THE THREE SMITH BROTHERS FROM IRELAND
My great great grandfather was George Smith who was born
in 1825 in Ireland. The first record I have of him is an 1850
census entry where I found him in the town of Granby in Oswego
County New York. He married another Irish immigrant also named Smith
with the first name of Mary shortly after that as my great grand-
father was born in Oct. 1851. George owned a farm in Granby but in
1860 he sold that one and purchased another larger farm a few
miles west in the town of Hannibal also in Oswego County. He died
in the spring of 1869 leaving his widow and five children ages 1
thru 17.
I have known the above information for about ten years shortly
after I began my genealogical research. I had not learned anything
further on the Smith family until recently. In February 1983 I
received a letter from a cousin in Loveland Colo. who was collecting
Smith family information in preparation for a Smith Family reunion
to be held in Colorado during the summer. 1983 was the 100th anniversary
of the settlement of the Frank Smith family from New York
State to a remote ranch in Summit County Colo. I sent some of my
information to my cousin but as I had already planned an Easter trip
to Colorado to see my father we agreed to get together and compare
notes as she had a wealth of information from family and public sources
in Colo. while my information was mainly from public and printed
sources here in New York State.
This visit proved to be very productive as the wife of one of
Frank Smiths grandsons had found some notes on family history which
had been written by a grandson of George Smith a number of years ago
and sent to Frank Smiths daughter Olive. This information led to
contacts with descendants of James and Samuel Smith as it disclosed
that there were three brothers all of whom lived in Oswego County N.Y.
These descendants also had further information on the origin and
circumstances of the immigration from Ireland of the three Smith
brothers, James, George and Samuel.
Information gathered to date indicates that James, George and
Samuel were the sons of John Smith and Jane Little. There is good
reason to believe that the place in Ireland that they came from may
be the small town of Plumb Bridge in County Tyrone which is located
about 20 miles due south of Londonderry. James was born in August
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1823, George in 1825 and Samuel in June 1828. After the death
of their mother, which was probably at the time of Samuels birth
or shortly thereafter, the children went to live with an Aunt who
was the wife of Andrew Murphy. A few years later, probably in the
1830s the Andrew Murphys came to Canada bringing the Smith brothers.
Either their father John Smith had died or perhaps, as one account
relates, he had remarried and his new wife chose not to have
the responsibility of raising the three sons. It appears that John
Smith may have helped Andrew Murphy emigrate to America if he would
take the three boys with him and raise them. It is not known at this
time if John Smith had any other children or if Andrew Murphy and
the Aunt had children of their own.
It is believed that the Murphys went to the Brockville
Ontario area in Canada. We know that James Smith was married in
Brockville in Oct. 1846 and that his two oldest sons were born there
in 1847 and 1849. When the 1850 census was taken James and George
were living in the same household in the town of Granby in Oswego
County N.Y. Family accounts indicate that Andrew Murphy with Samuel
were also in New York State in the 1840s as Samuel related working
as a tow horse driver along the canals as a young teenager. The
earliest record of Samuel Smith found to date is a census entry for
1860 where he is in Palmyra, Wayne County N.Y, married and living
with his in-laws.
James Blaine Smith was born in Ireland in August 1823 and
is the oldest of the three brothers that we have information on.
The earliest record we have of James is his marriage in Brockville
Ontario on 7 October 1846 to Eliza Mason. The marriage was performed
by Conrad Van Duesen, a minister in the Wesleyen Methodist
Church in Brockville. A son George was born in 1847 and another son
Richard James was born 17 arch 1849, both in Brockville.
When the 1850 census was taken James was living in the town of
Granby in Oswego County New York. He remained a resident of this
area the rest of his life. He had a farm in Granby but later owned
a canal boat and operated a meat market in Fulton. He also had a
real estate business. He was a devoted member of the Methodist
Church. He owned a cottage at Thousand Island Park NY on Wellesey
Island on the St. Lawrence River and ran a meat market there. This
Park was founded as a Methodist Church operation. James died there
on June 30 1912.
