Minerva (Pool) Smith (1882 - 1906)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Minerva's lifetime.

In 1882, in the year that Minerva (Pool) Smith was born, on April 3rd, 34 year old outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back of the head by trusted friend and partner Robert Ford. Suspected of colluding with the Governor of Missouri, brothers Robert and Charley Ford were arrested, indicted, plead guilty, sentenced to be hung - then pardoned by the Governor. All in one day.

In 1890, by the time she was only 8 years old, on July 3rd, Idaho became the 43rd state in the United States. On July 10th, Wyoming became the 44th state.

In 1898, Minerva was 16 years old when magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company controlled 84% of the oil and pipelines in the United States. Rockefeller grew Standard Oil through the merger of several other small oil companies throughout the U.S., creating a monopoly.

In 1906, in the year of Minerva (Pool) Smith's passing, the great San Francisco earthquake hit, estimated at 7.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake caused fires that raged for days and between the earthquake and the fire, about 3,000 people were killed and 80% of the City was destroyed.