“Record of the Smith Family Descended from John Smith” by Joseph Smith Harris meticulously chronicles the lineage and historical movements of the Smith family, originating from John Smith, born in 1655 in County Monaghan, Ireland. This comprehensive book spans several centuries, documenting the descendants’ journey from Ireland to the United States and their eventual settlement in Uwchlan, Chester County, Pennsylvania, emphasizing the genealogical continuity and historical significance of the family’s legacy.
The following pages contain the history of the descendants of John Smith, born in Ireland in 1686, died in Uwchlan, Chester County, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1765; and his wife, Susanna, born in Ireland in 1691, died in Uwchlan, Chester County, Pennsylvania, December 24, 1767.
The inquest really goes a little further back, to John Smith, born about 1655, who never left Ireland, but of whose children, three came to America, and are known to us. Of the second child, Mary Smith, who married William Fulton, some record is preserved for four generations, her family record ceasing, so far as it is hereinafter disclosed, with her great-great-grand-children. The descendants of the younger brother, Joseph Smith, are followed for three generations, and cease with his great-grand-children.
But the two younger members of the family who came to this country are merely introduced herein to connect them with John Smith, their older brother, and to give to any one who wishes to follow out the history of those families a start where the traditions may be a little blind.
It will be seen that, of the fifteen children of John and Susanna Smith, who were mostly born in America, and are herein called Generation XVI, four persons are unnamed; two more, Jacob and Samuel, did not marry, and of five more, John, Abraham, Isaac, Elizabeth and Susanna, there have found no record coming down to the present time; this account is therefore largely of the descendants of the remaining children, James, Robert, Mary and Sarah; and of these, the oldest, James, has not left much record, so that the story hereinafter told concerns chiefly at the present time the descendants of the three remaining children, Robert, Mary and Sarah. In the last Generation that has approached completion, XXI, which contains 848 names, 11 of them are descended from James Smith; 558 from Robert Smith; 254 from Mary Smith, and 25 from Sarah Smith, so that the record is largely of the families of Robert and Mary Smith.
Several causes may be assigned for this marked variation in the number of recorded descendants. Six of the original fifteen are supposed to have died un-married, the only doubt being in the case of Jacob, of whom it is thought by some persons that there may have been descendants, he having gone West in early life. The record is too obscure to follow; at all events, there are no descendants of his recorded in this place. Isaac’s family is known to have run out with his son Edward. The families of John, Abraham and Elizabeth probably removed to the South or West, and no trace of them remains, while the family of Susanna seems to have left Chester county.
The family of Robert is the best known of all the children of John Smith, and they have been traced up most completely; and the family of Mary have been the next most carefully traced, though they have scattered through the Southwest, and more of them, perchance, are missing.
The net result is that we have a pretty full history of these two children’s descendants, and the rest are fragmentary and partial, James’ descendants being but few, and Sarah’s but in-numerous, though they, too, are scattered, and have not all been found.
The record may be said to be fairly full down to the XIX Generation, the births in which ran from XIX 12, born in 1807 to XIX 248, born in 1866, being mostly born from 1820 to 1860. These are now all people of adult years, and were ready to give some details about themselves; but after that time dates of birth became more difficult to secure, and had to be omitted in many cases. After that Generation the details are more meager, many persons who were applied to failing to give what was necessary, and some showing unwillingness to contribute much information.
The net result that has been achieved is to link the present Smith family to the earliest records now known, and to trace a number of them so far down that each can take it up for himself, if he wishes to continue the search further.
Pains have been taken to get as much information as possible in regard to everybody whose name has been mentioned in the record, but the fullness of the account in some cases, compared with the slightness in others, will show the different accessibility of the information desired. Several persons took up the search quite willingly, and pursued it zealously, but in general it was more sparingly followed, and with much less success.
There will probably be some errors in the dates given, though care was taken to get correct ones. Family records have not been kept in many cases, and several of the existing dates are somewhat conflicting.
The residences of the various persons named are only approximately accurate, as many of them may have removed elsewhere by the present time.
Let it be understood that the purpose of this publication was chiefly to bring together what was gathered then, and to let it be printed before it was forgotten.
Notes About Record of the Smith family descended from John Smith
- No Table of Contents
- Tight margin in many pages
- No index
Major Surnames found in Record of the Smith family descended from John Smith
Armstrong, Boyd, Bull, Cochran, Correy, Creswell, Cunningham, Dickey, Fleming, Fulton, Graham, Grier, Hubbard, Kennedy, Lewis, Livingston, Maxwell, McClenachan, McMechin, Morris, Neely, Pennington, Porter, Russell, Smith, Stanley, Thompson, Vaughn, White, Whiteside, and Wilson.
