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Jacob and George SMITH, Sidney James SMITH 1732 - 1804, Murray Tp John SMITH's, c1800, Murray, Sidney, etc Richard SMITH, 1790 Thurlow and Sidney |
| This is an attempt to identify some of the earliest Smith families in the Sidney Township and nearby area. It seems hard to avoid learning more about the early (c 1800) Smith families that settled in and around Sidney Township. While researching John Bleecker, the first major settler on the west side of the mouth of the River Trent, the name of James Smith kept showing up as the first major land owner on the east side of the river. There was also a John Smith who petitioned for the ferry licence across the Trent. So James Smith Esq became the first target and his story ventured into Dutchess County, NY where, as a Tory judge, he was tarred and feathered for his Loyal support. His son John settled in Murray and another son Henry was an active surveyor in Sidney. Quite a bit has been discovered about this family and is on the James Smith web page. That led to many emails from people researching other Smiths in the area and asking if they were related to James. Bit by bit I got drawn into looking at some of the others. One always wonders to what extent they are related and where did they come from. The work presented on these pages has been a collaboration and these researchers are thanked in the various web pages where they contributed. The caveat is this. No attempt is made to be exhaustive. If the first Smith settler and their family can be identified then it is left to others to try to connect later generations into these earlier families. Of course new Smith settlers were arriving over time to muddy the waters. In many ways it is easier to study the loyalists and earliest settlers as they left petitions and are shown in the land grant books. If they left a will then all the better. Later generations born from 1800 to 1830 are very hard to study since birth and marriage records are very scarce and often these are the grandchildren of loyalists who usually did not petition for land. It can be very challenging to figure out who is who. |
| After James Smith, I was drawn by others to identify
the John Smith who ended up on Lot 3, Con 2, Sidney. This lot was
granted to James Smith Esq and he sold it in 1803. In 1812, it was
purchased by another John Smith. This John Smith became John J Smith in
the record. There were other John Smiths so I lumped them all together
in one web page. Margaret Meyers, dau. of Leonard Meyers married a John Smith of Sidney. Where does he fit in? This is still not answered but we think this John Smith might be a son of George Smith of Lot 15, con 1, Sidney so the Margaret Meyers research is presented on the George Smith web page. Of course we had to find out more about George and it is now known that he is the son of Jacob [Schmidt] Smith who settled first in Fredericksburgh and later came to Sidney. Then there was Betsy Lake, daughter of Nicholas Lake who I had already researched, who petitioned as Betsy Smith. Who was her husband. Many feel it is Richard Smith so Richard became the subject of another web page. On it goes. It is quite endless. There is a Michael Smith who in the Quebec Land Book entry was granted lot 20, con 2, Sydney in 1790. And a Catherine Smith got Lot 20, Con 3 - is she related to Michael? And how about William Smith who was granted lot 16, Con 1, Sidney, right beside Jacob Smith, father of George. Another puzzle thrown into the mix is a Mary Smith "of the pioneer Smith family" who married James Knox. Notes on this are on the John Smith web page. She has not been placed in a family yet. There are many open questions. Maybe I will get drawn to them as well. Better yet, maybe there are researchers who know a great deal about some of these folks and have much to share. Your help is always welcome. I will close by adding that I am not a Smith descendant but what the heck, it is fun. |
Other bits that come my way. Smith, Henry Dr. -1867, (Belleville) Dr. Henry Smith was one of the earliest physicians to reside in the area; when he arrived in 1817 the only other doctor was Dr. Hayden in Corbyville. He resided in Belleville for half a century and was one of the oldest residents when he died. Dr. Smith died on August 10, 1867 aged 81. Source: Email from Mary Lynch, Aug 9/12 UEL SMITH's SMITH, DANIEL, SOPHIASBURG, PR EDWARD, Con 1 WEST GREEN'S POINT, lot 29, acres 50 SMITH, DAVID, AMELIASBURG, PREDWARD, Con 7, lot 9, 100 SMITH, GEORGE, FREDERICKSBURG, LENNOX, Con 5, lot 15, 100 SMITH, HENRY, FREDERICKSBURG, LENNOX,Con 3, lot 19, 100 SMITH, HENRY, SOPHIASBURG, PR EDWARD, 1 WEST GREEN'S POINT , lot 42, 50 SMITH, JACOB, FREDERICKSBURG, LENNOX,Con 3, lot 25, 100 SMITH, JACOB GEORGE, SIDNEY, HASTINGS, Con 1, lot 15, 200 SMITH, JACOB GEORGE, SIDNEY, HASTINGS, Con 2, lot 15, 200 SMITH, JOHN, FREDERICKSBURG, LENNOX, Con 3, lot 23, 200 SMITH, JOHN, THURLOW, HASTINGS, Con 1, lot 23, 200 SMITH, JOHN, THURLOW, HASTINGS, Con 2, lot 23, 200 Source: emailed from Virginia Hannay, from UEL website, Apr 2013 |