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Note: UNCLE CARL
My Uncle Carl Smith came into the world in 1897 in Reams, VA. just 32 years after the Civil War. In this era of Virginia history, family relationships were stressful. New jobs were absent or scarce for rural families. Much of the land in Sussex and Dinwiddie Counties was devastated by the effects of war. So, when Carl's father died in 1909 in Petersburg, Ida Mae Smith must have moved her family to Newport News where Lemuel Wheeler probably obtained jobs for Carl and his brothers in the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry dock Co.
There have been few records about this part of my family. A story here. A glimmer of fact there. The details of their lives now remain with my ancestors. However, when examined from a historical standpoint, they seem to have made their livelyhood following shipbuilding work up and down the east coast from Bartimore, Maryland to Wilmington, North Carolina, south to Wrightsville, on south to Charleston, South Carolina, and then to Jacksonville, Florida then across Florida to Mobile, Alabama.
Carl was also a ship fitter in the Alabama Shipyard when he died of an unexpected heart attack. Prior to this, he held similar ship building positions in Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida. The profession of building ships is hard. It's difficult mentally and physically. The work is demanding and is usually performed outdoors in all type weather. Dry docks, where ship keels are laid, do not have all encompassing roofs to keep out the rain or snow. Ships just aren't built in air-conditioned offices! So, Uncle Carl must have headed south for a better and warmer climate. There he met and married Luella Louise Camp and they had six children.
Not only did he build ships in Virginia, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, on his small farm, he also cultivated sweet potatoes, green peas, white beans, kale, turnips, watermelons, and even corn for local markets. A diversified farmer, he also raised broiler chickens for sale. Uncle Carl's father, John Eden Smith, was a "railroad man." Very little is known about why my Uncle Carl changed professions. For that matter, why he really moved to Mobile. During this period, most men followed in the footsteps of their fathers! Most men of this era followed the available jobs when they relocated.
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