On this day
150 years ago, Mary Ann Wolstenholme and Reddick Smith stood before Henry Holt,
a justice of the peace, and promised to love, honor and cherish each other for
the rest of their lives. There were no guarantees their lives would be easy and
hardships were almost certain.
Born in 1842
in Gallatin County, Illinois, Reddick Smith enlisted in Co. F, 131st Illinois
Volunteer Infantry. After leaving a hospital in Millikin's Bend, Louisianna
without permission, he was captured by the Confederates and sent to Richmond,
Virginia before being paroled in July 1863. Later he enlisted in Co. G, 6th
Illinois Cavalry and participated in the Battle of Nashville on 15 December
1864. After the war, Reddick left his company in Alabama and returned home to
southern Illinois. Yes, he deserted again. The charge of desertion was later removed
from his records by the War Department.
Reddick
settled in Goodlettsville, Davidson County, where Mary Ann was living. On 2
August 1866, he used a coin and hammered it over a rod to form a ring and placed
this ring on Mary Ann's finger. I wear
this ring today.
Reddick and
Mary Ann had 14 children: Rebeckah, Edna, Susannah, Henry Clay, Sarah,
Caroline, Mary Beatrice (my grandmother), Francis, Giles, Earl, Morgan, Herman,
Edward and an unnamed child who died as an infant. Nine of these children lived
to adulthood.
Reddick and
Mary Ann stayed in Tennessee until after 1870 and then moved with their three children, Rebeckah, Edna and Susannah, to
Hardin County, Illinois. Except for a brief stay in the state of Washington in
the early 1900s, the Smith family remained in Hardin County. Reddick died there
14 April 1913 and Mary Ann died 7 January 1933. Both are buried at Central Cemetery.
Reddick and Mary Ann are among my favorite ancestors and have been the most interesting to research. One of my current projects involves getting a tombstone to mark Mary Ann's grave.
Published 2 August 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/
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