Please find our groups WikiTree project at the following link:

FTDNA Group for Smiths ALL R-M269-9
Update: the group name has been changed due to objection from the Smiths ALL Project admin at FTDNA. It is now “DNA Group for Smiths R-M269-9”.

It was never my intent to misrepresent who I was or the nature of this effort I’ve created on WikiTree.

Discussions are ongoing with Family Tree DNA to resolve this now unnecessarily acrimonious dispute with the lead Smiths ALL Project admin. Family Tree DNA has been very helpful.

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Space:DNA_Group_R-M269-9

That is all!

– Chris

First of all, to the Russian hackers who are trying to steal credit card numbers and spread malware by copying my blog, you can shove right off.

If you see information from my blog on any “.ru” domains, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINKS. I see one page in Google results for “school-academic.net.ru”. These are bad faith, malicious actors. A shame we have to put up with such nonsense.

Further, please be aware that the content on this page is protected by the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Any and all attempts to pilfer any content of this blog, especially unique information derived from my own research, without expressed written permission from myself (wet ink, not electronic), will be met with a legal response and a DMCA takedown notice.

My use of these images from their various sources falls under Fair Use Doctrine and where applicable permission to use unique works has been granted by their creator.

Ok, to business.

I previously had a write up about Andrew Smith and Hannah Bracken and, after re-reading it, decided I needed to better document my findings.

My search for the father of my 4th great-grandfather, Isaac Smith who married Nancy Hendricks picks up in 1809 Woodford County, Kentucky.

This marriage record shows that Coonrod Hendricks, Isaac’s new father-in-law, was his bondsman for his marriage to Nancy, Coonrod’s daughter.

There is a second half to this document. I am finding it difficult to locate on Ancestry.com at the moment, but luckily I have a backup.

This affadavit is the first time we encounter Andrew Smith, the father of Isaac, Samuel, and probably Sally Smith.

Before we look at the next record, which is only supplementary in the discussion of Andrew, we need to understand who was among Coonrod Hendricks’ family. His wife was Julia Ann Rice, daughter of William Rice and Nancy Williams. They were from Caswell Co, NC.

The following note from a William Rice to Capt. John McKinney states that he approves of the marriage of Elizabeth Rice, his daughter, to a Samuel Smith.

We see that Peter Duncan was a witness to this affidavit. We also see a “Samuel Rice”. Isaac named one of his sons “Samuel Rice Smith”. This could have been an homage to his brother, could have been for this Samuel Rice. I do not know. Could be both.

So who was Peter Duncan? He was a neighbor to Isaac Smith.

The following shows how closely Peter Duncan lived to Isaac Smith and Nancy Hendricks, and their proximity to the family of KY Militia General and Sherriff of Rockcastle County, Kentucky (SRC) William Smith.

William’s son Col. Elisha Smith was an attorney in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle Co, KY. He was hired by Henry Smith of 1810 Knox Co, KY (who married Elizabeth Ledford) to manage his Revolutionary War pension application. It is this DNA match to Henry Smith that allows us to narrow in our search for the origins of Andrew’s father, an old Robert Smith (b. c 1730) I will provide information on later in this article. Edit: I’m going to leave the DNA info up for refernce. Please be aware we are re-examining it.

Side note: Our search takes us to Brunswick and Greensville Co, VA near the families of Roger Smith m. Mary Davis whose son Eaids Smith had a daughter Mary who married Captain Andrew Jeter. Henry and his brothers enlisted under Andrew Jeter. Mary’s sister Olive Smith married Nathaniel Harrison, and their daughter Olive Harrison married Stephen Smith, son of Cuthbert Smith, brother of Josiah Smith, and they were sons of William Smith and Anne Isham. These families lived in Meherrin Parish on or near the Occoneechee Swamp and Fountains Creek c. 1735-1780. Additionally, unpublished research of mine autosomally links descendants of Josiah Smith m. Elizabeth Collier to descendants of a yDNA matched line in our group of Stephen Smith m. Nancy Rainwater. Given that Fountains Creek is where an old Nicholas Smith m. Elizabeth Flood lived, and the fact that we have an old Nicholas Smith (b. c. 1730) m. Polly Burke in our yDNA group, it is a strong possibility that my Smith group belongs to the Smith/Flood family. I’m still not completely clear about the papertrails, however.

