Archive for the ‘Smith Genealogy’ Category

by Sherry Stocking Kline
written October 13, 2009

George W. Smith was my great-uncle, though I hadn’t a clue who he was or even that he existed until I read a biography that was published about George, his Civil War Service, his marriage, and his family, including several generations.

George W. Smith - Caney Fork Baptist Church Cemetery - Temple Hill, KYexisted until I was doing genealogy research on my mother's Jones' family and ran into a biography that someone had published in a book.

When I read it I was pretty sure he was ‘kin’ and research proved that to be the case.

I owe the person who put the biography into the book a huge debt of gratitude, because his sister, my great-grandmother, Martha Ellen Smith (a twin) married my great-grandfather, Willis Washington Jones.  And if there’s anything more difficult than locating a Jones’ needle in a haystack, it’s locating one who married a Smith!

The stone I photographed as his wife, and that I am uploading here, appears to be a second wife of George W., though I have not verified that.

I have not gone back to Barren County to finish sorting out all the many threads I still have hanging, though I need to, as perhaps one thread or another will lead me over or through my brick wall, which is, who is the father of Willis Washington Jones?

69 - Lucy Smith, Wife of George W. Smith, buried in Caney Fork Baptist Cemetery, Temple Hill, Barren County, KY

The following is George’s family’s biography:

BOOK – BARREN COUNTY KY Genealogy & Biography
Vol II Editor Thomas Westerfield
Genealogical Reference Co
P.O. Box 1554
Owensboro, KY 42301

GEORGE W. SMITH was born in Sullivan county, Tenn.,  on the 17th of February, 1840.  His father, Charles A. Smith, is also a native of Sullivan County, Tenn., born March 1, 1818.

He married Miss Virginia Hawley, whose parents were Virginians, and who died in the year 1872, leaving eight children – four sons and four daughters – of whom five are yet living, George W. Being the oldest survivor; after him follow Sarah A. (Smith), Nancy (Harrison), Mary (Foster) and Martha (Jones).

Charles A. Smith has followed farming during most of his life, in connection with which he worked at the blacksmith’s trade; he is a resident of Barren County; his age about sixty-seven years; he is hale and stout and seems to have lost but little of the vigor of former years.  He is a son of Calvin Smith, of North Carolina, who was of Welsh extraction, and was married to a Miss Allen, a distant relative of Col. Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame.

Calvin Smith’s father was a veteran of the war of 1776, and held the rank of captain.  James Hawley, the father of Mrs. Charles A. Smith, was of French descent and belongs to one of the highly respected families of Virginia.  He was a teacher by profession, and later in life a farmer.  His father, Francis Hawley, was a Virginian, and served in the war of the Revolution.

George W. Smith was reared on a farm and received a good common school education.  In 1861 he enlisted in Company E., Ninth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, Federal, and served until December, 1864, rising to the rank of sergeant; he was engaged in the battles of Perryville; Stone River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Dalton, Kennesaw, Lost Mountain, Resaca, Atlanta and Jonesboro.

After he returned home, with the small capital of $600 he began farming, and through industry and perseverance, he is now the proprietor of 230 acres of good land.  His farm is in good condition, Well kept and improved, with good buildings and orchard of 1500 trees.

He was married, on the 8th of November, 1866, to Miss Julia Harrison, of Barren County.  To this union have been born eleven children:  Anna D., Martha R., Charles S., Horace G., Lulu, Reuben, Daisy, Garfield, Arthur, Mary P. And Ora.  Mr. Smith is a member of the Baptist Church.  Mrs. Smith holds to the Methodist faith.

Her parents,  Reuben and Martha (Sanders) Harrison, were of English parentage, and by birth Virginians.  Politically Mr. Smith is a Republican, but does not engage actively in politics.

54 - Caney Fork Baptist Church - Temple Hill, KY, Barren County

58 - Caney Fork Baptist Church - Temple Hill, Barren County, KY

Oops! In my Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post I listed this church as the Temple Hill Baptist Church. I did not check my notes before making this post, and it wasn’t until I looked at this church sign that I went “Wooops!”  So I will make the changes on my Saturday post as well!  We had a wonderful time “cemetery stomping” with our new cousins, Dennis and Nancy (Bertram) Bush here.

The following is from Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musings website!  Thank you, Randy!

Yes, it’s Saturday Night, and time for some Genealogy Fun!