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James Smiths wife Eliza died in June 1894 and he remarried
to Delia Webb in Dec 1895. Information that he gave at that time to
obtain his marriage license furnishes us with the names of his
parents, John Smith and Jane Little. James is buried in Mt. Adnah
cemetery in Fulton along with his two wives. James and Eliza had
three sons and one daughter.
1) George Smith the eldest of James was born in Canada
in 1847. He was married to Sara DeEtt Bogart and was living in
Junction City Kansas when his mother died in 1895. He was found in
Junction City in the 1900 census which indicates he was employed
as a salesman. He probably died before the death of his father as
he was not listed as a survivor. He had a daughter Clara Josephine
who was born in 1878 in New York State and who was living in Omaha
Nebraska at one time.
2) Richard James Smith was born on 17 March 1849 in Brockville
Ontario. He became a blacksmith and in the late 1870s came
to Rochester New York where he owned his own shop. From 1891 on he
was listed in the Rochester City Directories as a carriage manufacturer.
He was married to Hattie M. Hodgson and they were the parents
of three children. The oldest, Ruby, died young and there were two
sons, Clifford and Charles. Richard died in Rochester on December
11 1916 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. A granddaughter of
his has been contacted and she has furnished much of this information
on the James Smith Family.
3) Emma Smith was born September 23 1851 in Fulton. She
married John Robinson who operated a grocery store in Fulton. He
died in 1887 leaving her with two small children, Jennie and James.
She continued to live in Fulton until her son James died In 1921
when she went to live with her daughter in Oklahoma. She died in
Frederick Oklahoma in 1946.
4) Charles Watson Smith was born on September 29 1859
in Fulton New York. He was married to Kitty and lived in Kansas
when their two daughters were born. In 1891 he moved to Kingfisher,
Oklahoma where he was a lawyer and operated a real estate business.
The daughters were Ruby born in June 1886 and Mildred born in May
1889. Charles died July 2 1947 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma.
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George Smith was born in December 1825. The first record
that has been found is his listing in the 1850 census where we find him
living with his brother James in the town of Granby, Oswego County.
He married shortly after that census to Mary Smith, also from Ireland.
The 1855 census indicates that he had been living in Oswego County
for ten years. In 1859 he sold his farm in Granby and bought another
a few miles west in town of Hannibal, also in Oswego County. George
died on April 24 1869, leaving his wife and five children ages 1 to 17.
He is buried in the Hannibal Center Cemetery with his wife and two
of his daughters.
1) Frank (John Francis) Smith the oldest of George and
Mary Smith was born in October 1851. He preferred to use his middle
name and was known as Frank John in Colorado. He stayed on the family
farm after his father died. He married Elizabeth Clive Sanders, a
grand daughter of one of Hannibals earliest settlers on Nov 7 1878.
Two children were born in Hannibal, Albert in 1880 who died as an infant
and Lelah, in 1881. In 1883 Frank and his brother James moved his
family to Colorado. Frank and James had been working in the mines
for a year or two but he had found some good land to homestead and
moved his family to Colo. Ten more children were born in Colo. Clive
in 1884, Alice 1886, Walter 1888, Hugh 1889, Vernie 1891, James 1894,
George 1895, Frank 1899, William 1902 and Earl 1907. Frank Smith
died September 15 1929 and is buried in the Smith family cemetery
near his ranch on the Blue River a little ways south of Heeney, Colo.
2) James Thomas Smith was born in Hannibal in March 1855. He
went to Colo. with his brother and worked as a book-keeper and time-
keeper in the mines. He started working for the state and by 1900
he was located in Denver as Deputy Commissioner of the State Bureau
of Labor Statistics. He later operated an insurance business and
a real estate office. In May 1923 he was elected a City Councilman
and serve two years. He was married twice, both wives died of illness.