Descendant of Isaac and Nancy have a very strong autosomal DNA connection to descendants of Henry. This was identified by comparing matches to descendants of John Madison Spurlock whose mother Elizabeth Smith was likely related to the Elizabeth Smith who married John Shelton, Jr in Grainger Co, TN.

Update: 31 Oct 2021 – While Henry did appear to know Col. Elisha Smith, a further in-depth examination of the paper records shows that the best we can say at this point is that Henry Smith lived up river at Poor Fork from William Spurlock on Martins Fork [RevWar pension app].

I will be making a new blog post about my examination of the family of John Shelton, Jr. who was associated with the family of John Spurlock who married Sarah Ann Mason. John Shelton, Jr married an Elizabeth Smith on 19 March 1800 in Grainger, Co, TN. Based upon further autosomal analysis, It appears that the two Elizabeth Smiths in the story were likely related, and the families intermarried.

There is also some information I want to cover regarding Jonathan Smith of Poor Fork.

While the connection to Henry is now less immediate, I still believe we have identified old Robert Smith of St. Mathew’s Parish, Orange Co, NC in the Meherrin Parish area in Brunswick Co, VA.

Based on land transaction records, William would have lived in the area known as Roundstone Fork and Skagg’s Creek along the Rockcastle River in Rockcastle Co, KY. I have those records elsewhere on my blog.

There is a bit to unpack here.

The Moses McClure is listed as 26-44 years old. This puts his birthyear at around 1766-1784. This is likely the brother of Halbert McClure who purchased the Buckner grant in 1833. We find that William’s son Thomas J. Smith, a Deputy Sherriff of the county, conveyed the claim of 10,000 acres of land lying in the county of Rockcastle on the waters of Rockcastle River, purchased for $15, to Holbert McClure. Sounds like a good deal.

It is because of this information, and other items I will later discuss, have I speculated that Buckner Smith belongs to our Smith group, but that’s for another posting.

The Phillip and Middleton Singleton who were neighbors to Isaac Smith were related to William’s first wife, Elizabeth Singleton, daughter of Col. Richard Singleton of the Battle of Kings Mountain and his first wife Anne Whitesides. This family name, Whitesides, will become more relevant later on.

We see Peter Duncan living near Hethey or Hetty Hall. She is highlighted because she is mentioned in some of the land transactions with William as well. These can be found on my other pages pertaining to Rockcastle County.

Ok, getting back on track here…

This image is of a marriage index for 1809 Woodford Co, KY. The fourth line is Samuel and Elizabeth. At the bottom on the last line we see a “John McMinnimy” who married a Sally Smith. This was likely John C. McMinnimy, son of Ensign John McMinnimy of the Caswell County Regiment (Col. William Moore).

With the previously presented information, I am now able to show you how we can locate Andrew Smith before 1809.

Among the Orange County, North Carolina records, we find references to an Ensign John McMinnimy who served in the Caswell County Regiment.

ODB 8/241 Thomas Mullhollan to Thomas Bird, 25 Dec 1795, 364 acres on waters of Back Creek, adj Jacob Huggins, Andrew Smith, Walker, Samuel Whltsell, McMinimy, John Reeves.

I would like to thank Mark Chilton for writing the AMAZING book “The Land Grant Atlas of Old Orange County – Volume II – Saxapahaw Old Fields“. The following cropped image was taken from it’s pages, with permission. Buy a copy. No, seriously. Do it.

I have found other researchers that show the Whitsett family is the same as the Whitesides family.

June 10, 1799: Samuel Whittsides (sic); warrant issued, entered [recorded] March 1794, Book no. 101, pg. 284; 190 acres on Back Creek adjacent John McMinnemy, Richard Cope, George Boyd, William Bradford and Samuel’s own line. Deed states land was adjacent John Reeves, Boyd, Bradford, McMinnemy, Thos. Linch’s corner, Boyd’s corner. (Entry 2392, Grant 1517, and Deed Book 10, pg. 42)

With these land records, we can demonstrates there was a Whitesides and a McMinnimy family in the immediate vicinity of an Andrew Smith.

