To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer — please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Thank you for visiting the Texas Gravestone Photo Project. On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Texas, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 11/6/14 • Approved: 11/8/14 • Last Updated: 3/25/18 • R36139-G36139-S3
Mother Belle
Oct 30, 1890 - May 9, 1927
Father Chas.
Mar 17, 1890 - May 9, 1927
Daughters
Lilath
June 20, 1914 - May 9, 1927
Greeta
Oct 27, 1915 - May 9, 1927
Charlena
Feb 20, 1926 - May 9, 1927
All Died May 9, 1927
Around 3am on May 9, 1927 a terribly violent storm moved from southwest to northeast across Dallas County. People in Dallas were awakened and amazed at the ferocity of the clouds and near-constant lightning display. In Garland, the storm dropped a tornado that killed 13 people and decimated three city blocks.
The seven members of the Smiley family were at home when the tornado roared through Garland. In the aftermath of the storm, parents Charles and Belle Smiley, and 3 of their 5 daughters, Lilath, Greeta, and Charlena, all lay dead. The surviving daughters Dorit and Margaret Ruth Smiley were taken to the hospital in Dallas, where they recovered.
Reference: Dallas Morning News, 10 May 1927
This reference courtesy of Doris Lindblad.
Contributed on 11/6/14 by gasirek
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 36139