John SMITH (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, May 20, 2013, 23:40 (4199 days ago) @ slowhands

"Desperately Searching John Smiths"...

After fruitlessly trying to assist with the above thread, as a last resort I tried searching the free Welsh Newspapers Online site.
Unfortunately still no luck finding your Smiths, but I did find the following article from Cardiff's "Evening Express" daily paper of 1st July 1898 which I hope you enjoy.


"SEARCHING FOR SMITH.
Did you ever try to find a man by the name of Smith in the city directory? I hope your experience was not mine. I knew the man's address, but wanted to ascertain his first name. Little did I appreciate the task before me. At first I hurriedly glanced over the lists of Smiths, and after turning over twelve pages of them without find- ing the man I wanted it began to dawn on me that I had a job on my hands. Taking off my coat I sat down and went to work carefully and systematically, beginning with Mrs. A. Smith, canvasser, and ending in the course of half an hour with Smith and Co.
Still I didn't come across the particular Smith I wanted. So I re-traced my work. counting each as I went back. Fourteen hundred and twenty-seven Smiths I counted, and still I hadn't found the right one! Then I went through a long list of Smiths and Smyths, six columns of Schmidts, three columns of Schmitts, a half-column of Schmitz, a dozen Schmids. I threw the book down in despair. There I had spent an hour and ten minutes looking for a name I was morally certain was somewhere in the directory.
No, the name was there and find it I would, if I had to go over every name in the whole directory. So I waded through the Smiths again, and Eureka! there it was in the midst of a tremendous batch of John Smiths. I closed the book in triumph, feeling greater than if I had sunk the whole Spanish fleet."

This transcription is from a newspaper article here
http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3277285/ART84/priscilla%20smith

If nowt else it shows others have been frustrated trying to find a John Smith, but their persistence finally pays-off. By coincidence the place & date suggests they MAY have been searching YOUR John Smith, but probably not.
Eitherway, I do hope you find yours too !