These men, William Smith, Andrew Smith, and John Smith, were sons of old Robert Smith of St. Mathew’s Parish. Their brother Robert Smith (Jr or II?) married Elizabeth C. McMunn.

I believe, based upon a name on old Robert Smith’s will, we can link him to a Joseph and Neil McCafferty, and he was related to the Holbert McClure previously discussed in the Rockcastle Co, KY records. This is a very obscure and poorly documented relationship, however. Please verify it yourself.

Additional supporting information for this being the correct Andrew Smith is the fact that the yDNA matched Smith line of Bennett Smith of McNairy Co, TN has on his estate record a J.F. Jopling. This was James Francis Jopling, son of John Sutton Jopling. John was a son of Daniel Jopling. Daniel Jopling had a brother, William Jopling. William had a daughter Catherine Jopling who married a… Thomas Smith. Thomas and Catherine were wed in 1814 in Caswell County, North Carolina. I believe Thomas served under Ensign John McMinnimy along with Jeptha Rice.

On the marriage record of Thomas Smith and Catherine Jopling were bondsman John Fitch and witness Alexander Murphey.

John Fitch was a son of Thomas Rosewell Fitch who married a “Sarah Elizabeth Bird”. I put her name in quotes because she appears to be referred to as both Sarah and Elizabeth depending on which family tree you examine. The Fitches lived off to the west of Andrew and his brothers.

Sarah Bird was a daughter of James Bird who had a son Empson Bird. It is my belief that James Bird was a descendant of an older Thomas Bird who married a Sarah Empson, a daughter of a Charles Empson. The Robert Bird living next to Andrew Smith was related to the family of Empson Bird.

Additionally, we have a 67/67 yDNA match with the line of William Smith m. Mary Powell. His family is documented as having lived in Caswell Co (previously Orange Co), NC on Hogan’s Creek before they moved to Georgia. William’s parents were Nicholas Smith m. Polly Burke.

I believe I have set out very clear connections between Isaac Smith of 1809 Woodford Co, KY and Andrew Smith of 1770-1780’s Orange Co, NC.

Speculation currently leads to the hypothesis that Isaac’s mother was Hanna Bracken, but this has not been proven.

-Chris

In the spirit of accuracy, I will be taking down some of my earliest pages where I mused about the significance of some information I had happened across. I will redo the “Andrew Smith and Hannah Bracken” page as my understanding of the family groups is now much clearer.

I think I will eventually make a sort of table of contents with explanations. It’s time to tidy up this notebook of mine.

-Chris

This is going to be a quick and simple post to house the link to the book where I found extensive records about the Smith/Snelson/Anderson family of Hanover Co, VA.

Christopher Smith m. Catherine Snelson, parents of Ambrose Joshua Smith.

Virginia Migrations – Hanover County

By Eugenia G. Glazebrook, Preston G. Glazebrook

These Smiths appears to have been related to a John Smith of Gould Hill, Hanover County, Virginia.

I believe the information published in SmithsWorldWide.org group R-M269-8 is incorrect, specifically this tree of Brooke Smith’s (trace his Smith line back to the Smith/Snelson family and you’ll find Smith/Fairbanks and Smith/Townley affixed, in my opinion, incorrectly). I also find that Christopher Smith’s father was a Charles Smith based on the court records. Brooke insists that Christopher’s father was another Christopher Smith and I believe this to be errant.

That is all.

-Chris

Update: Will book 1 appears to be appended to the end of the Index image set. It’s not available in the drop down menu. It starts on slide 539/813, right page. They should put will book 1 in it’s own group.

Update2: I dove in again this evening and found the will records mostly useable. There were still a few hiccups with the Ancestry image display tool not responding to mouse clicks periodically, but those were easily resolved by refreshing the page. I feel like I was able to find what I was looking for. Maybe something is working the way it should now? Maybe I have brain issues? Could be both.

