Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Two Generations of Smith Soldiers, Revolutionary and War of 1812


     Phoebe Lovett Goldsberry’s mother was Mary Ann “Polly” Smith, daughter of an Ohio pioneer and granddaughter of a Revolutionary War veteran.  Mary Ann was born August 31, 1806 in Harrison County, Virginia, which is now West Virginia.  She died in 1891 and is buried in Zion Cemetery, close to Shade, Athens County, Ohio.
 
 
     Mary Ann's parents, John Smith and Elizabeth Parsons Smith, moved within a few years after her birth to the new state of Ohio.  John Smith took ownership of a plat of land in 1805, but Polly’s birth is recorded in Virginia in 1806.  They settled in Letart Township in Meigs County.  
John Smith's plat is in the upper left corner.
 
     John must have served in the War of 1812, because Elizabeth was paid a pension based on his service in Captain Walker’s Company. 
 
 
     John died in 1832, and Elizabeth in 1857.  Both are buried in the Smith Cemetery in rural Meigs County.  I hope to visit this cemetery soon!
 
 

     John was the son of a Revolutionary War soldier and Indian scout, Mark Smith.  Mark was born October 24, 1755 in Virginia.  A page in the Smith Family Bible, now owned by Mrs. M.T. Smith in Lost Creek, WV, states that Mark Smith “served under Col. George Washington in the battle that ended the Revolutionary War by the surrender of Cornwallis at York Town.”  He was approved for a pension in 1832 for two years’ service, but was dropped in 1835 when new legislation demanded proof of service, and he could not provide proof of more than six months’ service.  He stated he had worked as an Indian spy for two years, but he could not remember if it was during the dates of the Revolution or before. 
 
 
     He moved his family to Lewis County in 1805 to an area that became known as Smith’s Run.  He is buried, with a military marker, off Route 5 in Lewis County, WV.
 
 

     Mark’s father was Peter Smith II, born in Virginia about 1731.  Peter’s father was Peter Smith I, born in Germany July 14, 1706.  He arrived in America on a ship named the “Pennsylvania Merchant,” having boarded in the Netherlands.
 

 

 

Sources:
Descendants of Peter Smith, available on hackerscreek.com
Lewis County, Her People and Places 

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