Fred Jay SMITH

Notes:

In the 1895 state census, he is 12 year-old Fred J Smith. He lives with his father’s step-sister, her husband, and his father’s brother in Newport in Washington County, Minnesota. The family had apparently recently moved there.

In the 1900 census, he is the Fred J Smith, b. Mar 1883 in Minnesota, a boarder with the Henry and Katherine L Tuelle family (Fred’s father’s step-sister) in Newport in Washington County, Minnesota. He had no occupation. His father was born in Connecticut and his mother in Minnesota.

In the 1914 Minneapolis city directory, he is probably the Fred J Smith, painter, who lives at 1351 Nicollet Avenue.

He registered for the draft as Fred Jay Smith in Minneapolis (Local Board for Division No. 11, 1525 East Franklin) in September of 1918. His nearest relative is Clarabel Smith, 1224 Mary Place in Minneapolis. Fred’s address is 2113 8th Street South in Minneapolis. He is employed as a painter by Fred Leckley at 1205 3rd Avenue South in Minneapolis. Fred is described as tall and slender with blue eyes and light blond hair.

A Fred Jay Smith, employed as “rlest”, is recorded in the Los Angeles County voter registrations in 1922. He lived at 718 West 3d Street and declined to state his party affiliation.

If he lived in Minneapolis in the mid-1930s (as shown in the 1940 census), he is probably the Fred J Smith, wife Grace, who lived at 1368 La Salle Avenue, Apt 202, in the 1934 city directory.

In the 1940 census, he is Fred J Smith, living in Los Angeles with his wife Grace H. Fred is 57, Grace is 50, born in Pennsylvania. Neither has an occupation. Both lived in Minneapolis in 1935. Both have an eighth-grade education.

Fred Jay Smith registered for the World War II draft in 1942. At that time he was living at 1531 S. Hoover Street in Los Angeles. His telephone number was Fi-0479. He gave, as the person who would always know his address, Al Carlson of 4212 S. 12th Avenue, Minneapolis. Fred was employed by the P.E. Railway Co., 6th & Main St., Los Angeles. His place of employment was Torrence, California, “in shops.” (This registration is shown in FamilySearch and is not included in the registrations indexed in Ancestry.com.)

Neither he nor Grace are listed in the 1950 census.

Fred appears in Cora’s diary on August 13, 1954, when he accompanied Ide and Gus to visit Maurice and Cora in Bloomington.

His death certificate is 15433, filed September 13th. It is image 1232 of 2483 in FS’s Los Angeles County death certificates for 1957 nos. 14450-16460. Fred was a house painter in the building industry. His wife, Grace Smith, was the informant. She did not know the name or birthplace of either Fred’s mother or Fred’s father. She also did not know if he had a Social Security number. Fred had been in Los Angeles for five years. He died in Long Beach at his home at 1020 Temple Avenue. The attending physician, Thomas L Rogers, said that he had last seen Fred alive on 13 August. Fred died at 10:50 AM on 16 August. The funeral director was Pierce Bros. Inglewood. Fred was buried on 21 August in Valhalla Memorial Park.

Birth:
date according to his draft registration; agrees with death certificate

Buried:
Called Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park in Find A Grave. Fred is not listed in Find A Grave’s indexing of those interred at Valhalla.

Fred married Mildred Helen MALM about Aug 1922 in California, and was divorced in 1929 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Mildred (daughter of Albin O MALM and Clara GERBER) was born on 29 Oct 1901 in Iowa; died on 3 Dec 1986 in Ventura County, California; was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Los Angeles County, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Grace B HOBSON. Grace was born on 9 Jun 1889 in Pennsylvania; died on 9 Jun 1959 in Los Angeles County, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]