FamilySearch.org also has these records:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/275016?availability=Family%20History%20Library

As my research has taken me into 1730-1750’s Brunswick Co, VA, I have been looking for quality primary records from this time and place.

I’ve found some quality source citations on WikiTree.com that referred to an image set on Ancestry.com internally titled:

“Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983”

Inside this record source is a Brunswick Co, VA book internally titled:

“General Index to Wills, Inventories, Or Sales, 1732-1948”

The volume labels in the slides describe the dataset as:

“Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Wills Etc, Vol. A, 1732-1948”
“Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Deeds, Vol. A, 1732 – 1881”
“Brunswick County Virginia, Deeds Wills Etc. No. 1, with Inventories & Accounts, 1732-1740”

The first thing to notice about these volumes is that you can not find them via a regular Card Catalog search on Ancestry.com (at least I haven’t been able to). I think I’ve discovered why (they’re digitally broken, kinda), but that’s just part of this story. I’ve also seen reports that these image sets have been taken down at sometime and then made available again. I do not believe these are searchable at the moment either.

The slide set is a total of 813 slides. Images 6, 133, and 537-539 are indices to the volumes. However, there are some bugs with this image set.

I’ve found that if you navigate with the filmstrip view, you will jump around the images out of sequence, and in one case it looked like it was a completely different image set. I do see the “Order Book, Vol 39, 1850-1868; Order Book, Vol 40, 1868-1872; Order Book, Vol 41, 1872-1875” follows slide 813, so that may be what I’m seeing. If you navigate these images, use only the left/right arrows in the main window, or directly enter the slide number.

This presents a challenge, however. The slide numbers are not easily linked to a specific page number of the volumes. This is what I hope to present on this page.

Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Wills Etc, Vol. A, 1732-1948

I have found that the index on image 6/813 refers to the Wills volume.

I have found that slides 59 (pp 128-129) to 70 (pp 156-157) are duplicates of 44 (pp 128-129) to 54 (pp 156-157).

Image 54 is the end of the K index and 55 is the TBC slide.

It appears this first volume was split into two slide sets and a “To be continued” slide was a place holder for where the following “Continued” slide picks up with image 56.

Here are the slide number to page number mappings:

=======FILM/======
3/813 = “FILM NO. 513”
4/813 = “Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Wills Etc., Vol. A, 1732-1948”
6/813 = Index page numbers by letter
7/813 = 1 begin A index (use arrows in image and not filmstrip to navigate. there appears to be a bug).
9/813 = 4 end of A index, 5 blank
10/183 = 10 blank, 11 begin B index
14/813 = use arrows in image and not filmstrip to navigate. there appears to be a bug.
18/813 = 26, 27 end of B index
19/813 = can’t see pg numbers, begin C index
24/813 = end of C index
25/813 = begin D index
28/813 = 58, 59 end D index
29/813 = 66 blank, 67 begin E index
32/813 = 72, 73 end E index
33/813 = 92 begin F index
35/813 = 96 end F index
36/813 = 106 blank, 107 begin G index
39/813 = 112, 113 end G index
40/813 = 122 begin H index
48/813 = 138, 139 end H index
49/813 = 144 all of I index
50/813 = 148 begin J index
54/813 = 156 end J index, 157
55/813 = TBC
======duplicate/========
57/813 = “Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Wills Etc, Vol. A, 1732-1948”
59/813 = 128 duplicate partial H index?, 129
64/813 = 138, 139 end of duplicate partial H index
65/813 = 144 duplicate I index, 145 blank
66/813 = 148 begin duplicate J index
70/813 = 156 end J index, 157
======/duplicate========
71/813 = 164 blank, 165 begin K index
73/813 = 168, 169 end K index
74/813 = 180 begin L index
78/813 = 188 end L index, 189 blank
79/813 = 196 being M index, 197 blank
87/813 = 212 end M index, 213 blank
88/813 = 216 begin N index, 217 end N index
89/813 = 222 blank, 223 begin O index
90/813 = 224 end O index, 225 blank
91/813 = 230 blank, 231 begin P index
97/813 = 242 end P index, 243 blank
98/813 = 248 blank, 249 all of Q index
99/813 = 252 being R index
102/813 = 258, 259 end of R index
103/813 = 266 blank, 267 begin S index
111/813 = 282, 283 end of S index
113/813 = 288 begin T index, 289
116/813 = 296, 297 end T index
117/813 = 302 blank, 303 begin V index
118/813 = 304 end V index, 305 blank
119/813 = 308 blank, 309 begin W index
127/813 = 324 end of W index, 325 blank
128/813 = 326 blank, 327 all of Y index
129/813 = 328 all of Z index, film END

Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Deeds, Vol. A, 1732-1881

The index on 133/813 shows the page numbers for the Deeds volume. The issue with this is there are multiple index pages for the same letter. Each range contains unique information.

These page numbers refer to the number in the top left or right hand corner of the actual page image. Looks like there are around 790 pages.

=======/FILM======
130/813 = “FILM NO. JR 514”
131/813 = “Brunswick County Virginia, General Index to Deeds, Vol. A, 1732-1881”
133/813 = Index by page number range and letter. There are muliple page groups for the same letter.
134/813 = blank, 1 begin A index
142/813 = 16, 17 end of A index
things get confusing from here on down, and stay that way
143/813 = 20 begin J index? (says from page 309?, K index begins on 310), 21
146/813 = 26, end of previous J index, begins B index, 27
160/813 – started having issues navigating here, had to refresh page in browser
172/813 = 18, 79 end of B index
173/813 = 80 begin C index, 81
197/813 = 128, 129 end of C index
198/813 = 130 begin D index, 131
213/813 = 158, 159 end of D index
214/813 = 160 being E index, 161
223/813 = 178, 179 end of E index
224/813 = 180 begin F index, 181
231/813 = 194, 195 end of F index
232/813 = 196 blank, 197 additional D index begin
233/813 = 198 additional D index end, 199 blank
234/813 = 200 begin G index, 201
248/813 = 228, 229 end of G index
249/813 = 230 begin H index, 231
268/813 = 268, 269 end of H index
269/813 = 270, begin I index, 271
271/813 = 274, end I index, 275 being additional E index
272/813 = 276, 277 end additional E index
273/813 = 280, begin J index, 281
287/813 = 308, 209 end J index
288/813 = 310 begin K index, 311
295/813 = 324 end of K index, 325 begin L index
310/813 = 354 end L index, 355 begin M index
332/813 = 398, 399 end of M index
333/813 = 400 begin N index, 401
343/813 = 418, 419 end N index
344/813 = 420 begin O index, 421
348/813 = 428 end of O index, 429 begin additional M index
353/813 = 438 end of additional M index, 439 blank
354/813 = 440 begin P index, 441
376/813 = 484 end P index, 485 begin Q index
377/813 = 486 end Q index, all of an additional K index, 487
378/813 = 488 begin additional P index, 489
379/813 = 490, 491 end additional P index
380/813 = 492 begin additional C index, 493
381/813 = 494 end of C index, 495 begin R index
399/813 = 530, 531 end of R index (missing 532 and 533)
400/813 = 534 blank, 535 begin G index
401/537 = 536, end G index, 537 begin B index
407/813 = 548 end f B index, 549 blank
408/813 = 550 start of S index, 551
437/813 = 608, 609 end of S index
438/813 = 610 begin T index
464/813 = 662 end of T index, 663 blank (no U or V index?)
465/813 = 666 begin W index
466/813 = 668 end W index, 669 begin additional S index
469/813 = 674, 675 end additional S index
470/813 = 678 begin additional H index, 679 end additional H index
471/813 = 680 all of U index, 681 begin additional L index
475/813 = 688, 689 end of additional L index
476/813 = 690 begin V index, 691
479/813 = 696 end of V index, 697 blank
480/813 = 700 begin additional H index, 701
489/813 = 718, 719 end of additional H index
490/813 = 720 begin W index, 721
517/813 = 774 end of W index, 775 begin Y index
518/813 = 776 end of Y index, 777 blank
519/813 = 778 begin additional W index, 779
524/813 = 788, 789 end of additional W index
525/813 = 790 end of Z index, 791 begin H index
532/813 = 804 end H index, “END” slide

Brunswick County Virginia, Deeds Wills Etc. No. 1, with Inventories & Accounts, 1732-1740

This next set of images is pretty large. It is of original will and estate records from old Brunswick Co, VA.

