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Family Stories
A potpourri of stories about various family members or events
How My Maternal Grandparents Met
[Parts of what follows came from work that my cousin Michael N. wrote. Thanks.]
George Jacob Smith, my maternal grandfather, was born in Dale Township of Lyon County, Iowa. His home was within a few miles of Matlock, Iowa (which is in Sioux County and often mistakenly quoted as his birthplace). By the time he was three, his family moved to Brandrup Township in Wilkin County, Minnesota. This was approximately 45 miles from Moorhead, Minnesota, where he went to high school. On the other hand, Eva Mable Goodale was born in Liberty Township, Polk County, Minnesota and her family eventually moved to Fertile, again in Polk County, which was also about 45 miles to Moorhead. Although George was older, they were both students at Moorhead State Teacher’s College, and at the same time. An explanation for their educations occurring concurrently is provided in a biography of George's father, Jacob. (See below for link.) Apparently, the three older boys (of Jacob) graduated from eighth grade at the same time (1915) because the older ones needed to miss so much coursework because of farm work. (See here for details.) George and Eva were married on June 8, 1923, in Crookston, Minnesota. After George received his teaching degree, they moved to Holt, Minnesota. Eva taught at that time with a two-year teaching certificate from Moorhead State College. One of their favorite pastimes in those early years was working on difficult math problems together.
Wedding day for George and Eva
Published 2021-02-13. Revised 2025-07-05.
If you find any errors in the text, please let me know. Thanks. Contact me with errors or comments using hibbardac@gmail.com. [Back to the top] [About the author, Al]