The Smiles Family of England
When I started my family research I was appalled at how little I knew of my step-grandmother's family! I knew she had a sister, Grace (we called her Aunt Lucy- I never knew why!) and brother Floyd, who lived somewhere down near the river (Forty Fort?), but anything of their history or my grandmother's child was a total mystery. Maybe I figured that if they were "step" relatives they somehow were less important, but now that my grandmother is gone and I learn about her, I would like to know more. See Maude Smiles' for more specifics.
The Immigrants
Thomas James Smiles and his brother Walter emigrated from Easington in Durham, England in the mid-1840s. They were coal miners so settling in coal mining country in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania by the 1860 census was an obvious choice. Thomas began as a coalminer, graduated to being an engineer, and then a superintendent of the colliery. Maude was descended from Thomas James Smiles, the elder immigrant brother.
Walter "Harry" Smiles
Walter "Harry" Smiles
b.1866 Pittston, PA
d. 1922 Pittston, PA
"Harry" married Isabel Wintel, American born daughter of a Welsh immigrant around 1901.
Isabel Wintel
b. 1878 in Pittston, PA
d. before 1920 in Pittston, PA
| Child's Name | Birth Date | Death Date | SPOUSE'S NAME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isabel Maude | 24 June 1902 Pittston, Pa | 22 Feb 1985 Trucksville, Pa | 2nd wife of Sheldon Jones |
| Floyd | 11 Apr 1907 Pittston, Pa | Aug 1979 Pittston, Pa | Fay C. |
| Grace (a.k.a. Lucy) S. | 27 Dec 1912 in Pittston, Pa | 1 Apr 1979 in Trucksville, Pa | George M. Young |
| Wilbur J. | 1914 in Pittston, Pa | aft. 1985 | Alma |