He died on Jan 1 1939 leaving no survivors and is buried in Denver.
3) Lydia Isabelle Smith was born in 1857. In 1882 she married
William Smith and they moved to North Dakota.
4) Sarah Etta Smith was born in 1859. She married Albert
Gifford of Hannibal. She and her husband acquired the property
owned by her uncle James Smith at Thousand Island Park shortly after
1900 and operated it as a resort for over 30 years with their son
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Bernie. Etta died in 1941 and is buried in Hannibal Center Cemetery
Adjacent to her parents.
5) Eliza Jane (Lizzie) Smith was born April 11 1868. She
became a school teacher. She died Oct. 15 1894 without marrying and
left no survivors. She is also buried in Hannibal Center Cemetery.
Samuel Smith was born in June 1828 in Ireland. The earliest
record existing to date on Samuel is the 1860 census where he is
listed living in Palmyra New York. He had been married shortly
before to Mary Laughlin. He moved to Hannibal within a few years
and by 1875 was living on the farm in Granby which he owned until
his death. As a youngster he had worked on the Erie Canal which
crossed New York State between Syracuse and Fulton and passed through
the village of Palmyra. He went by the name of his uncle as a youth
but took his family name of Smith when he became an adult. One of
his grandsons who is still living in North Dakota has been the
source of considerable information on Samuel. Samuel died while
visiting his sons in North Dakota in 1903 (see obit.) and was sent
back to New York State for burial.
1) William Smith was born in Palmyra N.Y on August 21
1860. After his marriage to Lydia Smith in 1882 in Hannibal, they
went to North Dakota and took up a homestead. They had two sons,
Roy, born in 1890 and Leland, born in 1898, who has shared a number of
his memories of his grandfather. William died in Fargo, North Dakota
on March 30 1952. His son Roy wrote a book of the Smith family experiences
farming in North Dakota, which was printed in 1964 and has also
been a valuable source of data.
2) George Lytle Smith was born in Palmyra N.Y about 1862.
He also went to North Dakota in 1883 with his brother Will. In 1897
he married Mary Northrup. Shortly before WWI he moved to California
where he died in 1955. He had three sons and one daughter, Lucille.
One of his sons, Clifford, became a Presbyterian Minister and has
furnished helpful family information in preparing this account.
3) Charles O. (C.O) was born in Hannibal in 1867. Around
1900 he also went to North Dakota where he remained for about thirty
years before returning to New York State. He married Evelyn Lake and had
no children. It is not known at this time when he died.
4) Jay Smith was born in Hannibal in 1871. He went to
North Dakota about 1910. He married Sophia Goldberg and they had
two sons, Gordon and Lester. Jay died in 1963.
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5) John Smith was born in Granby in 1874. In 1900 he also
moved to North Dakota. His first wife was Helen Greenwood who died
in 1905 leaving a young son who was raised by his grandparents in Pennsylvania.
John married Ida Nolting in 1908 and they had a son Willard and a
daughter Marjorie. John died when the children were very young.
6) Hattie Smith was born in 1877 in Granby. She became
a school teacher and taught school in Fulton and after 1911 when
she went to North Dakota. Hattie never married and died in 1975.
7) Fred Smith was born in 1879 and was the only one of Samuels
children to stay in New York State. His first wife was Emma Tilden
and they had a son and a daughter. After his first wife died he
married again and had several more children. Names of Freds children were
Lawrence, Alice, Freda, June, Sammy, Freddie and Harold. It is not
known when Fred Smith died.
