Where are we and how did we get here?

If you haven’t read my introduction yet, please head over there first: Introduction

Part of the ‘Smith family history’ series

In order to set the stage I think it’s important to start with an initial look at Robert Windsor Smith’s home in Kirkwood and how the Smith family came to live there. A July 7th, 1890 DeKalb County real estate deed lists Robert Windsor Smith’s wife Mary Cleveland Smith as the grantee of a four acre parcel purchased from Mrs. Marion P. Trotti for a sum of $4,000. I’ll discuss the details of the Smith lot and the family homes within in a later post. The property is described in the deed record as follows:

“…that tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of DeKalb being part of land lot number two hundred & eleven in the fifteenth district of said county and bounded as follows: on the North by land of Mrs. J. Nesbit, on the East by Howard Street & the lands of Warren Howard, on the South by lands of F. B. Trotti, on the West by land of J. W. Warren. Containing four (4) acres more or less and being all and the same land conveyed to the grantor herein by J. L. Kirkpatrick by his attorney in fact James W. Kirkpatrick by deed dated Feby 9th 1885…”

It is my belief that this real estate transaction was effectively a transition into a new stage of life for Robert and his family. Their prior home on Whitehall Street (just southwest of downtown Atlanta) sat on land originally owned by Robert’s father. Robert had worked for over twenty years as an Express Messenger for the Southern Express Company, and (for reasons that I will cover in a future post) I believe the family was financially comfortable enough for Robert to retire onto a substantial residential lot that could support his intention to grow a small orchard and enjoy his last years of life. This move also afforded Robert an opportunity to begin his study of birds in a less urban environment. Robert lived in his home on Howard Street in Kirkwood until his death on February 7th, 1910.

Robert Windsor Smith was born April 29th, 1841 in Key West, Monroe County, Florida. Some records, including his gravestone, incorrectly record his birth year as 1842. However, based on the recorded ages in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses (along with other information) we can confidently determine it was actually 1841.

Year	Location	Date	Age	Occupation
1850	Atlanta, DeKalb County*	11/6/1850	9	None (in school)
1860	Atlanta, Fulton County	6/14/1860	19	Farmer
1870	Atlanta, Fulton County	6/16/1870	29	Express Messenger
1880	Atlanta, Fulton County	6/1/1880	39	Express Messenger
1890	No 1890 census data available
1900	Kirkwood, DeKalb County	6/1/1900	55**	Farmer
1910	Census recorded after death	4/23/1910

So how did Robert get to Atlanta in the first place after being born in Key West in pre-statehood Florida? The answer of course lies with his parents, Larned Windsor and Eveline Mosely Spencer Smith. In the next post I will begin to share the information I’ve uncovered about Robert’s father Larned Windsor Smith, aka L. Windsor Smith.