The Descendants of George Washington Hunter ~ 1815-1880

Hunter Family Network

Callie (Hunter) Smith

at Sexton Creek, Kentucky in 1920

No trip to Cincinnati, Ohio for Christmas or trip to Metamora, Indiana was complete unless Grandpa Oscar Hunter stopped by to visit with his little sister, Callie. She was always full of hospitality and charm. While she and Grandpa would sit and catch up on time gone by or retell their old stories, it was a pleasure to be able to sit at their feet and observe their special relationship.

However, it wasn't until I started researching our family heritage that I came to fully appreciate what Callie (Hunter) Smith did for us. Many of the beautiful black and white photographs of the Hunters, Sandlins, Sizemores, Smiths, and many others were front her camera and artistic eye. It is hard to imagine how much of our family history would have been lost to the ages if a young woman in the 1920's had not made it her passion to record through photographs the life of her family and friends.

We owe Callie our appreciation and gratitude for leaving such a precious legacy. It is a legacy that her daughter, Jean (Smith) Cowan, and son, Leonard "Bud" Smith, preserved and protected. Jean and Bud carefully helped to archive and identify most of the photographs and because of their generosity we are now able to share them will future Hunter generations.

Callie was born in Sexton Creek, Clay County, Kentucky on November 3, 1901. Born to John Anderson Hunter and Millie (Sandlin) Hunter, she was the second child of eleven children, so you can only imagine what a hard worker she must have been.

At the age of 21, she married Leonard Smith on April 30, 1923 in Cincinnati, Ohio. They would have three children - Imogene Wanda "Jean", Velma Zeta and Leonard Herschel "Bud".

Callie passed away on August 12, 1979, but she left us with a rich legacy and she helped us better understand who we are and where we came from. May her example give us the motivation to do the same for our children and grandchildren.

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Focus ON: CALLIE (HUnter) Smith