My friend, Leland Meitzler, posted his Top Ten list of “Most Satisfying Genealogy Events” yesterday – and it’s a good list – please read it and respond to it if you want to.

For today’s SNGF, if you choose to participate (cue the Mission Impossible music!), please:

1) Tell us about one (or more) “Satisfying Genealogy Moments” from your family history and genealogy research. What was it, and how did it make you feel? You can make a Top Ten list if you want to!

2) Write your own blog post, or make a comment on this post, or make a comment on Facebook, and tell us about your “moment in time.”

The Day the Genealogy Serendipity Angels Smiled!
by Sherry Stocking Kline, October 10, 2009

My Number One favorite all-time Genealogy Experience was one of those “ahhh moments” when Serendipity and the Angels smiled on us.

It was July of 2005, and my husband and I were leaving soon to visit our son in Illinois, and we were taking my mom who was 93 at the time, to Barren County, Kentucky for a day or two and try to locate my Mom’s dad’s childhood home.

I did some research before I left. I re-checked on library hours, wrote down addresses, packed up a notebook (and laptop), and called the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center in Glasgow, Kentucky to talk to the wonderfully helpful woman I had spoken with on a previous occasion.

I nearly hung up the phone…

I nearly hung up the phone when I learned that the woman who had been so warm and friendly before was not working.

That would have been a mistake.

I sighed to myself,  decided to take a chance, re-state my facts and share my story with the woman who had answered the phone.

“I’m looking for information,” I said, “about my great-grandfather and great-grandmother, Willis Washington Jones and his wife, Martha Ellen Smith and her parents, Charles and Virginia Hawley Smith.”

There Was Dead Silence…

There was dead silence for at least three heartbeats.

And then she said (and here I still get goosebumps) “Charles and Virginia Hawley Smith are my great-great grandparents, too.”

“Oh. My. Gosh.” I thought.

“Hello, cousin!” was my astonished reply. The genealogical angels had not deserted me; they had given me a wonderful gift!

My brand-new cousin’s name was Nancy Bertram Bush, she was ‘into’ genealogy, and she invited us to give her a call when we got to Glasgow.

A couple of weeks later, we were in Glasgow. I stopped at the courthouse, looked up some land records, and learned more about my great-great grandfather Smith’s land holdings.

When we arrived at the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, I gave Nancy another call and we were in luck, she was home.

Nancy Had a Gift for Mother…

She hurried over to the Center to meet us, (and a nicer new cousin I can’t imagine meeting). She brought along a treasure, a photograph of my mother’s grandparents (complete with the names) that had been mailed back to the family from Kansas and presented it to my mom.

29 - Nancy Bertram Bush, standing and Dorothy Jones Stocking Barry seated.

Mom had never seen photographs of her grandparents and when we brought the photograph home, we were able to identify Willis and his wife Martha in two other photographs that we had.

Nancy offered to take us around Barren County with her husband to try to locate the former home of Willis and Martha Ellen. We went up hill and down dale, we stopped at one family farmstead that had Smith family buried there, and we tramped through tall grass to record names and take photographs, but this was not our destination.

Our next stop proved to be the home of Charles and Virginia Hawley Smith, and we were able to visit with the family and see the land and outbuildings, some of which might have actually been standing during Charles & Virginia’s time.

The Family Cemetery Had Been Returned to Farmland…

Thanks to researching cemetery books we already knew that their family cemetery had been returned to farm land, which was disappointing.

66 - L - R: Nancy Bertram Bush, Norman and Sherry Stocking Kline, Dennis Bush pay respects to family members at the Caney Fork Baptist Church, Temple Hill, Barren County, Kentucky

Next we stopped at the Caney Fork Baptist Church and cemetery and walked through the cemetery and paid our respects to cousins, great-aunts and great-uncles.

When we watched my mother get out of the car and in her words “stand on the land her father had played on as a child” and look around and see “where he came from,” it was a meaningful moment for us all.

We were grateful we were able to help her do this.

Dorothy Barry standing by car next to the Caney Fork Baptist Church & Cemetery - Temple Hill, Barren County, Kentucky

Thank You, Cousin, Nancy…

It was with deep sadness that we received word about two years ago that our new-found cousin, Nancy Bertram Bush, had suffered a heart attack and passed away.

Thank you for a wonderful Genealogical Moment in Time, cousin Nancy.