Harold Turpin Smith (1912-1913)

Infant death

Harold Turpin Smith was born on Monday, 14 Oct 1912 in Preston, Oneida Co., Idaho to William Robert Smith and Martha Annie Turpin. He lived but a few short months, as he died on 20 Jan 1913 in Preston, Oneida, Idaho. Just 10 days later, Preston would become a part of Franklin County.

Harold was the 6th and last child. The rest of his family had immigrated to Preston, coming from Gravesend, England in 1910, making him the only family member born in the United States.

Also, little known to the family at this time, Ariel Davis Campbell had been born days earlier, on 6 Oct 1912. His mother, Sarah Davis, would become the second wife of William Robert Smith, making he and Harold step-brothers.

Two years to the date of Harold's death, his mother Martha would pass away on 20 Jan 1915, from the results of a pelvic absess, contributed by chronic appendicitis. She died while traveling on a train to the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Historical events around the time of Harold's birth and death:

• On 14 Oct 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot and wounded by a .38 caliber bullet fired by John Schrank, a New York City saloonkeeper, who was standing at a distance of only 30 feet. He was there to give a speech, but the bullet was slowed when it passed through Roosevelt's metal eyeglasses case and the folded, fifty-page manuscript of his prepared speech. It still penetrated three inches into his chest, too close to the heart to be safely removed by surgery. Schrank was tackled by bystanders before he could fire a second shot, and Roosevelt went on to deliver his speech before getting medical treatment. Schrank would be found insane and spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital.
• On 30 Jan 1913, the town of Preston, Idaho became a part of the newly formed Franklin County, named after Franklin D. Richards, an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the only Franklin County not named after Benjamin Franklin. A portion of Power County and Oneida County was taken to form this new county.
• On 9 Jan 1913, Richard Nixon was born in a house his father had built in Yorba Linda, California.

SOURCES

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Idaho, Birth Index, 1861-1912, Stillbirth Index, 1905-1962 about Harold Turpin Smith

Birth Date: 14 Oct 1912

Birth Place: Preston, Oneida, Idaho, USA

Birth Time: 4:00 p.m.

Father Name: William Robert Smith

Father Age: 35

Father Birth Place: England

Mother Name: Martha Ann Turpin

Mother Age: 36

Mother Birth Place: England

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Idaho, Death Index, 1890-1962 about Harold Smith

Name: Harold Smith

Birth Place: Idaho

Death Place: Preston, Oneida, Idaho, USA

Death Date: 20 Jan 1913

Father: William R. Smith

Father Birth Place: England

Mother: Turpin

Mother Birth Place: England

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Find A Grave Memorial

Compiled and written by Diane Finlinson Miller