ALEXANDER SMITH
MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER
Childhood
Alexander Smith was born in Vienna, Austria on December 19, 1891. He grew up in Vienna until he was 6 years old. He had a very large family. Alexander Smith had 3 older brothers named Henry, Nathan, and Sam. He also had 3 sisters named Molly, Minerva, and Clara. They all got along together very well. They lived in a very nice village with many other families. Some games they would play are hopscotch and jump rope. When Alexander got to age 6, he started helping with his fathers work and his mothers household chores. Alexander Smith and his family reached Ellis Island when he was 7 on March 6, 1898.
Through Ellis Island
The Smith's name is not actually Smith. The name was changed when they came through Ellis Island because the processors had a difficult time pronoucing the names. Thus, they shortened everybody's name to a simple common name that everybody could pronounce. Once through, his family settled in New York which is where he stayed for the rest of his life. He participated in the world war I as an air war raid.
Alexander Smith
Alexander Smith as an Air Raid Warden
Husband and Wife
Alexander Smith and his wife Sadie Smith. Sadie's maiden name was Sadie Weiner
Vienna, Austria
Vienna, Austria around 1891
Later in Life
As Alexander reached his adult years he became an engineer and carpenter. He lived his life out with his wife Sadie. They got married when Alex was 26 on January 3, 1918 in Bronx, New York. Growing old together they had 3 sons Daniel, Lester, and Howard. His sons when on in life to be very successful with winning many awards for movies, books, owning record labels, and being the first owner of the Mariner baseball team. All 3 brothers shared these achievements. Alexander became a famous interior decorator of many restaurants, hotels, and bars in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Alexander lived a very long fulfilled life. Alexander Smith died at age 71 from a heart-attack in New York City All Boroughs, New York.
How did Alexander Smith fit into history?
During this time there was many historic events happening in this world. One event that struck America by surprise was the San Francisco earthquake. This shook Americas lives apart. This phenomenon took many peoples lives away and many families lost their homes. San Francisco was demolished to pieces of concrete with wreckage all over the streets.
Another important event that Alexander Smith was around to witness was the sinking of the Titanic. The titanic was a tragic event that was astounding to all. This once thought unsinkable ship was sunk by an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. A lot of money and valuables were lost in the wreckage. Many people lost their family and loved ones in the sinking. My great-grandfather heard about this from a local newspaper.