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Alias:  JAMES “Norman” SMITH

JAMES N. SMITH, early Texas patriot and educator, was born September 14, 1789 at Richmond County, North Carolina.  James had a twin brother named CHARLES ALLISON SMITH.  The twins were the sons of American Revolutionary Patriot JAMES SMITH, JR.  (1752 MD - 1817 NC) and CONSTANTIA FORD (1760 MD - 1812 TN).  CONSTANTIA FORD was the daughter of  CHARLES ALLISON FORD and ANN CHANDLER of Charles County Maryland.  [Charles Allison Ford and Ann Chandler were grandchildren of early Charles County Maryland emigrants.]

JAMES N. SMITH’s teaching career began in 1806 after the family moved to Maury County Tennessee where he met and married SARAH JENKS (1812).  SARAH JENKINIS was the daughter of American Revolutionary Patriot PHILIP JENKINS and ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD both of Charles County Maryland.   Before Sarah’s death in 1820, JAMES SMITH and SARAH JENKINS had five children:  CONSTANCE FORD SMITH, ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD SMITH, JANE CATHARINE SMITH, and JAMES BROWN SMITH, ROBERT BENJAMIN SMITH.  All five children were born in Maury County, Tennessee.

Following the death of SARAH JENKINS, in 1824, JAMES N. SMITH married ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD MOREHEAD.  They had eight children:  MARY MOREHEAD SMITH, SARAH ANN SMITH, CHARLES ALLISON SMITH, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SMITH, MARTHA JENKINS SMITH, JOSEPH MOREHEAD SMITH, SUSAN STOREY SMITH, and THOMAS CRUTCHER SMITH.

In addition to positions of political and social leadership in Tennessee, JAMES N. SMITH farmed, taught school and engaged in commerce.  With the collapse of his business in 1839, he moved to Texas.  In 1840 the family settled in Gonzales on Cuero Creek and were caught in the GREAT COMANCHE RAID.  JAMES N. SMITH, at age 50, fought in his first battle at PLUM CREEK, 1841.  When the Mexican Army invaded Texas in 1842, Smith took his family to Mill Creek for safety.

When DeWitt County was formed in 1846, JAMES N. SMITH made the original survey.  He was elected County Clerk and held that office until 1865.  Before his death in 1875, Smith chronicled his life in a hand-written, four-volume manuscript.  His MEMOIRS describe how he surveyed the DeWitt County lines using the “old stock lock compass” his father bought for him.  Smith’s MEMOIRS are currently in the Barker Library, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.  A descendant, THOMAS CALHOUN ANDERSON provided a typed copy of the MEMOIRS in 1981 which numbers 244 pages.  A Texas Historical Marker in JAMES N. SMITH’s honor stands today at the First Presbyterian Church, Cuero, Texas.

Children of JAMES N. SMITH and SARAH JENKINS
 [d/o Philip Jenkins and Elizabeth Hungerford]

1. CONSTANTIA FORD SMITH, d. young
2.  ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD SMITH, m/1 WM. CALHOUN,
 m/2 JOHN D. BARNHILL
3.  JANE STOREY SMITH, m/ FRANCIS S. LATHAM
4.  JAMES BROWN SMITH, m/ VIRGINIA FEATHERSTON MURPHREE
5.  ROBERT BENJAMIN SMITH, d. young


JAMES N. SMITH m/2-1825 - ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD MOREHEAD, d/o JOSEPH MOREHEAD and JANE STOREY JENKINS.  Their Children:

6.  MARY SMITH, d. young
7.  SARAH ANN SMITH, m/ 1845 Washington CoTX, JOHN BROOKS MURPHREE (1817TN-1855TX),  m/2 Mr. DULANEY
8.  JOSEPH MOREHEAD SMITH  
9.  MARTHA JENKINS SMITH, m/ R.E. WILLIAMS
10. SUSAN STORY SMITH
11. THOMAS CRUTCHER SMITH
12. CHARLES ALLISON SMITH, d. young
13. BENJAMIN ROBERT SMITH, d. young

Some Sources:
NORMANS OF NORMANDY HALL, Lois Norman 1976 (LDS FHC)
HISTORY OF CULPEPPER NORMANS, Nellie Norman, 1972 (LDS FHC)
HISTORY OF DEWITT COUNTY TX, 1991 - Libraries
HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF JAMES NORMAN SMITH, typed copy available at Dallas Public Library, Dallas, Texas; Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas; Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Washington, DC.
EARLY FAMILIES OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND, Vol. 5,7,8, by Elise Greenup Jourdan, available through WILLOW BEND PUBLISHERS, Baltimore, MD.
SUTHERLAND, LATHAM & ALLIED FAMILIES, Edward Kinsey Voorhees, 1931.
DeWitt County History, DeWitt County Historical Commission, Curtis Media, 1991, JAMES N. SMITH, by Cynthia Salm; Elizabeth Barnhill and the Texian Wolf Hunters, Bennie Lou Hook Altom, Library of Congress #TXU 806-794, available at the Dallas Public Library and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas; Early Families of Southern Maryland, Vol. VII, Elise Greenup Jourdan, Willow Bend Publishing, Maryland, 1999.  See also “History of the Life of James N. Smith” available at the Barker Library, University of Texas, Dallas, Texas;  Dallas Public Library, Dallas, Texas; Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Washington, D.C.; and Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.

From BENNIE LOU HOOK ALTOM’S “SMITH FILES.”
Baltom@NovaOne.Net  Baltom@NovaOne.Net
April 2002

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