The index images are done by individual name and there appear to be a very large number of documents.

The best I can suggest with this set is to carefully read the names in the index. The page numbers should correlate, but I have not independently verified this.

=======/FILM======
533/813 = “FILM NO. JR 515”
534/813 = “Brunswick County Virginia, Deeds Wills Etc. No. 1, with Inventories & Accounts, 1732-1740”
537/813 = Index image 1
538/813 = Index image 2
539/813 = Index image 3

Now, to actually put these indices to use and find the documents I want to examine. I may need to figure out if the volumes are labeled right in the Ancestry.com system. Something still doesn’t seem right.

For example, I have a copy of the Roger Smith d. 1735 Brunswick Co, VA will. He was Eadis Smith’s father. I see it spanned pages 246/247 in a volume, but I did not make a note of which volume this came from last time I found it. You would think I should be able to find it again, yes?

Looking at the index for the will book, I see on slide 103 on page 267 that Roger Smith’s will is in Deed Book 1, Folio (page) 246. Let’s see how hard it is to find this thing using the index.

At the top of the image viewer is an drop down menu.

For notes, the link I found for Roger’s will came from the sources here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-178190

This tinyurl takes me to Will Books, Vol 4-5, 1761-1795. Wait, didn’t he die in 1735?

Let’s look for will book 1. I can’t find it.

The only image set for this year is “Brunswick County Virginia, Order Book No. 1, 1732-1741”. Let’s see if we can find it here. I literally have the image file, but I can’t find Will Book 1 for some reason. Weird.

Interesting, the index for this book begins with C’s on 6/852, and those start at page 303. Something seems off.

He’s there:

So something is correct….

If Will Book 1 is missing, why was I able to find the image of old Roger Smith’s will?

Good luck!

-Chris

Updated: 10/3/2021 at 1:06 PM

Our Smith group is R-M269-9. Currently R-M269-4 claims the Shadrack Smiths of Wilson Co, TN.

There were at least 3 Shadrack Smiths in Wilson Co, TN in 1850, a grandfather (Sr., married a Nancy), his son Shadrack C. Smith (also married a Nancy), and a grandson, Shadrack J. Smith (too young to be Shadrach Smith of Benton Co, TN)

They are not able to be connected to the same Smith line as that of Shadrach Smith m. Celia Smith in Wake Co, NC.

Way back in 2014 our Smith yDNA group was matched to a descendant of Harvey Lee Smith of 1910 Benton Co, TN. His descendant was a 36/37 yDNA match to myself. A paper trail analysis revealed that he was a patrilineal descendant of Isaac B. Smith who married Mary (mnu). They lived in 1840-1880 Camden, Benton Co, TN.

1840 census
Isaac Smith b.1810-1820

1850 census
Isaac B. Smith b. 1808

Isaac Smith and Mary Polly Wilson were married in 1814 Williamson Co, TN.

This tells us that Isaac Smith m. Mary Polly Wilson is not Isaac B. Smith.

This is where we will pick up our research.

Living in the household of Isaac and Mary in 1870 was a 90 year old “Selia” Smith. I suspect her name was actually “Celia”.

This is confirmed when we find her in the 1850 census. Celia could have been Isaac B. Smith’s mother.

A search of Ancestry.com’s marriage records reveals that a “Celia Smith” married a Shadrach Smith in Wake Co, NC on 5 May 1807. Their bondsman was a “Major May” and their witness was a William Hill.

