Last week I mentioned my great-grandmother Helen Frost’s two half-siblings and went into detail on Mae Smith Chambers. This week I’ll share what I know about her half-brother, Arthur Smith. Art was born around 1899, probably in Connecticut, but much like his sister I’ve yet to find any birth record.

Mae and Art’s father went by John Frank Smith, but that’s not his real name and I’m unsure of when he changed it. The first record I have of John is the 1930 census when he was about 65. John was born in Poland according to the that census¹, Russia according the 1940 census, but was Lithuanian ethnically. I speculate that when both Mae and Art were born John was still using his original name or some variation, which makes the records difficult to find.

Art was a career U.S. Navy man and as you can tell from this photo he was a young man when joined.

In 1920 Art was in Seaview, Washington according to this picture.

Helen Smith Frost, Arthur Smith, Gladys and Melvin Drake, Children Arthur Frost and Evelyn Drake in the front. Circa 1926

The next record I can find for him is the 1940 census, living in San Diego with his wife Mary. He is a Chief Radioman for the U.S. Navy². This photo was probably taken around that time.

Art Smith circa 1940

In 1960, Art and Mary are living in San Dieguito, CA and he is working for Convair Astronautics³, a division of General Dynamics that was working on the Atlas rocket that eventually launched the Mercury astronauts into space.

My great-grandmother Helen thought highly of Arthur, so much so that she named one of her son’s after him. It would be great to find that he and Mary had a child or two during the years where I can’t find them.
This post is 10th in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge series.

[1] Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. 1930; Census Place: Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Roll: 938; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0005; Image: 590.0; FHL microfilm: 2340673. Frank Smith household. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

[2] Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Year: 1940; Census Place: San Diego, San Diego, California; Roll: T627_448; Page: 34A; Enumeration District: 62-17. Arthur J. Smith household. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

[3] Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Title : San Dieguito, California, City Directory, 1960 Pg. 44 Entry for Smith, Arthr J.