william-h-smith-cropped-photo

Smith, William Henry

Birth Name Smith, William Henry
Gramps ID I5617
Gender male
Age at Death 86 years, 4 months, 9 days

Events

Event Date Place Description
Sources Notes
Birth 1850-09-07 York Cty, Pennsylvania, USA  
 
Census 1900 Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
1a
Census 1910 Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
2a
Census 1920 Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
3a
Census 1930 Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
4a
Death 1937-01-16 Huntington, Huntington Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
 
Burial   Union Cemetery, Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
 

Families

    Family of Smith, William Henry and Kohr, Sarah Magdalena [F1815]
Married Wife Kohr, Sarah Magdalena [I1780] ( * 1861-06-19 + 1926-04-01 )
   
Event Date Place Description
Sources Notes
Marriage 1887-03-30 Huntington Cty, Indiana, USA  
5a
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Smith, Kenneth [I5618]1890-06-021972-11-22
Smith, Curtis [I5619]1892-12-011970
Smith, Clayton [I5621]18961897-08-22

Media

william-h-smith-cropped-photo

william-h-smith-cropped-photo
william-h-smith-unknown-date

william-h-smith-unknown-date
william-h-smith-sarah-magdalena-kohr-with-son-kenneth-approx-1892

william-h-smith-sarah-magdalena-kohr-with-son-kenneth-approx-1892
william-h-smith-sarah-magdalena-kohr-with-sons-kenneth-and-curtis-approx-1906

william-h-smith-sarah-magdalena-kohr-with-sons-kenneth-and-curtis-approx-1906
brothers-william-h-smith-jacob-smith-joseph-smith-luther-smith-unknown-date

brothers-william-h-smith-jacob-smith-joseph-smith-luther-smith-unknown-date

Narrative

Note: William H. Smith's possible relationship to other Huntington Cty, Indiana Smith families

While I haven't found any specific note or reference within her notes, Jane Anne Thomas had organized the photos and files for William H. Smith and his wife Sarah Magdalena "Maggie" (Kohr) Smith (half-sister to Jane Anne's grandfather, Lewis S. Thomas) with those for the extended family of Rosanna (Smith) Thomas (wife of the aforementioned Lewis). The grouping seemed to imply that William was a blood relative of Rosanna's, but I've not yet discovered the exact link, if any. Rosanna's father was Jeremiah W. Smith, who was only four years older than William, possibly placing the two of them within the same generation.

William's father was Alexander H. Smith, a native of Pennsylvania and specifically a resident of York Cty, Pennsylvania. All of the known children of Alexander (and wife Sophia) were born in Pennsylvania except for the youngest (Luther), who was born in Indiana in 1862. This suggests that the family didn't arrive in Indiana until at least after the birth of the next youngest sibling (Joseph) around 1855, and this seems to line up with the census records I can find (1850 and 1860 US Censuses, North Cordorus Twp, York Cty, Pennsylvania). In the 1870 US Census, the family was listed in Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana; I've not found any records placing this family in Morrow Cty, Ohio at any point.

This is in some contrast to the other Smith families of Huntington Cty, Indiana - specifically those of Henry S. Smith (Jeremiah Smith's father) and Adam Smith (a possible brother of Henry S. Smith). These families heralded from Pennsylvania originally, but by 1850 both families had relocated to Morrow Cty, Ohio, where they remained for many years before moving to Union Twp, Huntington Cty, Indiana sometime prior to 1870.

If Alexander was related to one or both of these men (Henry S. or Adam), I could not say whether he was more likely a sibling or a cousin. Henry was the eldest of the three (b. 1817), while Adam was born about six years later and Alexander another two years after that. Along this line of reasoning, one question that comes up is why the elder two would have moved to Ohio while the youngest of the three never seems to have left Pennsylvania before moving to Indiana; this would seem to call into question the assumption of a relationship, but the three households ending up in the same township within a short handful of years of each other does seem to strain coincidence. I have to admit, though, that the extremely common surname of "Smith" makes the possibility of a coincidence more likely than a more unique surname would.

Pedigree

    1. Smith, William Henry
      1. Kohr, Sarah Magdalena [I1780]
        1. Smith, Kenneth [I5618]
        2. Smith, Curtis [I5619]
        3. Smith, Clayton [I5621]

Source References

  1. US Census of 1900 [S0039]
      • Date: 1900
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM1R-L85 : accessed 23 February 2016), Sarah M Smith in household of William C Smith, Union Township, Huntington, Indiana, United States; citing sheet 1A, family 11, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,240,378.

        Event Year 1900
        Event Place Union Township, Huntington, Indiana, United States
        William C Smith Head M 50 Pennsylvania
        Sarah M Smith Wife F 39 Indiana
        Kenneth Smith Son M 10 Indiana
        Curtis Smith Son M 8 Indiana
        Eva M Fulton Servant F 12 Indiana
        Clarence Smith Servant M 22 Indiana

  2. US Census of 1910 [S0040]
      • Date: 1910
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKPQ-9QV : accessed 23 February 2016), Sarah M Smith in household of William H Smith, Union, Huntington, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 108, sheet 7B, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,374,369.

        Event Date 1910
        Event Place Union, Huntington, Indiana, United States
        William H Smith Head M 59 Pennsylvania
        Sarah M Smith Wife F 48 Indiana
        Kenneth Smith Son M 19 Indiana
        Curtis Smith Son M 17 Indiana

  3. US Census of 1920 [S0041]
      • Date: 1920
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF7V-XLC : accessed 23 February 2016), Magdalena S Smith in household of William H Smith, Union, Huntington, Indiana, United States; citing sheet 2B, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,437.

        Event Date 1920
        Event Place Union, Huntington, Indiana, United States
        William H Smith Head M 69 Pennsylvania
        Magdalena S Smith Wife F 58 Indiana
        Kenneth E Smith Son M 28 Indiana

  4. US Census of 1930 [S0042]
      • Date: 1930
      • Citation:

        "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHMB-D6W : accessed 23 February 2016), Kenneth Smith in entry for William H Smith, 1930.

        Event Date 1930
        Event Place Union, Huntington, Indiana, United States
        William H Smith Head M 79 Pennsylvania
        Kenneth Smith Son M 40 Indiana
        Rosetta Myers Servant F 70 Indiana

  5. Indiana, Marriages, 1811-2007 [S0302]
      • Confidence: High
      • Citation:

        "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXJ3-XG5 : accessed 23 February 2016), Wm N Smith and Sarah M Kohr, 1887.