Side note:
Link to more information about Major May’s family in Wake Co, NC:
https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/t/a/Arthur-W-Stapleton/GENE2-0001.html

A James May, suggested to be Major May’s brother, married a Sally Smith 22 July 1811. The “R. Smith” was likely a Richard Smith who was a “Register of Deed” for the county at the time. Unsure if related.

The page mentions a Joshua Smith and a Robert Smith who lived on Little Lick Creek in Wake Co, NC.
William Hill appears to have been a “Register of Deeds” in 1806-1807 Wake Co, NC.
https://www.wakegov.com/departments-government/register-deeds/faqs-and-helpful-links/register-deeds-history

John MAY sold property to William WALLACE in 1787 in Orange Co., NC.(Note: Polly MAY m. William WALLACE in 1823 in Orange Co., NC.) It may be a coincidence, but there is a Benjamin King mentioned in this family.

I see that a “William Wallis” bought land from a “Jacob Harder” in Orange Co, NC. This plat was immediately next to John and Edward King on Stoney Creek. This is the general neighborhood of my Andrew Smith and family who lived a few miles to the northeast.

There was a Major May in the First Orange County [NC] Militia:

https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.php/document/csr10-0342

Probably same Major May in Capt. William Murray’s Company:

https://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/patriots_nc_capt_william_murray.html

/Side note

To verify if this is the correct family, we want to examine the larger Smith population around Celia and Isaac B. Smith in the 1850 Benton Co, TN census.

We find living near Isaac B. Smith was a “Simpson Smith”. Here is his bio:

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/greene/bios/smiths.txt

We find that Simpson Smith was a son of a William Smith who married an Elizabeth Lewis. We find William Smith in the 1840 Benton Co, TN census. Listed immediately next to him is a “Shaderick Smith”. This was the aforementioned Shadrach Smith who married in Wake Co, NC in 1807.

Also listed next to Shadrach and William was a Jeremiah Smith. I haven’t figured out who he was just yet.

What is also interesting is that there was a Lewis and Pettigrew (Pettygrue) family living with Isaac in the 1870 Benton Co, TN census. I suspect the Lewises were related to Elizabeth Lewis.

Here is an estate inventory for a Pleasant Smith that died 20 June 1863. I believe Isaac B. Smith is listed.

This Pleasant Smith appears to have immediately neighbored Jeremiah Smith

Pleasant Smith appears to likely have been in-laws with a William Swindle:

Here is a link to the Smith/Nunnery/Swindle family that includes the Hiram Smith mentioned in the above documents.

https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/nunnery/305/

Research and Speculation

These next bits of information are speculation on my part, based upon the understanding of the previously mentioned autosomal DNA analysis which found a link between Stephen Smith m. Nancy Rainwater and Josiah Smith m. Elizabeth Collier, as well as the paper trail analysis of the social network of Henry Smith m. Elizabeth Ledford of Brunswick Co, VA.

Here is the SmithsWorldWide.org page for a Benjamin Smith of 1745 Brunswick Co, VA. According to his WikiTree.com page, he was son of Cuthbert Smith, a brother of Josiah Smith.

SmithsWorldWide.org (remember, use this site only for source info, ignore the currently associated yDNA line for now):

https://www.smithsworldwide.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I40572&tree=tree1

WikiTree.com:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-39612

Benjamin Smith is said to have died in 1806 in Wake Co, NC. This is where we found Shadrach Smith’s marriage record in 1807.

Benjamin Smith is said to have had a son Richard Smith who married Penny Jones on 30 Jan 1812 in Wake Co, NC. Their bondsman and witness was a Benjamin S. King (B. S. King). We find this B. S. King was a Bondsman to other Smiths at that time and place, but I am not sure who they were. I believe B. S. King was a Clerk of the Court for Wake County, NC.

The above is not conclusive, but demonstrates that Shadrach Smith of 1840 Benton Co, TN was in the same county (Wake Co, NC) as Benjamin and Richard Smith who descend from Cuthbert Smith, at around the same time.

Multiple Shadrach Smiths

For now, Shadrach Smith and Celia Smith are a brick wall. Here’s why.

