SMOOT GENEALOGY
Compiled by Glenn Gohr
My Smoot family connection comes through the Dodson and Durham line. The early Smoot ancestry has been a point of much discussion on the Dodson E-mail List through Rootsweb. There are questions as to who Dorothy was that married Thomas Durham. Was she a Smoot, Gilbert, Morris, or what? See some of my comments regarding her ancestry as shown on my Dodson Puzzle Page, Part 1 and Dodson Puzzle Page, Part 2. Additional information on Dorothy's possible Smoot ancestry is discussed on The Smoot Family Association Page.
No records have been located to prove that Dorothy was a Smoot before marriage to Thomas Durham. Some of the records hint that she could be the daughter of a Mary Gilbert. If she was a Smoot, then because of her age, she would have to be a daughter of William Smoot, Sr. and not of William Smoot, Jr. and Jane.
There are other Smoots who intermarried with the Dodson family, so there could be some double kinship here if Dorothy's ancestry can ever be proven.
The origin of the Smoot name is not certain. It could be English, Dutch, or German. Some other variant spellings include Smute, Smoote, Smout, Smootz, Smoots, Smut, Smuts, etc.
The primary source that every Smoot researcher goes back to for information is a book by Harry Wright Newman, a noted genealogist from Maryland. Several people have been working on updating his information, but there are still some questions as far as the Durham and Dodson families are concerned. His book is: The Smoots of Maryland and Virginia by Harry Wright Newman. Washington, D.C.: Privately published, 1936. (196+ p.). Another good source on the Smoots is: The Price, Blakemore, Hamblen, Skipwith and Allied Lines by Jay Berry Price. Knoxville, TN: Tennessee Valley Publishing, 1992. This book has a whole chapter devoted to the Smoot line. It contains updated factual information with sources listed.
Because of a growing interest in the Smoot family surname, in March of 1999 a Smoot Family Association was started by Fred Smoot of Sausalito, California. He is the webmaster of The Smoot Family Association pages and also manages the Smoot E-Mail List on Rootsweb.
How do you become a member of this Smoot Family Association? Simply subscribe to the SMOOT mailing list provided by Rootsweb. There are no plans to print a hard copy newsletter. The SMOOT mailing list will be our method of communication, and RootsWeb, via the Internet, will be the primary repository of our archived material. There is no cost to be a member of our association. We have set up a Board of Directors as the decision making body for the association. View The Smoot Family Association Page for more information.
Much of the information we know about the Smoots comes from a book by Harry Wright Newman called THE SMOOTS OF MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, published in 1936. This book dwells primarily on the descendants of William Smoot, Sr. and wife Grace (Wood) Smoot who came with his family from England in 1634 to Hampton, Virginia and later settled at Pickawaxon, Maryland.
Another book regarding the Smoots is ABRAHAM OWEN SMOOT, A TESTAMENT OF HIS LIFE by Loretta D. Nixon and Douglas Smoot, 1994. Abraham Owen Smoot was a leader in the LDS Church. However, this book is more history than genealogy.
Still another good book which contains a lot of Smoot information is THE PRICE, BLAKEMORE, HAMBLEN, SKIPWITH AND ALLIED LINES by Mayor Jay Berry Price, 1992. Chapter 10 of this book is called "The Smoot Family." It includes good research notes and a "Smoot Report" by Loretta Nixon.
Here is my possible SMOOT connection:
- *(not proven) William Smoot, Sr., b. ca. 1596 England, d. bef. 1670 Pickawaxon, MD; md. ca. 1625 England to Mrs. Grace Wood, b. ca. 1595 England, d. 14 Jan. 1666 Pickawaxon, MD
- Dorothy SMOOT? or GILBERT?, b. ca. 1660,d. aft. 1715 Richmond Co., VA; md. ca. 1680 Richmond Co., VA to Thomas DURHAM, b. ca. 1661 Bermuda, d. 1715 Richmond Co., VA
- Mary DURHAM, b. 5 June 1686 Richmond Co., VA, d. aft. 1740 Richmond Co., VA; md. ca. 1701 Richmond Co., VA to Thomas DODSON, b. 15 May 1681 Rappahannock Co., VA, d. 21 Nov. 1740 Richmond Co., VA
- Rev. Thomas DODSON, b. ca. 1709 Richmond Co., VA, d. bef. 21 Oct. 1783 Pittsylvania Co., VA; md. 3 April 1726 Richmond Co., VA to Elizabeth ROSE, b. ca. 1706 VA, d. aft. 1766 Fauquier Co., VA
- Thomas DODSON (Second Fork), b. 3 Oct. 1728 Richmond Co., VA, d. 1811 Hawkins Co., TN; md. ca. 1747 VA to Mary NEVILLE, b. ca. 1730 VA, d. aft. 1790 TN
- Agatha DODSON, b. Dec. 1749 VA, d. Nov. (aft. 1830) Maury Co., TN; md. bef. 1769 to Moses HANKS, b. 15 July 1746 Richmond Co., VA, d. 19 Aug. 1831 Maury Co., TN (both buried in the Knob Creek Cemetery, Maury Co., TN)
- Elizabeth HANKS, b. 9 Sept. 1782 Pittsylvania Co., VA, d. 1833 Maury Co., TN; md. 1 June 1799 Lincoln Co., KY to Robert WILLIAMS, b. 1776 VA, d. 1837 Maury Co., TN
- Agatha WILLIAMS, b. 2 June 1802 Maury Co., TN, d. 13 July 1874 McNairy Co., TN; md. 22 Sept. 1817 Columbia, Maury Co., TN to James Matthew WOOLVERTON, b. 12 May 1797 Somerset, Pulaski Co., KY, d. 24 July 1878 McNairy Co., TN (both buried in the Woolverton Cemetery, McNairy Co., Tennessee)
