Sarah Gairns

  General Notes:

See general note on her mother, Catherine Gairns, for census data.

The 1910 Federal Census for Cedar Rapids Precinct 10, Linn Co., Iowa, District 117, page 181B records W. B. (40 - Scotland/Scotland/Scotland) and Sarah (28 - Iowa/Scotland/Scotland) Smith with children Robert B. Smith (1 - Iowa). W. B. is a Trafic Clerk for the Cereal Plant. Also in the household is W. B.'s mother-in-law Catherine Gairns (67 - Scotland/Scotland/Scotland). W. B. and Sarah have been married for 2 years and have had 1 child while Catherine has had 6 children of whom 5 are still living. W. B. reports having immigrated in 1898. Next door is Sarah's sister, Jean McCurrie Gairns Grant with her husband Charles Grant and their family.

The 1920 Federal Census for Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa, District 124 records Catherine Gairns (77 - widow-mother-in-law) (indexed as Catherine Gavins and Catherine Gerins at ancestry.com) living in the home of William B. (48-Scotland) and Sarah G. (37-Iowa) Smith with children Robert B. (11), Benjamin W. (9), Isabelle A. (5), James L. (4 2/12), and Andrew G. (1 3/12) living at 1809 6th Ave. William is a Traffic Manager at the Cereal Mill and immigrated in 1888. Catherine indicates she immigrated in 1865.

The 1930 Federal Census for Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa, District 54 records the widow Sarah G. Smith (48) with children Robert B. (21), Benjamin W. (19), Isabelle A. (16), James L. (14), and Andrew G. (11) living at 1809 6th Ave. Both Robert and Benjamin are working at the Cereal Mill.

The 1940 Federal Census for Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa, District 57-60, page 266A, dated April 9, 1940 records the widow Sarah G. Smith (58 - Iowa) with children Robert B. (31 - Iowa), Isabelle (26 - Iowa), James L. (24 - Iowa), and Andrew G. (21 - Iowa) living at 1809 6th avenue. Both Robert and his mother have completed 4 years of high school as has Andrew while Isabell and James have completed 3 years of college. Robert is employed as an accountant at the Whole Cereal Mill earning $1,528 while working 52 weeks during the last year. Isabelle is working as an Office Assistant at the Public School earning $570 working 38 weeks last year. Sarah owns her home valued at $5,000. James is working as an Elevator Operator at the Electric Light Building earning $517 last year and Andrew as a Shipping Clerk at the Wholesale Paper Products Company earning $765.

The 1953 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, City Directory records:
Sarah G Smith (wid Wm B) rm1630 1st av E apt D

  Research Notes:

From a December 31, 2010 email:
Good morning,
I found your sight looking for some information on my grandmother (Sarah Gairns Smith), great-aunt (Isabelle Gairns) and grandfather (William B. Smith) and found all three on your web site. I learned that Charlie Grant and my grandfather were friends who emigrated together (around 1888) and then married sisters Sarah and Isabelle. Thank you for the work that is evident at this sight. I am not quite sure how our families are related as I did not find a "family tree". However, I did see one contribution I could make at this time. My grandmother's birthdate is listed as Jun 1881, but her birthday was January 1st; I could see how Jan could easily be mistaken for Jun.
Thanks,
Sara Smith

Sarah married William Benjamin Smith circa 1908 in Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa. (William Benjamin Smith was born on 3 Feb 1868 in New Elgin, Scotland and died circa 1925 in Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., Iowa.)