Richard Smith was born in NC in about 1789 and moved to Macoupin Co. IL some time before 1830 (probably in the late '20s) with his wife Sally and about 8 children. After moving to IL, one ore two more children were born to Richard and Sally.
There are several Richard Smiths early NC Census records, but it is likely that the one who migrated to Macoupin Co. IL was originally from Stokes Co. This is because Richard Smith from Stokes, besides being the right age, is living near several Tilleys (see discussion below), at least one of whom, Aaron, apparently migrated to Macoupin Co. IL at or around the same time as Richard Smith.
A search of NC marriages shows two cases in which a Richard Smith married a woman named Sally:
Bride: Sally Young
Groom: Richard Smith
Bond Date: 07 Mar 1806
County: Stokes
Record #: 02 285
Bondsman: Joshua Young
Bond #: 000141644
Bride: Salley Anglin
Groom: Richard Smith
Bond Date: 26 Oct 1804
County: Caswell
Record #: 01 285
Bondsman: William Made his Mark Bro
Witness: Alex. Murphey
Bond #: 000018257
(Taken from NC Marriage Bonds 1741-1868 at Ancestry.com)
The first (m. Stokes Co. 1806) fits with the argument above that Richard was from Stokes Co. Also, "our" Richard and Sally would have been about 17 years old if they were the Stokes Co. couple, but would have been rather young (only 15) if they were the Caswell Co. couple.
The names of Richard and three of his sons (emphasized in bold) are given the following account in the Macoupin County Enquirer, excerpted from material at The Macoupin County ILGenWeb (c)1999 Sue McMurry:
MACOUPIN COUNTY ENQUIRER, CARLINVILLE, ILLINOIS
January 9, 1901J. W. and C. J. Lumpkin, Publishers
Reminiscences
Judge T. L. Loomis handed us a letter today received from his brother, Horace J. Loomis, of Pueblo, Colorado in which after speaking of his heath, family, etc. he drops into a reminiscent vein, and gives an account of the building of the house and barn on his father's old place southeast of Chesterfield in 1844 and 1845, and also gives the names of the men present at the raising of the large barn, all of whom except he and his brother, T. L. of this city, he thinks have passed to the Great Beyond...
With the consent of Judge Loomis we publish these reminiscences, knowing that they will interest our readers, especially the older ones.
"One of the oldest, if not the oldest, inhabited houses in Chesterfield prairie is the old Loomis house, one mile southeast of Chesterfield. The house was erected in 1844 by John Lewis for Horace Loomis...
"The raising of this building was no small job and took the united force of the whole neighborhood for many miles around. Everybody in those days considered it a duty as well as a privilege to attend a raising, and a man would consider it an insult if not invited by his neighbor to assist him in raising his barn or house. A good, square dinner and something to drink were expected. The five gallon jug of whiskey was lacking in this instance, but a large barrel of small beer or pop was substituted which seemed to be relished without any bad effects following.
"Of all those present at this raising you and I are the only ones living that I know of. The rest have passed over the river to their long home, and I trust, a happy one, for most of them were good and noble men, "the noblest work of God." I think I can recall to mind nearly all of them. There was William Woods, John Lumpkin, James Rafferty and his two sons, James and Joseph; Josiah Whipple, J. R. Grout, Joshua Goodell, Z. B. Lawson. Sidney, Jesse and William Kirk, John and Thomas Kendall, Sam Hullet, Wm. Reams, Miles Misenhammer; Mahurin and his sons, John and Stephen; Sinet Jarvis, Henry Rusher, John Surgi, William Duckels, Robert Carter, John Thornton, Thorp and Peter Wright, J. R. Cundall, Capt. Gelder and his father, Esquire Roach and his son; John; Jacob Kellar, Ad Loper, - Holbrook, John Morris, John Dews, Bird and Jesse Peebles, Samuel Peebles, Isam Peebles, Barton Peebles, William Peebles, John Scutt, E. Upham, Aaron Tilly; Richard Smith and his sons, Huriah, Joshua and Hezekiah; Paschal Reader, John Keller, Robert Fox, John Lewis, James Hopson; Amos, Charles and Henry Goodsell; Thomas Leach and his son, Thomas; William, Eli, Elisha, Samuel and Benjamin Dorman; John Kirby, J. P. Bachelder; McAlister and Robert Holiday..."
"NOTICE: This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities for educational and/or research purposes as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation without the permission of The Macoupin County ILGenWeb (c)1999 Sue McMurry"
Another family in the area, that of Aaron Tilley mentioned in the above account, is closely connected with the Smiths. This is shown by the following facts:
- Richard's son Huriah Smith married a Sarah Tilley in 1829 (see marriage certificate)
- Aaron Tilley married a Mary Smith (b. NC) on 19 March 1835. (Note: The groom is listed as Aaron Lilly in the Ancestry.com marriage index, but later Census entries make it clear that he was Aaron Tilley.) Mary is likely one of Richard's daughters, which would make Aaron the uncle of Sarah.
- Richard and Aaron (and another Tilley, Bennett) bought land in close proximity (see map of Twp. 10N, Range 9W)
- Both families were from NC, and in fact Aaron Tilley is found in the 1820 Stokes Co. NC Census.
Census data for Richard Smith:
- 1810 NC, Stokes Co., Peters Creek and Medowes Districts
- Richard Smith, 2 males <10 y.o., 1 male 16-25 y.o.; 1 female 16-25 y.o.
Note the nearby Tilley families: - Joel Tilley Jr., 1 male <10 y.o., 1 male 16-25 y.o.; 2 females 10-15 y.o., 1 female 16-25 y.o.
- Daniel Tilley, 1 male 16-25 y.o.; 2 females <10 y.o., 1 female 16-25 y.o.
for the 1820 NC census information). Also, Aaron Tilley is in Stokes Co. NC in 1820, and
as mentioned above, these two families seemed to stick together:
- Richard Smith, 2 males <10 y.o., 1 male 16-25 y.o.; 1 female 16-25 y.o.
- 1820 NC, Stokes Co.
- Richard Smith, males 2 <10 y.o., 2 10-15 y.o., 1 26-44 y.o.; females 2 <10 y.o, 1 26-44 y.o.
- 1820 IL, Madison Co., Wood River District
- Richard Smith, 1 male <10 y.o., 1 male 26-44 y.o., 1 male >44 y.o.; 1 female <10 y.o., 1 female 10-15 y.o., 1 female 16-25 y.o., 1 female 26-44 y.o.
- 1830 IL, Macoupin Co., Macoupin Precinct
- Richard Smith, 1 male 5-9 y.o., 2 males 10-14 y.o., 1 male 15-19 y.o., 1 male 40-49 y.o.; 1 female <5 y.o., 1 female 5-9 y.o., 1 female 15-19 y.o., 1 female 30-39 y.o.
- 1840 IL, Macoupin Co.,
- Richard Smith, 1 male 15-19 y.o., 1 male 50-59 y.o.; 1 female 5-9 y.o., 1 female 10-14 y.o., 1 female 15-19 y.o., 1 female 40-49 y.o.
- 1850 IL, Macoupin Co.,
- Richard Smith, age 61, white male, Farmer, $1400 Real property; b. NC; cannot read & write
- Sally Smith, age 61, white female, b. NC
- Patsy Smith, age 17, white female, b. IL
