Iva Dell Witcher Smith

William Witcher and Ella J. Hatcher Witcher had twelve children: Minnie, Daught, Beatrice, Arthur, Douglas, James Cottrell, William, Jr., Christine and Willette. Three children died at birth and the first four named died at an early age.

Douglas, the eldest of those surviving, was born in 1904. He grew up and attended school in Rusk County and went to Prairie View Normal Institute to complete high school. After returning home, he married Mattie Betty Borders, daughter of John and Lela Scott Borders. Douglas was a barber and Mattie was a hairdresser. They had one child, Iva Dell, who completed high school at Kilgore Colored High School. There she met and married Cornelius Smith, son of Sponsifield Smith of Kilgore. She and Cornelius had one child, who died in infancy. After Cornelius was discharged from the army with more than fifteen years of service, he returned to his wife and mother-in-law in Los Angeles, California. He died July 15, 1954, and was buried in California.