History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon. Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

HELEN JACKSON SMITH                             1875
Contributed

     Helen Jackson Smith, one of the Hood River pioneers of 1875 and wife of Lyman Smith, was born in Chemung N.Y., May 21, 1834, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Jackson and was next to the youngest of a family of ten children, having six sisters and three brothers. Her childhood home was on one of the fertile farms of the Chemung valley on which her father settled when the country was new, clearing his way in, and building the first house of logs cut on the place. Later he built a small sawmill on Wynkoop Creek, which ran through the farm, and the lumber used in building the large, comfortable home, that subsequently took the place of the log house, came from this mill. Mrs. Smith attended the country school until twelve years old, when she went to Brooklyn to live with a married sister and attend school. She became very much interested in her school work and was making rapid progress in her studies, when word was brought to her that her mother had suffered a stroke of paralysis and was nearly helpless. Feeling that she was needed at home, she decided to return with the relative who brought the sad news; and while the decision was unhesitatingly made, there were tears and heartache over leaving school. This was a few weeks after she passed her thirteenth birthday and was a final farewell to school, though at times there was hope that the mother's health would improve and she might return. For a few years an older sister took charge of the home, but when Helen was seventeen, this sister and her husband returned to their own home and the young girl bravely and cheerfully took up the duties of housekeeper and nurse for her invalid mother. She was married to Lyman Smith Nov. 2, 1858, but remained in the old home and cared for her mother until her death, which occurred Nov. 21, 1862. In the meantime Mr. Smith worked the farm on shares. Two children were born to them while there. Eleanor L., Nov. 29, 1859 and William J., June 16, 1862. Later Mr. Smith bought a farm and while he made several changes, selling and buying, with the exception of one year in Michigan, they lived on farms in Chemung County until 1875, when they came west, locating at Hood River, Oregon. A third child was born to them in Chemung, Charles Dorrance, August 27, 1871, and at Hood River, Feb. 11, 1882 another son was born, Ralph Melvin, who died when five months old. Mrs. Smith had the true homemaking gift, and the bare, rough pioneer dwelling became, under her hands, and with her presence, homelike and pleasant, a place where friends and neighbors, as well as her own family, loved to gather. Her whole life was one of loving service to others; cheerful, helpful, ever giving of her best, yet with no thought of self sacrifice. The summer of 1887 she visited her sisters and other relatives in New York state, and it was a summer of rare pleasure to her, Memories of that visit were treasured in the years that followed. Soon after returning to her home in Hood River she had a serious illness and never fully regained her health.
     Her death occurred Sept. 18, 1895, from heart trouble. She was a member of the Methodist Church and her quiet, unassuming life, full of kindly deeds and loving ministrations, was ever a factor for good in the community in which she lived.

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