- Nancy Artemisia WOOLVERTON, b. 28 Aug. 1829 Maury Co., TN, d. 24 Jan. 1926 Adamsville, McNairy Co., TN; md. 28 Dec. 1848 Jonesborough, Tippah Co., MS to Luther Rice LITTLEFIELD, b. 25 Dec. 1826 Spartanburg, Spartanburg Co., SC, d. 25 Mar. 1903 Adamsville, McNairy Co., TN (both buried in the Adamsville Cemetery)
- Sarah Agatha LITTLEFIELD, b. 28 Oct. 1849 Jonesborough, Tippah Co., MS, d. 7 Feb. 1940 Leapwood, McNairy Co., TN; md. 18 Oct. 1868 McNairy Co., TN to William Ashley HARRIS, b. 19 May 1849 Hardin Co., TN, d. 12 Mar. 1916 McNairy Co., TN (both buried at Mars Hill Cemetery, McNairy Co., Tennessee)
- James David HARRIS, b. 9 Jan. 1871 McNairy Co., TN, d. 22 Sept. 1938 Marlow, Stephens Co., OK (buried in the Marlow Cemetery); md. 28 Oct. 1894 McNairy Co., TN to Docia Bell PYRON, b. 5 Oct. 1872 McNairy Co., TN, d. 1 Sept. 1944 Lyford, Willacy Co., TX (buried at Combes, Texas)
- William Earl HARRIS, b. 8 Aug. 1895 McNairy Co., TN, d. 5 Jan. 1967 Cortez, CO; md. 12 Dec. 1915 Parker Co., TX to Orpha Antonia Hazel GARVIN, b. 11 Nov. 1895 Jack Co., TX, d. 21 Dec. 1979 Cortez, CO (They are both buried in the Dove Creek Cemetery, Dove Creek, CO) *These are my grandparents.
There is another connection to the Smoots that I have found which may possibly tie in to my family. There were Smoots who intermarried with the Hanks and Durham families of early Virginia. But I have also found a Rachel Smoot who married Matthew STONE (b. 1679, d. 1750) who lived in the Pittsylvania, Virginia area. They are ancestors of Rev. Barton Warren Stone who helped to found the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and possibly could be my ancestors through the Stone family. (See my Stone Family Lineage for further information on the Stones.)
If you have queries concerning the SMOOT surname, you may post these at the Smoot Family Genealogy List which I originally started, but which now is managed by Fred Smoot.
Smoot Genealogy List is a part of the Rootsweb e-mail discussion lists. It offers free queries and discussion on the Smoot surname and variant spellings.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: SMOOT-L-request@rootsweb.com
Leave subject line blank (This will be ignored).
In the body of the message type: subscribe
Then a welcome message will be sent telling how to post messages. Once you are subscribed, you may send a query to everyone on the list by sending e-mail to: SMOOT-L@rootsweb.com
Archived postings to the Smoot e-mail list can be found on the WEB at:
There are several Message Boards on Rootsweb which are set up for the SMOOT surname. These boards are for posting information in the following categories: BIBLE, BIOGRAPHY, BIRTH, CEMETERY, CENSUS, DEATH, DEED, IMMIGRATION, LOOKUP, MARRIAGE, MILITARY, OBITUARY, PENSION, QUERIES, and WILLS. The search perameters and drop down screen on the main page allow you to do a key word search or to view all postings according to one of the above categories. Click on the icon below to access the Smoot Message Boards.
Post a query (or information from any one of the above categories) on any SMOOT name or related family. Please give dates, and locations they lived. Try to give as much information as possible.
An online genealogy forum for posting queries has also been set up specifically for the SMOOT family on GenForum. It can be found at the following address:
***Note***During the Fall of 1998, GenForum combined with Family Tree Maker, which means that all queries and information posted to that site becomes the property of Family Tree Maker. This is still a good site to look up information and get contact names for the SMOOT lines you are searching, but be advised that if you now post a new query or a response to something on that site, chances are that sometime in the future Family Tree Maker will include that information on a CD-ROM which they will sell for profit to anyone who is interested. I do not like the idea of someone else using my hard researched information and ideas and selling them for a profit without my knowledge. This same practice is evident on all of the Family Tree Maker pages which are found on the internet, if you will read the disclaimer notices on those pages. I recommend the Family Tree Maker pages as good look up pages, but I don't recommend posting information there. Similar things can be said for Ancestry.com and MyFamily.com which are connected to each other and seek to make a profit from genealogical materials on the internet.
Some other Smoot researchers and web sites include:
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The Smoot Family Association Page maintained by Fred Smoot. This page is dedicated to Harry Wright Newman who was an extraordinary genealogist. Related pages include e-mails relating to the puzzle of William Smoot, Sr. and Dorothy (Smoot?) Durham and also information on the Veale Family Connection to the Smoots.
Descendants of William Smoot, Sr. maintained by Steve Smoot. This outline of descendants is based primarily on Harry Wright Newman's book on the Smoots but includes additional information and corrections.
Copyright (c) 1998-2003.
Last updated June 1, 2003.
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