Western Pennsylvania Genealogy
Compiled by Douglas H. Lusher


Family Group Record



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William Smith and Mary Smith




Husband William Smith 1 2

           Born:  - Chester Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 27 Mar 1775 - Mercersburg, Franklin Co, PA 2
         Buried: 


         Father: James Smith (      -1765) 3
         Mother: Jennet [Unk] (      -      ) 4


       Marriage: 



Wife Mary Smith 1 3

           Born:  - Chester Co, PA
     Christened: 
           Died: 11 Feb 1808 - Mercersburg, Franklin Co, PA 2
         Buried: 


         Father: Robert Smith (      -1748) 3
         Mother: Jean [Unk] (      -      ) 3




Children
1 M William Smith 1 5

           Born: Abt 1747-1764 1
     Christened: 
           Died: Apr 1786 1
         Buried: 
         Spouse: Margaret Piper (1765-1852) 1 5
           Marr: 2 Sep 1783 1 5


2 F Jane Smith 5 7

            AKA: Jean Smith 6
           Born: 1749 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 9 Jun 1783 5
         Buried: 
         Spouse: Samuel Findlay (1735-1804) 5 7
           Marr: 1765 5 7


3 F Mary Smith 8

           Born: 1764 9
     Christened: 
           Died: 1 Dec 1848 - Mercersburg, Franklin Co, PA 9
         Buried: 
         Spouse: Maj. Robert Parker (1754-1799) 8
           Marr: 10 May 1787 9


4 M Robert Smith 10 11 12

           Born: 1766 - Mercersburg, Franklin Co, PA 12 13
     Christened: 
           Died: 2 Apr or 21 Apr 1849 12 13
         Buried: 
         Spouse: Elizabeth Irwin (1767-1814) 11 12 13
           Marr: 16 Nov 1790 12 13


5 F Rebecca Smith 14 15

           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 12 Apr 1780
         Buried: 
         Spouse: Maj. John Johnston (1748-1826) 14 15 16 17
           Marr: 3 Nov 1772 15



General Notes: Husband - William Smith


As a young man, he came to the Conococheague Valley, and as early as 1748, was lieutenant of Capt. Richard O'Caine's company, in Col. Benjamin Chambers' regiment. He removed to the neighborhood of Mercersburg soon after 1751. The site of the mountain town, afterward known as Smith's or Smith's-Town, was then a frontier trading-post. The first settler was James Black, who built a mill there, and gave the incipient village the name of Black's-Town. Black's name is not on the list of taxables for 1751, but it may be assumed that Ann Black, who was a taxable, was his widow. Within a year or two the mill and trading-post had passed into the possession of Smith, who soon became the most prominent and active man on the frontier. In 1755, he was appointed one of the commissioners to build the road from McDowell's Mill to the Three Forks of Youghigheny, intended to enable General Braddock to obtain supplies for his army. In this work he was very zealous. In 1757 the dissatisfaction of the magistrates of Cumberland county with the provincial authorities was so great that the justices resigned. Among the new justices appointed July 13, 1757, was William Smith. He held office until January 15, 1766, when he was superseded for participation in the affair at Fort Loudon. The story is told in detail in the narrative of Col. James Smith, in "Border Life," who was the brother-in-law of Justice Smith. While James Smith was in jail at Carlisle awaiting trial on a false charge of murder, William Smith wrote a manly and convincing letter to the "Pennsylvania Gazette," detailing the circumstances attending the shooting and showing that the fatal shot could not have been fired by Captain Smith. This letter was printed in the "Gazette," November 2, 1769, and is reprinted in full in Capt. James Smith's Narrative.
He was a ruling elder of the Upper West Conococheague Presbyterian church from December 19, 1767, until his death.

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Sources


1 —, Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 91.

2 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 456.

3 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 452.

4 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 453.

5 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 460.

6 —, Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 84, 93.

7 Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876), Pg 151.

8 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 423.

9 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 441.

10 —, Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 85, 94.

11 Lewis R. Culbertson, M.D., Genealogy of the Culbertson and Culberson Families (Zanesville, OH: The Courier Co., 1923), Pg 244.

12 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 463.

13 —, Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 94.

14 John W. Jordan, LL.D., Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913), Pg 458.

15 G. O. Seilhamer, Esq, The Bard Family (Chambersburg, PA: Kittochtinny Press, 1908), Pg 462.

16 —, Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 84.

17 George P. Donehoo, Pennsylvania - A History (NW) (New York, NY; Chicago, IL: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1926), Pg 77.


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