Sadie Belle (Smith) Trail [RG3738.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID



RG3738.AM:  Sadie Belle (Smith) Trail, 1873-1942



Papers:  ca. 1864-1976

Otoe County, Nebraska

Size:  0.75 cu.ft.; 1 box + oversize



BACKGROUND NOTE



Born in 1873, Sadie Belle Smith was the daughter of O.S. and Sarah F. (Thompson) Smith.  She graduated from Crete High School in 1891 and received her teaching degree from the Nebraska State Normal School at Peru in 1895.  Sadie served as a teacher and assistant principal at the North Bend Public Schools until she married Rollin A. Trail in Phelps County, Nebraska, on March 7, 1906. 



Rollin A. Trail was born in Otoe County, Nebraska, in 1872.  By 1889 he was attending Doane Academy in Crete, Nebraska, where he met Sadie Smith.  Rollin became a civil engineer and worked for the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Utah; the Chicago Great Western in Iowa; and the Deepwater Railway in West Virginia and Virginia.  After marrying Sadie Smith in 1906, Rollin went to work for the Great Northern Railroad in Montana.  Rollin and Sadie eventually moved to the State of Washington where he worked for the U.S. Reclamation Service.



Rollin A. Trail died in 1916.  Sadie (Smith) Trail died in 1942.  They are buried in Camp Creek Cemetery in Otoe County, Nebraska.



SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE



This collection consists of one box of papers relating to Sadie Belle Smith and Rollin A. Trail.  The collection is organized into two series: 1) Materials compiled and transcribed by Rosalie (Trail) Fuller, and 2) Original family papers.  The bulk of the collection (series 1) consists of research and transcripts of letters compiled in 1976-1977 by Rosalie (Trail) Fuller, the daughter of Sadie and Rollin Trail.  The second series contains an original diary kept by Sadie Smith and a plat/profile book owned by Rollin Trail during his time with the Deepwater Railway in Virginia.  Also included are a few original letters (as well as photocopies), a few certificates and ephemera, and a folder containing a few military documents relating to Fort Lyon in Colorado.



INVENTORY



Series 1 – Materials compiled and transcribed by Rosalie (Trail) Fuller

Box 1

Folder




    1. Pioneers in Nebraska

      Foster Homes: Letters of Sadie B. Smith, R.A. Trail, and others

    1. Teacher and Student: Letters of Rollin A. Trail, and others, 1892-1895

      Teacher and Civil Engineer: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, 1895-1898

    1. Teacher and Civil Engineer: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, 1899-1901

      Teacher and Civil Engineer: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, 1901-1902

    1. Teacher and Civil Engineer: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, 1903-1904

      Trestles, Tunnels, and Rights of Way: Excerpts from the Letters of R.A. Trail from West Virginia and Virginia, 1903-1905

      Courtship: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, January-July, 1905

    1. Courtship: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, August-December, 1905

      Marriage: Correspondence of Sadie B. Smith and Rollin A. Trail, 1906-1942



Series 2 – Original family papers




    1. Diary of Sadie Smith, 1890s

      Plat/profile book of Rollin Trail, 1903-1905 (Deepwater Railway)

    1. Correspondence

    1. Certificates and ephemera (see also oversize)

    1. Military documents, 1864-1881 (see also oversize)



 



Subject headings:



Courtship — Nebraska

Deepwater Railway

Frontier and pioneer life — Nebraska

Social life and customs

Teachers — Nebraska

Trail, Rollin A., 1872-1916

Trail, Sadie Belle (Smith), 1873-1942



 



KFK/dco               09-18-2003

Revised TMM      07-23-2019

 

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

You May Also Enjoy

Nebraska Election Trivia

Nebraska Election Trivia

Marker Monday: Pawnee City

Marker Monday: Pawnee City

The Headless Ghost of Redington, Nebraska

The Headless Ghost of Redington, Nebraska

About NSHS

The Nebraska State Historical Society was founded in 1878 by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed NSHS from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director Cindy Drake. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for NSHS.

Explore Nebraska

Discover the real places and people of our past at these NSHS sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of NSHS members.

NSHS Education

Learn more about the educational programs provided at our museums, sites, and online.

Education Digital Learning Resources

Find games, lists, and more to enhance your history education curriculum.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast!

Nebraska Collections

NSHS's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

NSHS's Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

NSHS Services

Digital Resources

Find all of our digital resources, files, videos, and more, all in one easy-to-search page!

Support The Historical Society

Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to the Nebraska State Historical Society help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of NSHS.

Volunteers are the heroes of NSHS. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.