Isadore (Smith) Davie (1902 - 1945)

Born 27 Mar 1902 in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Died 24 Jun 1945 at age 43 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Isadore Smith was born on 27 March 1902 in Nashville, Tennessee.^[1] She was the first child of Horace Hudson Smith and Anna Walker Webb.

In 1910, Isadore was eight years old and living at 605 Russell Street in East Nashville with her parents and two younger siblings, Anna Morrison "Mollie" Smith and Horace Hudson Smith Jr. Her father was working as an insurance agent. The family had two servants, Ollie McPhart (nurse) and Lillian Johnson (cook). This census mistakenly shows her name as Izora.^[2]

The Smith family home burned down on 22 March 1916 in the East Nashville Fire.

In 1920, Isadore was 17 years old and living with her parents and siblings at 810 Woodlawn in East Nashville. Her father was working as an insurance broker.^[3]

Isadore married Ralph Williams Davie on 4 November 1926 in Orlando, Florida.^[4] They lived in Florida after their marriage.^[5] They had no children and divorced in 1931 in Reno, Nevada.

Around 1934, Isadore moved to Carson City, Nevada, and worked for the state engineer.^[6]

In June 1935 she spent two months visiting her parents in Nashville, then went to New Orleans and sailed to California on the SS Dorothy Luckenback.^[7][8]

In 1937 she was living in Carson City, Nevada, and working as secretary for the state Attorney General Gray Mashburn, when she took a year off for a trip around the world:

Mrs. Isadore Smith Davie left Monday for New York and will sail from there to England on the first stop of a trip she expects to make around the world. According to her plans, she will return to Carson sometime in July of next year. Mrs. Davie is secretary to Attorney General Gray Mashburn and will resume her duties upon her return to Carson.^[9]

In July 1938, she arrived back at the port of New York on the SS Vulcania sailing from Naples.^[10][11]

In November 1939 she was 37 years old, divorced, and living in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the Nordale Hotel. She was working as a clerk for the US War Department for a yearly salary of $1,500 as they built Ladd Army Airfield. This census mistakenly shows her name as Izdore.^[12]

From 1941 until shortly before her death in 1945, she was living in Trinidad British West Indies and working for the US military as they built Naval Base Trinidad.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 1943, and died of breast cancer on 24 June 1945 while staying at the Surf Auto Hotel, 1712 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California. She was cremated in California and interred at Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Her death certificate listed her occupation as stenographer for the US Navy Department.^[13]

Mrs. Isadore Smith Davie

Burial services for Mrs. Isadore Smith Davie, daughter of Horace H. Smith, 604 Russell Street, who died Sunday, June 24, at Santa Monica, Cal., after a lingering illness, will be conducted at 4 o'clock this afternoon at the grave in Spring Hill Cemetery by the Rev. Paul F. Lanius, pastor of the Tulip Street Methodist Church.

A native of Nashville, Mrs. Davie attended Martin College at Pulaski and Vanderbilt University and was graduated from the University of Tennessee. She was employed by the United States Engineers at Fairbanks, Alaska, for several years and for some four years preceding her death had been employed in Trinidad, British West Indies. She had returned to the States in May.

Survivors, in addition to her father, include a sister Mrs. Stanley H. Berens, Bethel, Ohio; a brother, Horace H. Smith Jr., Memphis, and an aunt, Miss Virginia A Smith, Nashville.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ Tennessee Births: "Tennessee Births and Christenings, 1828-1939", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6LR-6PP : 27 January 2020), Isadore Smith, 1902.
2. ↑ 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGXY-VW2 : Thu Oct 05 05:17:54 UTC 2023), Entry for Horace Smith and Annie W Smith, 1910.
3. ↑ 1920 Census: "United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNGF-RC1 : Tue Oct 03 14:28:44 UTC 2023), Entry for Horace H Smith and Anna W Smith, 1920.
4. ↑ Florida Marriages: "Florida Marriages, 1830-1993," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:23C2-PS6 : 22 February 2021), Ralph Wms Davie and Isadore Smith, 1926; citing Marriage, Orange, Florida, United States, citing multiple County Clerks of Court, Florida; FHL microfilm 1,887,398.
5. ↑ 1926 Newspaper - "Miss Isadore Smith And Ralph W. Davie Wed in Orlando, Fla," The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee) Mon, Nov 8, 1926, page 5
   Newspapers Clip: 146236357 (accessed 28 April 2024).
6. ↑ Newspaper Article: "Former Susanville Resident is Dead" - Reno Gazette-Journal, 2 July 1945, Page 9. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/reno-gazette-journal/134080303/ : accessed October 25, 2023)
7. ↑ Newspaper Article: Nashville Banner, 21 July 1935, Page 21. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner/134080027/ : accessed October 25, 2023)
8. ↑ Los Angeles Passenger Lists: "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZQ7-TVX : 13 March 2018), Isadore Smith Davie, 1935; citing Immigration, ship name Dorthy Lockenbach, NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 61; FHL microfilm 1,734,665.
9. ↑ Newspaper Article: Reno Gazette-Journal, 30 December 1937, Page 10. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/reno-gazette-journal/134079410/ : accessed October 25, 2023). Transcribed by Naomi Van Tol
10. ↑ New York Passenger Lists: "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:242C-X73 : 2 March 2021), Isadore Smith Davie, 1938; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ 1938 Newspaper - "Nashvillians Greet Traveler," Nashville Banner (Nashville, Tennessee) Tue, Aug 2, 1938, page 5. Newspapers Clip: 146235727 (accessed 28 April 2024). Includes photo of Isadore and her parents.
12. ↑ 1940 Census: "United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VYWJ-8C6 : Tue Oct 03 12:32:08 UTC 2023), Entry for Frank J Wadman and Dorothy H Wadman, 1940.
13. ↑ California Birth and Death Records: "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGP6-BD3N : 1 March 2021), Isadore Smith Davie, 1945.
14. ↑ Obituary - Mrs. Isadore Smith Davie. The Tennessean, 14 July 1945, Page 2, via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean/134069646/ : accessed October 25, 2023). Transcribed by Naomi Van Tol.

• 1926 Newspaper Photo - The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida) Sun, Dec 5, 1926, page 3. Newspapers Clip: 146309842 (accessed 29 April 2024).

• "Sisters Visit in Nashville" - The Tennessean, October 29, 1933, Page 15. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-isadore-molly-in-nashvi/134069045/ : accessed October 25, 2023). Includes photo.

• Surf Auto Hotel 1941 postcard image, Santa Monica, California - Link to Image