Obituary

  The death of Jerome Smith, Friday, November 18th brought sorrow but also inspired memories in the hearts of many Adams county people, for even those of a later generation had learned to respect and love this gentleman of the pioneer days because of the part he had in the early days of the building of … his adaption to the life and progress of the times. His illness had covered a number of years but even when incapacitated for active work he showed keen interest in vital things until the last. Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p. m., at the home, Rev. A. B. Weed, of Winterset, in charge, assisted by Rev. W. C. McCleland. Interment was made in Oak Hill cemetery.
  Jerome Smith was born on a farm in Steuben county, New York, October 19, 1847 and died at his home two miles south of Corning, Iowa, November 18, 1932, having lived 85 years and one month. His was the son of William and Jane Jones Smith. November 4th, 1868, he was married to Miss Lydia Jane Bellinger, also of Steuben county, New York. In the spring of 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Smith came to Adams county and located on the farm where they resided until death brought an end to this earthly journey. He and his wife, who preceded him in death, December 24, 1929, experienced all the hardships and joys of pioneer life. Mr. Smith worked on his farm in the summer and taught the district school in the winter. The first little one room log cabin was a palace in those times. It was later replaced by the comfortable home in which he lived at the time of his death.
  The people who were born to this worthy couple were: Ethel Morris, of Greeley, Colo., Algy, of Hartford, Connecticut; LaVern, of Corning, Iowa; Minnie Seybold, of Winterset, Iowa; and Edith and William who were the victims of diphtheria in August of 1887. There are also six grandchildren and one great-grandchild; two living sisters, Mrs. Eliza Wall, of Orange, New Jersey; and Mrs. Martha Sayer, of Claremont, Calif.
  All his life Mr. Smith had been identified with movements for the betterment of humanity. He assisted in the organization of the Grange in the days when that society flourished in Iowa. He was one of the founders of the local corn belt meat producers association, and for 12 years was a director therein. He conducted one of the first creameries in this community. For 24 years he was the secretary of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. He assisted in organizing the Farm Bureau of the county and for many years was an official of it. The first rural route established out of Corning and for that matter one of the very first in the United States, was secured on a petition circulated by Mr. Smith. He was also active in getting our first telephone line. He was of a modest retiring type but was always back of every good move and worked untiringly for the good of the county where he had broken sod and watched it progress from the log cabin stage to the present state of modern possibilities.
  He was a patient sufferer for seven years and was lovingly cared for by his wife until her death and since then by his granddaughter, Mrs. Edith Brown.
  With his passing the whole county feels that something precious is gone from the brilliant historical fabric of the country. His eyes have seen and his soul experienced things our children will never know except as they read from the printed pages of history-meager truths which speak so little.
(Adams County Free Press, Thursday, November 24, 1932)