Isaac and Mary Ann Smith were married in 1884 and lived in Dallinghoo, Suffolk. They had ten children: Alice, Albert, Kate, Bertie, Agnes, Frederick, Ernest, Emily, Gertrude and Walter. In around 1900, the family moved to Lodge Farm Cottages, on Asylum Road, to be closer to James Burness’s farm, where Isaac was newly employed as a horseman. By 1911, Isaac had worked his way up to the position of head horseman on the same farm. After his retirement, Isaac and Mary moved to 3 Wilford Place, Melton. Isaac died in 1942 and his wife in 1951.

The Melton Roll of Honour in Booth’s Almanack of 1915 and 1916 includes four of Isaac and Mary’s sons: Bertie, Ernest, Frederick and Walter.