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With the passing of Mrs. Willis H.
Smith, the Burnet County Historical
Society sustained a loss difficult to bear. She had met with the
Society on Tuesday before her death, cheering us with her bright
presence, participating actively as always in its business and
discussions.
Liza Mary Corker Smith
was truly a daughter of the founders of Burnet.
Her parents were Orvell and Lou Corker;
her mother was the
granddaughter of Logan Vanderveer,
first postmaster of Burnet, patron
of its first school which was taught by W. H. Dixon, a graduate of
Oxford University, England. He organized the first Masonic Lodge
and
supplied space for its meetings above his store. Burnet's oldest
building is owned and used by the Masonic Lodge today. An
ancestor of
Vanderveer's was at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington.
Mrs. Smith inherited many of the papers and personal belongings of
Vanderveer. Copies of the roster of the first school, of his
appointment as postmaster in 1852 and other official papers are on file
in the Burnet County Library for the benefit of the Smith grandchildren
and all other Burnet children.
Her grandfather, John Hubbard,
was killed by fanatical Southerners
early in the War between the States. He was the nephew and
business
associate of Noah Smithwick to
whom Texans are indebted for his book
THE EVOLUTION OF A STATE.
. . .
The men referred to were all connected at some time with Fort Croghan
and the restoration project was very dear to Mrs. Smith, as it is to
Miss Mittie Depew,
also a kinswoman of Vanderveer. Native Burnet
Countians and those of us who are new here who admired and loved Mrs.
Smith can honor her by carrying the work she was so much
interested in
to a successful conclusion.
......
Funeral Services for Mrs. W. H. Smith Held
March 1st.
Every citizen in Burnet and adjoining towns was deeply shocked when it
was learned that Mrs. W. H. Smith
had suddenly been called by death,
Saturday, February 28, 1959.
Mrs. Smith became ill Friday afternoon, and upon being taken to the
Shepperd Memorial Hospital, it was found that she had suffered a
coronary occlusion, and suffered the fatal attack shortly after noon,
Saturday.
Deceased was born at Burnet, March 15, 1890. She had been a
member of
the local Baptist church for over 50 years, and had always been very
active in church work. She was also a member of the Order of the
Eastern Star.
Liza Mary Corker
and Willis H. Smith were
united in marriage at Burnet,
Texas, Sept. 6, 1911, and five children were born this union, one child
having died in infancy.
I have known Mrs. Smith all of my life. She and my mother were
very
close friends, and all of we Chamberlain
children have always thought
that both Willis and Liza Smith
were the best people in this world.
She was loved and respected by all who knew her, and this love and
respect was shown Sunday afternoon, when the church was overflowed by
those wishing to pay their respects to her and her loved ones.
She was
a devoted wife, a loving mother, and was a kind friend to both young
and old. . . .
......
[Obituary - no date]
Liza Mary Corker .
. . was born March 15, 1890 in Burnet County, Texas,
to parents Orville and Emily Lucinda
Hubbard Corker. Her Smithwick
link is her great grandmother, Emily
Dulaney Smithwick Hubbard.
Her
grandfather, John Randolph Hubbard,
had gone from his home in Bond
County, Illinois, to Texas to work with his uncle Noah Smithwick in
the mid 1800's and was killed there during the Civil War because of his
Unionist views.
Liza was reared and educated in Burnet, where she lived most of her
life. She was an active member of the Burnet Baptist Church, as
well
as the Eastern Star and the Burnet County Historical Society. She
generously gave of her time to speak to high school classes about the
early settlers from her own background and that of others.
On September 6, 1911, Liza Mary
was married to Willis Henry Smith (b.
Dec 19, 1886 in Johnson City, Blanco County, TX, the son of John
Rutherford and Tenisee Roselia Nicholson Smith.) They made
their home
in Burnet.
Willis Smith, a
Master Mason, was a merchant; first as a store clerk,
buyer, and then store owner. He was also a hotel manager, county
judge, and bookkeeper for Southwest Graphite Mines. Liza Mary was a
teacher, clerk, buyer, dry goods saleslady, and part owner of a store.
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