Ah Jean....the wonderous sorting out of "Smiths"......I found the following in a book I have, the History of Washington Township, which mentions an F.M. Smith with ties to Oakland and since I track down even the most tenuous possibilities thought it might be of interest to you.....excerpt Irvington [part of Washington township]: "In earlier years the tule pond was a great resort for hunters. In the fall of 1883, F. M. Smith, of Oakland, established a Gun Club there; houses were built and tended by keepers, but the pond being small and not many flocks of ducks flying, it has been abandoned as a hunter's resort. The tules from this pond are gathered each year in bales, numbering several thousand, and are sold to the California and other nurseries, whre they are used for the packing of trees and plants for shipment." Newark [part of Washington township]: "The marshes about the bay afford good duck-hunting and many gun clulbs have preserves in this neighborhood. Mr. F. M. Smith, of borax fame, has rented the shooting privilege of the Brigg's ranch for fifteen years and has built a commodious shooting-box"... Time period is ambiguous, but appears between paragraphs citing 1876,1882 information and 1899 information....... Decoto: The Decoto Sanitary District was formed on 20 Sep 1937 and immediately constructed a fine modern disposal plant on the Alvarado-Niles highway..the first such plant in the township...members of the board of commissioners included George Smith...[president Bernie Joseph, secretary Fred D. Sanchez, other membersClarence Freites, and Manuel White. Gonzales Paniagua operator of the plant] J.G. Vivian started the Niles Herald on 2 April 1896, selling it almost immediately to Albert R. & Herbert J. Waters. In 1904 E. B. Thompson consolidated the Herald with his Washington Press, eliminating the Herald name. Chris Runckel bought the Washington Press in 1906 and soold it to Miles Smith in 1917. Mr. Smith tells us that the Press was subtitled under the Township Register, until he sold the Register to Fahey and Smith in late 1921, when the old 1887 Washington Press went out of existence. Mr. Smith still holds the rights to this old paper. If you think your family might have links to Henry C. Smith, founder of Alameda county, I have quite a few references for you. Hope some of this might help. Connie .... Falls Church VA In a message dated 3/25/99 11:06:16 AM Pacific Standard Time, LolaGF@aol.com writes: << Good Morning! I am researching the family of Marcellus L. SMITH, who resided in Oakland, CA, Alameda County. His wife Rosa MOTE. Their daughter Edith Mote SMITH a singing Cantrice started singing at the age of 17. She trained at with Von Meyerinck in S.F. She was also the granddaughter of W.W. SMITH of Oakland. >>