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Smith
Genealogy |
Welcome to my families web site! Welcome to my families web site. This is my first attempt at creating a web site so please be patient with me. Please feel free to browse, comment or critique at : [email protected] . This site is dedicated to my father Edrick Allen Smith who by example taught his children to enjoy the life God gave us, my uncle Austin Manuel Smith who did much of the research, my grandfather Manuel Irving Smith whose memoirs began this search and my great great grandfather Benjamin Franklin Smith who took care of his family. Some surnames associated with this site are: Angell, Angier, Arnold, Ashton, Austin, Baker, Bent, Besbeech, Bigge, Bordman, Borman, Brown, Chapin, Cheney, Clarke, Conant, Constable, Cooke, Davidson, DeMowbray, Dickson, Dodge, Dorr, Dunster, Eaton, Field, Goddard, Hoar, Howard, Johnson, King, Lambe, Loker, Loring, Low, Macye, Mansfield, Moore, Morse, Mowry, Olney, Penny, Phillips, Pierce, Redysdale, Rice, Riddlesdale, Russell, Rydsdale, Sherman, Small, Smith, Steere, Stevens, Stone, Storey, Taft, Tailboys, Tanner, Trowbridge, Vassall, Walton, Ward, Whalesborough, Wheeler, Whipple, White, Wickenden and Winship. Many of the above families came to America in the 1600's. Some of the trees go back even further in England. Do you know who these 2 young men are? I found this picture (as a tin type) in the family memorabilia. I believe they will be of the Russell, Smith or Goddard family, but I'm not sure. The following is a little of the more recent history from my families files: JACOB W. SMITH, married Martha "Pattee" Conant January 22, 1824 in Charlton, Worchester Co., MA. He died February 23, 1866 in Norwich, New London Co., CT.. Pattee was born April 7, 1797 in Dudley, Worchester Co., MA and Died March 13 1855 in Norwich, New London, Co., CT. Her parents were Rufus and Dolly (White) Conant. Children of Jacob Smith and Martha Conant:
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SMITH went as a young man to Jewett City, where he worked as a house painter. Later he went to Norwich and then went to Hope Valley when about 19 years of age. He carried on a painting business. He was deputy sheriff of Washington County about 15 years and had been police constable for a long time. He had been an auctioneer, also for many years. He had lived for 33 years at the Fairview Ave. home where he died. He left his widow, five children and 25 grandchildren, four of whom had a home in Mr. Smith's family. He married Mary Medora Tanner on March 21, 1855. She was born July 29, 1839 in Richmond, RI and died August 3, 1899 in Hopkinton, RI. Benjamin Franklin SmithManuel Smith, his grandson remembers how well Benjamin cared for his family, buried the dead, and enjoyed family celebrations. Benjamin began a cemetery for family members on his farm and many of his family are buried there: "About a mile away from the farm at aunt Mattie's house was a large pine grove where we celebrated the Fourth of July picnic every year until my Grandfather passed away. He would go to Hope Valley and buy a large quantity of fireworks, load them in the express wagon with ice from his ice house on the farm, get out the two seat surrey and go to this pine grove at Aunt Mattie's. We would have a big clam bake, home made ice cream from Aunt Mattie's dairy and home made ice cold lemonade with shooting fire crackers and blank cartridges in revolvers. As dusk fell, we went back to the house for night fireworks, then home to bed and happy." "I meant to have said more of my grandfather's death. It was about two weeks after uncle Win's that my grandfather sat at the breakfast table eating cucumbers with vinegar, salt and pepper. He jumped up of a sudden with a terrible pain in his stomach. He went out and set on the grass. The pain didn't seem to let up. They kept asking him to have a doctor, but he did not want to, but finally gave in. The doctor ran a small tube down his throat and said that he had cancer. The next day, they had a consultation of three doctors and they decided on an operation. A surgeon came out from Providence and operated on Wednesday there at the house. The surgeon found the cancer on an artery and could not cut it off. My grandfather Smith died the following Sunday. That was the second death within a month in the same house my brothers and I were living in." "In those days the undertaker came to the house and did all the preparing of the body for burial in the house. The body was kept in the front room with the curtains drawn until the day of the funeral. Though the farm was a mile from the village, it was quite a large funeral as my grandfather was a well known and respected citizen. One thing in particular I remember is 25 or 30 Odd Fellows marched up there a good one and a half miles from the Odd Fellow Hall in Hope Valley bearing the Stars and Stripes and the Odd Fellows Banner. In those days the road was unsurfaced, hot and dusty. They marched, not rode. In those days I had never seen an automobile." Children of Benjamin Franklin Smith and Mary M. Tanner recorded in the township of Hopkinton, RI:
