. However, there is a strong resemblance to the photo showing Nancy Ann with her children taken years later, and there is also a resemblance of Jesse, Jr., to the photo of him shown on his profile page here on Geni. The following information was found on Ancestry.com and is a brief history of Nancy Ann Freeman which was written by her granddaughter:

Nancy Ann Freeman Smith (1863-1941) had her share of heartache in this life, having most of her children die before her in the bloom of their youth. Albert Collins Smith died as a baby enroute to settle Mexico in 1885 when he was 3 days old. He was buried on the plains without a marker so wolves and Indians would not find it. It was always a source of heartache for Nancy Ann. They did try to go back and search for the grave, but they could never find it. The records say he was born in Colonia Diaz, but Geneal's understanding was that he was born and died before they arrived, somewhere near Coralitos, Mexico.

Her husband Jesse N. Smith Jr was buried 14 July 1912 and two weeks later on the 28th of July all the Mormons were forced out of Mexico. As a widow she returned to the United States.

John Woodruff Smith was shot and killed in El Paso walking down the street by an unknown assailant when he was only 26 years old in 1914. He was engaged to be married at the time of his death.

Francis "Claire" Smith died of a stroke in December, 1937, at the age of 47 leaving a lovely family.

Henry Lunt Smith lived the longest and was a great aide to his mother and other many family members! His life was long and fruitful filled with many good works. He died in 1978.

Edith died at age 43 of a heart attack. The same year as Claire. Edith died in April, Claire died in December of 1937. Edith's oldest child was approximately 16 years old and she still had toddlers at home at the time of her death.

Alvin Nathaniel Smith died while on a mission during the 1918 flu epidemic in the Eastern States Mission, New Jersey we think.

Hyrum Heaton Smith died of blood poisoning 2 days before his 22nd birthday, 22 Aug 1920, shortly after a hernia operation at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in El Paso, Texas. His wife Marba was pregnant with their second and only living child, Geneal, their first child, a son, Jesse Nathaniel Smith, died stillborn, on January 6, 1920. Hyrum was the youngest child of Nancy Ann Freeman.

Despite her many heartaches and disappointments the Lord blessed her with a beatiful family and legacy. I sat with Mary Geneal Smith, the only daughter and living heir of Nancy Ann's son, Hyrum, while she told me these things.

Geneal remembers combing her Grandmother's very long, very thick hair dark hair. She said it amazingly had very little gray. Nancy Ann was neither short nor tall but of an average build and lived in a neat little home alone at that time. After fleeing from Mexico, she moved to El Paso. She was a quiet, private person. Geneal remembers her chickens and helping her around the yard. When Geneal was about 12 years old she was outside playing and remembers when Nancy Ann called her into the home to meet some people from Snowflake. Geneal says that at the time, she didn't even know her connection to Snowflake. But these people wanted to meet Geneal.

Geneal was friends with her inlaws, Alfred and Lucy Mortensen. Geneal remembers at a very young age going to church not knowing who she was. Tears would fill the eyes of Nancy Ann because she must have felt Geneal didn't know her, which she didn't at the time. Geneal did become curious about her father's family as she got older, and began to ask about her. Geneals earliest memory of her is seeing her walk home from church.

Nancy Ann was a charter member of of the colonizing party in Virden. She sent her two older boys, Claire and Henry, to farm her land and become partners with her.

From a membership record in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nancy Ann Freeman was the daughter of John Woodruff Freeman and Adeline Sarah Collins. Her siblings were John Albert, Susan Jane, William Reed, Margaret F., Robert Nathan, Phoebe Adaline, Wilford Woodruff, Tina and Franklin Freeman.

In the 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Washington, Utah, Nancy Ann was listed in the home of her mother, (Adeline) Sarah, 28, and siblings, John A., 10, Susan, 4, and William 1. Living next door was her father, John 38, and his plural wife, Tabitha, 31, and their son, Louis W., 5 months old. John was working as a farmer and his real estate was valued at $400 and his personal estate at $425. Sarah was born in Mississippi and her father was born in Kentucky. All the children were born in Utah.

By 1880, the family was living in Snowflake, Arizona, and were listed in the census record as: John W. Freeman, 45, Nancy A., 17, Susan J.,14, William R., 10, Robert N., 5, Phebe Adeline, 3 and Ann B. Collins, 67, who was listed as a step-mother, but she was probably Adeline Sarah Collins' mother. Adeline Sarah was not listed in the census record with the family, so I don't know where she was at the time. An Ancestry.com record for her indicates she did not pass away until 1887, Next door was Nancy's brother, John, 20, and his wife, Sarah, 20, and John was working as a farmer.

The next public record I found for Nancy was the 1920 U.S. Federal Census for Virden, Hidalgo, New Mexico, when she was a 58-year old widow, living with her daughter, Edith, 24, and Edith's husband, Robinson Doan, 27, and their daughter, Roberta, 5 months old. Nancy and Robinson were born in Utah, Edith in Mexico, and Roberta in Texas. Nancy's father was listed as having been born in Kentucky, her mother in California.

Nancy was working as a housekeeper at home, and Robinson as a church minister. Nancy's son, Henry Smith, 27, was living next door with his wife and daughters, Beatrice R., 28, Beatrice, 5 years 11 months old, and Edith, 2 years old. Henry and his wife Beatrice were born in Mexico, and their daughter Beatrice in Texas and Edith in New Mexico. This would indicate the family came to New Mexico from Texas sometime between 1914 and 1918. Henry was working as a farmer.

Nancy Ann Freeman Smith passed away at the age of 77 on October 29, 1941, while living in Virden, Hidalgo, New Mexico, and was buried there in the Virden Cemetery.

Ancestry.com had an entry for Nancy Ann Freeman, showing that she married Jesse Nathaniel Smith, Jr., September 11, 1884, at age 20 in St. George, Washington, Utah, as his plural wife. His first wife was Mary Ann "Lannie" Mitchell and they were married in 1880.