Connecting with my great-grandmother Eda Virgil Smith (aka Eda Trost, Eda Fisher, Eda Jackson)

Starting off #NaGenWriMo with a post about my great-grandmother Eda Virgil Smith. Remember, the purpose of #NaGenWriMo is to write and share stories about your ancestors in whatever way speaks to you! Don’t be paralyzed by formalities – write that blog post – share that photo on social media!

For me, today I set a timer and decided to write as much as I could about Great-Grandma Eda. This is what resulted! There is already a wonderful life history on Family Search written by her son, Arlo, so this post is more about how I have come to know Eda and tidbits I enjoy learning about her. So here we go!

I feel a special connection with Eda because we look so much alike! A few years ago I created an ancestor bingo tutorial and a friend commented about how similar Eda and I looked.

As you can see the Compare a Face feature on Family Search agrees! (PS – if you haven’t tried this fun activity – you’ve got to do it! Simply take a selfie or upload a photo and Family Search does the work! It compares your photo to your ancestor’s! My kids love this! Fun Thanksgiving activity for sure!)

Let’s learn about Eda! Her life summary on Family Search reads:

“When Eda Virgil Smith was born on 8 November 1902, in Fairview, Oneida, Idaho Territory, United States, her father, Frederick Smith, was 23 and her mother, Martha Malena Cole, was 22. She married William Lawrence Trost on 7 November 1923, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons (my note – and one daughter who is still living). She lived in Independence, Madison, Idaho, United States in 1930 and Rexburg, Madison, Idaho, United States for about 5 years. She died on 24 November 1980, in Taylorsville, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Rexburg Cemetery, Rexburg, Madison, Idaho, United States.”

I’ve always known these facts about Eda and had a single photo of her. For years, this photo was the only photo of her on Family Search. My Grandpa Bert gave it to us for Christmas one year as well. But these are facts? What of Eda’s story?!?!

My Grandpa Bert is her youngest son – the young man with the fantastic smirk and arm around his mother in the photo.

I’ve been hoping to discover younger photos of Eda for years. This year my wish came true! My Dad’s cousin, Jane, posted multiple photos to Family Search of Eda as a child. This next one is my favorite! The tallest boy is Eda’s older brother Leo. Eda is tagged as the girl on the goat, but the next picture makes me wonder if she is the girl in the black dress? Either way, I ADORE this picture. Wouldn’t it be fun to know the context? What goat holds still long enough for a picture? Definitely not your everyday photo!

Eda was born in Fairview – a remote farming town in southern Idaho. This website gives an insightful description of the town and includes references to Eda’s grandmother – Celia Malinda Woodland Cole. The Coles are listed as among the founding families of the town.

Legacy of a Life History

According to her life history on Family Search, Eda’s family moved north to Lyman, Idaho, when she was four years old. Perhaps the photos are from here?

The rest of her childhood was spent in and around Rexburg, Idaho. A town especially dear to my heart! Imagine my surprise when I read this passage from her life history,

“Eda continued her schooling and graduated from the eighth grade in Rexburg. She had a desire to attend Ricks Academy, later known as
Ricks College, and then in 2002 it became BYU Idaho. She started three different times, but each time she had to quit. The first time because of a flu epidemic, the second time she contracted small pox, and the third time she enrolled, she attended only a few months and had to quit because of lack of funds.”

Knowing this about my great-grandmother makes me even more grateful that I was able to attend and graduate from Ricks College/BYU-Idaho. Can you believe that – I literally lived the dream of my ancestor and I don’t take that for granted.

I am so grateful to have this life history of Eda! I love how it came into my life. As mentioned before, my first cousin 1x removed, Jane, posted the above photos to Family Search. I happily shared them to Facebook so more of my family could see them. I tagged her to thank her because it truly made my day – younger photos of Eda!

In the Facebook post, I mused that I would love to know more about Eda’s life and her story. Imagine my excitement when Jane said that she not only had Eda’s life story but also life stories for more family members! It has been so fun to work with Jane to get them uploaded to Family Search. What a treat to get to know Jane better, too.

Let’s Go Digital!

Isn’t that a fun part of family history/genealogy for our generation? So many life histories, stories, etc. have been prepared and saved – it’s time for them to be shared! It’s a digital world now and so easy to share on social media and through tree-sharing sites like Family Search and Ancestry.

Another first cousin 1x removed posted this photo of Eda in her later years. The others in the photo are my Grandpa Bert Trost (love his 70s outfit) and my aunts. It’s truly wonderful that we each hold parts of each other’s history that we haven’t seen before! Grateful to my family members who have posted on Family Search and shared!

Over the years, I have been doing my best to share my family history puzzles pieces, too! Like this photo of Eda with her second husband, David Fisher. That darling young couple with them are my grandparents, Bert and Lois! How fun to see them as newlyweds!

I still have more uploading of photos to do! Perhaps I will come across more Eda treasures. Wouldn’t I love to see photos of her as a young bride or young mother? School pictures would be amazing as well! I am part of several historical Rexburg Facebook groups so I am crossing my fingers.

And just like that my timer is up! Compiling these photos and thinking about my own research/family connections has been fun! Perhaps someday I will put together something in a more formal context, but for now – I hope you enjoy these connections with Eda as much as I do. A lady who loved reading and was eager to learn, who grew up in one of my favorite places (despite the cold), and who was brave enough to ride a goat!

Who are you writing about this month? Where have you found pieces of your family history puzzle?