The short answer, the other Shadrach Smiths in Wilson Co, TN are claimed by SmithsWorldWide.org group R-M269-4.

https://smithsworldwide.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I1884&tree=tree1

The longer answer is as follows:

This next part was initially posted as linking Wilson Co, TN Shadrach Smith to Benton Co, TN Shadrach, but I think I can now separate them.

Remember, Celia Smith is living alone (but among her family) in 1850-1870 Benton Co, TN.

This is a Shadrach C. Smith in the 1850 Wilson Co, TN census:

Looking to Tennessee records, I find a Shadrack C. Smith and a Benjamin A. Smith in the Wilson Co, TN land grants (I now believe Shadrack C. Smith is a different person than the Shaderick Smith in the 1840 Benton Co, TN census):

If the previous information about old Benjamin’s death is correct, this can’t be the same Benjamin Smith who married Nancy Burch.

Update: I have been able to find the estate record of Benjamin A. Smith.

And here is some good information about Shadrach and David B. Smith’s family:

https://www.tngenweb.org/wilson/wilson4.htm

5309 – 1855 Apr. 6 – (I.B.) Gideon M. ALSUP of Wilson County and James W. MCADOO of Cannon Co. Against David B. SMITH and Rial C. JENNINGS exors. of Shadrack SMTIH, Sr., dec’d. citizens of Wilson Co., TN and Shadrack C. SMITH, Jr. and E.N. SMITH citizens of Montgomery Co. all of TN. …W.G. ROBERTSON a Deputy Shff. of Wilson Co., TN…. Shadrack Sr., father of Shadrack C., Jr., published his last Will & Testament on 20 Jan. 1851 and departed this life on 1 Feb. 1855. Will probated Feb. Term of 1855. Had negroes … wife died before testator … Shadrack C. is entitled to 1/9 part … E.N. SMITH is a son of Shadrack, Jr. David B. is a brother of Jr. 1857 – Summons for David B. SMITH, Joshua L. SMITH, Robert JENNINGS, Uriah JENNINGS, Lewis PATTERSON, and J.C. CRADDOCK to appear at the office of B.W. SMITH, J.P. town of Statesville, Wilson Co., TN.

Joshua L. Smith appears to have been a son of David B. Smith.

Here is the marriage record for Shadrick Smith, Sr. He married a Nancy Howard. Both were alive and well in 1850 Wilson Co, TN.

So this is why Shaderick Smith of 1840 Benton Co, TN was not related to Shadrack Smiths of 1850 Wilson Co, TN.

Mapping a few things out

Remember, the entry spelled “Shaderick Smith” is found in the 1840 Benton Co, TN census.

I believe this provides the framework for a plausible hypothesis that Isaac Burrell Smith’s father was a Shadrach Smith, but he was different from the Shadrach Smith, Sr. and Shadrach C. Smith. Further, Isaac B. Smith was not the Isaac Smith that married Mary Polly Wilson in Williamson Co, TN in 1814.

Currently, Shadrick Smith, Sr’s parents are listed as Alexander Smith and Diana Phelps. There are some secondary/tertiary source citations here:

https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/r/i/n/William-P-Rinehart-TX/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0834.html

From TN Smithology: Mary Drucilla Smith’s Family Bible in in the possession of Mrs. William S tell of Russellville, Alabama (who also has the Ramsey Bible).This Bible record claims Shadrack Smith and Nancy Bailey as her parents and Alexander Smith and Diana Phelps as her grandparents. Mary Drucilla named her first child Alexander Smith Grisham, probably for her grandfather.

https://www.geni.com/people/Shadrack-Smith/6000000090060686330?through=6000000090060686352

The SmithsWorldWide.org group R-M269-4 appears to claim Alexander Smith as theirs.

https://smithsworldwide.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I1884&tree=tree1

We will have to attempt to break through the brick wall and using autosomal DNA segment and match analysis at GEDmatch.com.

The Wilson Co, TN Shadrach being of group R-M269-4 still provides a way for a hypothesis of Celia’s husband to be related to Cuthbert Smith of Brunswick Co, VA.

Thanks for reading!

-Chris