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SMITH FAMILY INFORMATION
Account sent by Rev. Clifford Smith Dec. 1983
My father had two brothers, James and George. My fathers
mother died when he was born. An aunt took him. I thought it was
his mothers sister, but now in trying to write this I believe it was
his fathers sister. She was married to Andy Murphy. His name was
recorded as Samuel Murphy. She died when my father was quite small
and Andy Murphy came to Canada and brought my father. The two older
brothers came to America. My father never had a chance to go to
school. Andy Murphy was fond of the bottle. After staying in Canada
a short time they came to Oswego. I think the canal was being
built then. He worked on it and my father did too. How my father
came to Palmyra I dont know. Andy Murphy married again after he
came to Oswego they had two girls. They married. They used
to come to our house.
He and my grandfather worked in a brewery but neither one of
them ever drank. He had a very poor upbringing and got no education.
The canal was a pretty tough place in those times. He met my
mother in Palmyra. I think she was eighteen when she was married.
My grandmother had gotten her ready to go to Boston to school. I
think to Mount Holyhoke as my grandmother had a cousin teaching there.
She used one of the dresses her mother had made for her to go to
school to be married in. Probably terribly disappointed her mother.
My father was thirteen years older than my mother. They lived
in Palmyra with my grandparents until after Will and George were
born. My mother had never done any housework, just fine needlework.
She had been taught by a French woman. My grandmother did beautiful
work too. My father went to Hannibal and bought a small farm. My
grandmother could not let her go on a farm alone so they sold their
property there and went with her and stayed the rest of their lives.
We all thought our grandmother was wonderful and I guess she was.
She helped carry the load. I remember both so well. I guess I was
about four when my grandfather died and about seven when my grandmother
died. My grandfather was quite small and had snow white hair.
My grandmother was quite tall and her hair only a little gray when
she died. She was fine looking. Both like nice clothes. Your
father had grandfathers silk hat. C.O one time when he was
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home wanted grandfathers ebony cane and mother gave it to him. He
left it in his suitcase in the depot in St Paul and when he came
back it was gone. Someone else admired it too. When father came
to Oswego with Andy Murphy he got in touch with his brothers and went
to them. Then he took his own name, Samuel Smith. So Samuel Smith
and Samuel Murphy were the same person. My grandparents helped him
in buying the farm he bought.
I dont know who my Uncle James married. They had, I think, four
children. Emma Smith, who married John Robinson was the youngest.
Will went to school to her. She was a fire person. She had two children,
James and Jennie. James died while in service and Jennie went
to Kingfisher, Oklahoma to work for her Uncle Charlie who was a lawyer
there. When James died, his mother went to Oklahoma to live with
Jennie, who was married then. Jennie had, I think, three children.
Uncle James family were strong Methodists and Emma Robinson taught
Sunday School until she was almost ninety. She got so deaf she had
to stop. The family moved from Kingfisher to ----.
George Smith married your mother Mary Smith, no relation. Two
boys and three girls I think.
Mother and grandmother had Will and George baptised by the old
family minister named Eaton when they were in Palmyra and they took
Charlie and Jay back there to be baptised by the same old minister.
I dont know when John was baptised or Fred. I wasnt baptised
until I was in high school and then it was in the Congregational Church
in Fulton, when I joined the church. My mother and father never
took their letters from the Palmyra Presbyterian Church.
Letter written by emma Smith Robinson and obtained from her
Grand Niece in 1983
I will try to tell you what I know. James Smith, your great
grandfather.Born in the north of Ireland of Scotch Irish parents,
his father and mother died and he was brought to Brockville Ontario,
Canada when he was about eight years old. He married there and two
children, George, Claras father and your grandfather Richard John
were born there, before they moved to Fulton, New York where I
and Charlie were born. Your grandfather was a farmer for many years
then he bought a canal boat and shipped grain from Oswego to NY
City for several years. Then he finished as superintendent at
Thousand Island Park. You can be proud of your Smith ancestry for
both your grandfather and your great grandfather were christian
gentlemen. Though not rich in worldy treasures, they both had what
was far better honesty, integrity, uprightness, all the homely virtues.
Document transcribed by AlisdairMoran. Checked by CMcIvor.