GEORGE FRANK SMITH was born 8/23/1857 in Hopkinton, RI. He married Ida Eloise Steere on 8/23/1880 (1882 ??) In N. Woodstock, CT. He was born in a small mill town about 3 miles from Hope Valley. This town's name was Barberville. It was in the township of Hopkinton. Manual Smith (his son) writes of his father, "There was a barn where my father kept his horses for his meat route. He always kept driving horses, some pretty high steppers. In fact, some he entered in races at the fairs and won first place more than once. He very seldom came in lower than third place. It was harness racing not horseback. He preferred horses of pacing gait. He was a great horse fancier and used to spend hours talking to other horse fanciers. I think it was while he was in Hartford that he had his leg broke by a horse, but it did not deaden his love for horses any." "I do not know how it happened, but my father went to Hartford, Connecticut and started a meat cart route. He moved his family to Wethersfield, a suburb of Hartford...From Hartford my father bought a meat route in Woodstock, Connecticut....We moved to W. Woodstock when I was about 6 years old and then to E. Woodstock and my father went back to Hartford in the meat cart business. When the eldest daughter Elma died, the two oldest boys (Edrick and Manuel) went to live with George's father, Benjamin Franklin Smith. Shortly after, Eloise and Almon also went there to live. The children lived here alone for several years after both grandparents passed away. George sent for Manuel to help him in the meat cart route around the year 1900 several years after Manuel's grandparents died. Manuel writes: "We peddled 3 days a week through the Woodstock area and 3 days a week through Southbridge, MA.." George died January 1, 1901 in North Woodstock, CT. Children of George Frank Smith and Ida Eloise Steere:
MANUEL IRVING SMITH Born October 16 1887 (Wethersfield, Ct) Died; September 20 1963 (Tewksbury, Ma). Buried at Hopkinton Historical Cemetery # 2, Fairview Av. Hopkinton, RI. Married: Fannie Grace (Russell) of Weston, Ma on June 14, 1919. Manuel & Fannie Smith with Manuel lived with his parents in Wethersfield, Hartford, and Woodstock, CT until 1895. Then, after the death of his sister (Elma L. d. 7 April 1895), he was sent to live on his paternal grandfather's farm in Hope Valley, RI. In 1900, two years after his grandfather's death, (Benjamin Franklin Smith d. 24 July 1898 - Hopkinton, RI) he went to live with his father in Woodstock, CT and helped him on his meat cart route. When his father died (George Frank Smith, d. 1 January 1901) he returned to Hope Valley to one of his uncle's, who after about two years let him out on a farm and took his wages. Subsequently, another uncle found him a job at the Eastern Shipbuilding Co. in New London, CT. In 1906, he joined the US Navy and made the cruise around the world with President Roosevelt's "Great White Fleet", serving as Fireman 2nd Class and acting Oiler on the Battleship GEORGIA. The battleship fleet, after being reviewed by the President, left Hampton Roads, VA on December 16, 1907 and returned there on February 22, 1909. He was discharged at Norfolk, VA on March 2, 1910 at which time he held the rank of Oiler. In 1911 he was awarded a pension of $6.00 a month for indolent ulcers and scars, the result of an operation for varicose veins. After leaving the Navy he probably lived with his sister Eloise and their mother (Ida Edith Steere Smith) (whom he had not seen, except for a few hours, since 1895) in Massachusetts. He lived for a time in Harrisville, RI and worked for several months as night engineer at the Stillwater Worsted Co. He served as a deacon of the Berean Baptist Church in Harrisville and also served on a committee for purchasing a parsonage for the church. He held a Massachusetts stationary engineer's license and a marine engineer's license. In 1917-18 he made four voyages to France on merchant vessels as third engineer. After the war he lived mostly in Mansfield, MA and worked as an engineer, mainly for the Town of Mansfield at the town pumping station. In the latter half of the 1930's he was dismissed by the Town because of the severe increase of the disability in his legs. During WWII he worked for a time as night engineer in Attleboro, MA. After this employment terminated, he was never able to work again. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Mansfield, MA for 46 years and was a member of the Odd Fellows for more than 30 years. He is buried in the Smith family cemetery in Hope Valley (Fairview Ave., Hopkinton, RI). Children of Manuel Irving Smith and Fannie Grace Russell:
This page was last updated on 04/13/00. |