| Smith-Gilbert Early Family History |
| A historied Chicago family |
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Charlotte “Lottie” Smith Sims was very proud of the illustrious background of her family. Her father, Frank Jones Smith (1845-1901), was a well-known attorney in Chicago and politically active in the Republican Party as well as a Bank Trustee and a trustee of the upscale Town of Hyde Park (Annexed by Chicago in 1889 and the location of the World’s Columbian Exhibition in 1893).
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Lottie's father Frank Smith of Chicago |
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He was often described as a Chicago “pioneer”. His legal exploits were heavily reported in the newspapers and included everything from corporate representation to blackmail cases. His law practice made him a wealthy man and he was able to obtain costly items such as a Stradivarius violin.
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Chicago Chronicle: April 30, 1896 |
The Chicago Bar Association wrote a three-page memorial to him after his untimely death. He must have found young E.W. Sims (new to Chicago, a strong Republican supporter, and God-fearing man) as an excellent choice of partner for his only daughter.
Charlotte's mother, Almira “Myra” Charlotte Gilbert (1846-1928), came from a very illustrious family.
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Almira Gilbert Smith circa 1910 |
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She was a very proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and at least seven of Charlotte’s great grandfathers were veterans of the American Revolution. (Joseph Gilbert, Nathanial Butler, Levi Fox, Rueben Sheldon, Robert Smith, Ebenezer Carley, Solomon Gleason and Benjamin Hawley). The family could easily trace its history in the United States back to the 17th century. Myra was active in the philanthropic Lake View Woman’s Club well in to her 60’s , as was her daughter.
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Almira Charlotte Gilbert Smith (center front wearing a hat) attending a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) meeting in Chicago circa 1900 |
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The family was well connected politically and Lottie’s brother, Wirt Foster Smith, married the daughter of a Congressman from Wyoming.
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Wirt Smith, Charlotte's brother, pictured August 2, 1898 |
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Frank and Myra Smith’s wedding gift to Edwin W Sims and their daughter was a substantial Graystone townhouse in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago (6444 S Greenwood, Ave.) nearby Lottie’s parents.
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Wedding gift from the Smith’s: 6444 S Greenwood, Chicago, IL |
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The family was quite close and, by the 1900 census shows that E. W. Sims, his wife and daughter had moved out of their “wedding gift” and were living with Frank Smith, Myra and Charlotte’s brother Wirt at 6446 Monroe Ave. After her husband’s death, Myra Smith stayed in the family home providing a home for her son Wirt and his family. In her final years, she moved in with her daughter Charlotte and the ever-expanding Sims household.
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Circa 1907. From left: Back row: Almira “Myra” Gilbert Smith, Charlotte Elizabeth “Betsy” Sims, Charlotte “Lottie” Smith Sims.
Front row: Frank Smith Sims, Helen Virginia Sims, seated baby is Susan Knowles Sims.
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