Miss Sarah M. Smith died on Saturday at Darius Vandermark's at Eatontown, where she boarded. She was 82 years old and her death was due to a general breaking down of her health.

Miss Smith was a daughter of Rev. Merritt Smith, who was a prominent Methodist preacher at New York. Miss Smith inherited considerable wealth and she spent the greater part of her life in travel. She was a cousin of William A. Bryan, who also boards at Mr. Vandermark's and who is a cousin of William Jennings Bryan. Mr. Bryan and Miss Smith had been companions for twenty years and together had visited nearly all parts of the United States. About nine years ago they first came to this section of the country and for several summers they boarded at John Stapleton's at Colt's Neck.

The funeral was held yesterday at one o'clock at the house and was conducted by Elder Eseck Wolcott of the Eatontown Advent church. The bearers were E. E. Carlisle, Louis Tuttle, Ashly Hall, Charles Schick, Harry Morrisson and John Morris.

Miss Smith was buried in a casket lined with copper. The casket was handsomely trimmed and it cost $375. The grave in Glenwood cemetery in which the body was buried is bricked up and covered with a marble slab. All the funeral arrangements were on an elaborate scale and the total cost was over $500, besides which a monument is to be erected over her grave.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, Feb 12, 1902

Some additional excellent resources for your research are:

• New Jersey Census, 1772-1890 - Ancestry.com

• Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 1670-1760 - Ancestry.com

• Interment.net - NJ ~ New Jersey Cemetery Transcriptions on the net.

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