Gladys the Great Grandmother and Gladys the Ring

Author: Susan  |  Category: Uncategorized

You might know that the engagement ring Don gave me originally belonged to his great grandmother, Gladys Solomon Smith. She is pictured here at the right.

It was given to her by Everett Smith between 1918 and 1925. We know this because it’s a rare cut that was made in a effort to perfect the modern brilliant cut diamond and it was only made for about seven years. At the time of their engagement, the couple lived in Mexico where Everett was an engineer for the American Smelting Company during the Mexican Revolution.

The couple had two children, one was also named Gladys. Their other daughter, Martha, is Don’s maternal grandmother. Both children were born in Mexico. If you’ve ever heard Don say that he is 1/8 Mexican, now you know why.

Martha married Harris Buckner and they had two children - Penelope (Don’s mom) and David.

Shortly after Don proposed we started calling the ring Gladys in honor of its original owner. Actually, I alternated calling it Gladys and Smitty, but Don was resolute and Gladys won out.

2 Responses to “Gladys the Great Grandmother and Gladys the Ring”

  1. Jenn Ellek Says:

    I absolutely love that your ring not only has a name but a history, or “herstory”, more appropriately.

  2. Hey That’s A Nice Wedding » Blog Archive » Twinkle, Twinkle Says:

    [...] engagement ring is a beautiful solitaire that originally belonged to Don’s great grandmother.  It’s a six-prong Tiffany style setting with a transition cut diamond (pre-cursor to the [...]

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