My Triplett Family

James Monroe and Julia Ann (Triplett) Smith

Julia Ann Triplett was the third child born to Jeremiah and Narcisus Triplett, and the last of my ancestors with the surname of Triplett. Julia Ann was born on December 20, 1847 in Bradley County, Tennessee on the Triplett farm in the Black Fox Community. Very little is known about Julia Ann's childhood except for what can be gleened from the 1850 and 1860 Bradley County census. It would appear that Julia Ann enjoyed the benefits of living with an extended family until her grandmother Rebecca died and Grandpa William remarried to his second wife, Eliza. Around this time, Jeremiah moved his family to his own farm, near his father's farm in Black Fox. When Julia Ann was about 14 years of age, the Civil War broke out and her father Jeremiah enlisted in the Union Army and joined the 5th Regiment of the Tennessee Infantry, Company G on April 11, 1862 in Cleveland, Tennessee for a period of three years. Many of the responsibilities around the farm after her father left to serve in the war, must have fallen to Julia Ann, her mother and siblings. Her older brother William was 15 when the Civil War began and I have not been able to determine if he enlisted to serve. William was the oldest male at home and most likely performed many of the farm related duties while his father was away. At the end of the war, and five months after Jeremiah was mustered out of service, Julia Ann married one of the young privates, James Monroe Smith, that fought along side her father. Jeremiah and James mustered out of service on the same day, May 15, 1865, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is not clear whether James and Julia Ann knew each other before the war or if her father introduced them after returning home. But on October 31, 1865, James Monroe Smith and Julia Ann Triplett were united in matrimony. The ceremony was performed by W.W. Haynes, a Minister of the Gospel. I have not been able to determine if they were married in a church or at a home.

On November 1, 1866, Julia Ann gave birth to their first child, Frances A. Smith. Frances was a common Triplett name extending back over 200 years before Julia Ann was born. Her great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Francis Triplett, came from England to the colonies in about 1660 and settled in Virginia. The name Francis (for sons) and Frances (for daughters) was blessed on many Triplett children throughout the generations. Julia Ann's great-great grandfather, William Triplett, had a brother named Francis. Most likely, Julia Ann named her daughter after her younger sister, Frances, who was born about 1858 and appears to have died between 1860 and 1870, based upon census information. Their second child was a son and named after James' father, Noah R. Smith. And their third child was also a son and this time named after Julia Ann's father, Jeremiah M. Smith. In all, James and Julia Ann had sixteen known children. In 1870, James was supporting his family as a farmer and his household was recorded in the census as:

1870 Bradley Co TN Census

#106

James M. Smith 26 M White Farmer TN $2500/$800

Julia A. 23 F W Keeping House TN

Frances A. 3 F W TN

Noah R. 2 M W TN

Jeremiah 1 M W TN

By 1880, a few more children had been born and James' mother, Fidelia Smith was living with them:

1880 Bradley Co TN Census

James M. Smith 31 Farmer TN

Julia A. 31 Keeping House TN TN TN

Frances A TN

Noah R 12 TN

Jeremiah M 9 TN

Martha F 7 TN

John 6 TN

Mary E. F TN

Minnie F TN

William 1/12 M TN

Fidelia F 65 widowed/insane

By looked at the above 1880 census, you can see that Julia Ann had her hands full with a house of eight children and an ill mother-in-law, Fidelia Smith. The census does not show any domestic servants living with their family, but it is possible that Julia Ann's grandfather, Buck, who did have domestic servants, sent her help on occassion. In addition to a demanding household, Julia Ann was also caring for her husband,James, who applied for a disability pension in 1882 due to his impairments received during the Civil War. Illnesses and physical ailments that he listed in his application included, lung disease resulting from Typhoid Fever in March 1863, impaired hearing due to an explosion of a nearby shell, and an injured foot, as a result of a forced march without shoes, all which hindered James' ability to plow his fields. In his pension application, James stated that he went to the "mineral springs" and rubbed "mustang liniment" on his foot. It is not clear which mineral springs he went to. But it is possible that he went to the mineral springs and baths in Arkansas, since he moved his entire family to Baxter County, Arkansas in the fall of 1886. Perry Cooper (grandson of Julia Ann Triplett Smith) told his son Vernon Cooper that James and Julia Ann (Triplett) Smith moved their family from Bradley County, Tennessee to Baxter County, Arkansas by train on a Pullman car. A Pullman car was a very nice way to travel in 1886 with seats and sleepers. The 1890 Federal Census was accidentally burned in Washington DC, so we don’t know who was living with James and Julia at that time in Baxter County, Arkansas. James and Julia Ann lived in Mt. Home, Baxter County, Arkansas for a number of years. But when they were in their early 50s, they moved west again to Oklahoma.

A James Smith is listed on a 1903 map of the Kickapoo Township as landowner of the northeast quarter of Section 4. This area was part of the land rush proclamation issued by President Harrison on September 18, 1891 where he declared a surplus of land in Oklahoma which had been purchased from the Iowas, Sac, Fox, Pottawatomie and Shawnee Indians. Four days later on September 22, 1891, it is estimated that about 20,000 settlers lined up surrounding the land rush area, jockeying for position to claim one of the 6,097 160-acre homesteads. A signal was given by the military overseeing the land rush and all of the available lands were occupied by late afternoon of the same day.

I am not certain that the above James Smith shown in the 1903 map of Kickapoo Township was the same James Smith, husband of Julia Ann Triplett. But seven years later, it is certain that James and Julia Ann Smith had moved to another township near Kickapoo called Chandler. The town of Chandler later becoming the Lincoln County seat. The following is the information from the 1900 census:

1900 Oklahoma Lincoln County Chandler Township - James M. Smith and wife Juliann T. Living with them were children Willliam age 21, Robert age 17, Oscar L. age 14, Annie N. age 13, Isabel D. age 9 and Noah Smith (widow) age 32.

Chandler Township is located northeast of Kickapoo Township in LIncoln County, Oklahoma.

On September 28, 1916, Julia Ann Triplett Smith died in Monett, Barry County, Missouri of colitis with a contributing cause of pulmonary hemorage, according to her death certificate. At the time she was living in Foyil, Oklahoma and appears to have been traveling east, possibly back to Mt. Home, Arkansas. I have to ask the question, "why was she traveling when she was so ill?" The answer to that question may never be determined. All I can do is to try and put myself in her shoes. Perhaps, she was traveling "home" to die. Or she had a favorite doctor in Mt. Home. Or possibly, one of her children or grandchildren were in desperate need and she was traveling to be with them. I don't know. But one thing is certain, that to have died of colitis while traveling from Oklahoma to Arkansas, she must have been very ill at the onset. Her reason for traveling was important to her. It appears that once she became too ill to travel any further, she stopped in Monett on September 19 and was attended by Dr. W.M. West. She died nine days later. Julia's body was taken to Mt. Home where she was buried in the Conley Cemetery, located across the street from the farm she lived on for so many years with her family. Her burial took place on October 1, 1916 and the undertaker was R.M. Callaway.