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Loading...William declared that both he and his wife Elizabeth had been imported into this Colony immediately from England,[1] so it is assumed that he was born there sometime before 1683, because he was of age by 1703 when he received a deed of gift from his father for 100 acres of land in North Farnham parish, Richmond County, Virginia, on a main branch of the Rappahannock called Herring Creek Swamp.[2]
his is supported by an oath taken on February 9, 1739 which states that he and his wife Elizabeth were imported into this Colony immediately from England."[3]
William married Elizabeth Downing, the daughter of William Downing Jr. and Mary. Elizabeth was born on December 30, 1669 in Northumberland County, Virginia. Her birth record appears in the St. Stephen Parish Register.[4]
In 1712, William and Elizabeth deeded land from the estate of William Downing Jr. to Samuel Blackwell, husband of Elizabeth's sister, Margery (Downing) Blackwell:[5]
- William and Elizabeth his wife. She one of the daughters and coheirs of William Downing Jr deceased. They sell to Saml Blackwell of St S[tephens] parish, 788 acres in St S par. That Wm Downing Jr by will dated 3rd Sept 1682 left his father's youngest son Charles Downing and his own youngest daughter Margery Downing this land. Charles Downing having died the land reverts to Anne, Elizabeth and Margary. Elizabeth now the wife of Wm Smith and Margary wife of Saml Blackwell, etc. 20 Oct 1712. 18.304.
- Note: The land was already in the possession of Samuel Blackwell and his wife.[6]
A later transaction from 1725 involving the land from Downing's estate is difficult to read, but it clearly states that William and Elizabeth were of the parrish of North Farnham in the County of Richmond.[7] William signed his name, but Elizabeth signed with the mark of a capital 'E.' This was the same way the couple signed other deeds recorded in their home parish of North Farnham in Richmond County,[8] where William was called William Smith on the Ponds in legal records to distinguish him from his father, William Smith on the Hills, and to distinguish them both from other men in the county with the same name.[9]
William & Elizabeth sold the last of their known land in Richmond County in 1732,[8] and then moved to a tract of land in St Thomas Parish in Orange County on the branches of Rappadan River near Baylors Mountain that had been granted to Robert Slaughter of Essex in 1726.[10] No transaction from Slaughter to Smith has been found, but it is interesting that Slaughter's wife was a daughter of Augustine Smith (abt.1666-1734). No relation between these Smith families is apparent. See this map for proof that this was the same tract of land, which shows Slaughter's original grant overlaid by the three deeds executed by William & Elizabeth's son Benjamin after he inherited the land, including one to another possible but unproven relative, Thomas Smith (bef.1704-aft.1755).[11]
William Smith's will was written 14 Sep 1739 and probated in Orange County, Virginia 25 Oct 1739. His wife Elizabeth wrote her will twelve days later, and both wills were probated on the same day and recorded sequentially, along with the inventories of their estates:[12]
- ...I William Smith of Orange County being Sick and Weak...
- ...my Son Edwin Smith one gray horse... and the Liberty of working what ground he shall have an Occation of on the plantation whereon I now live during his natural life
- ...my two Sons John & Samuel Smiths one Shilling Sterling a piece they having received their parts before
- ...my two daughters Eliz'a & Ann one Shilling Sterling a piece they having received their parts before
- ...my Son Isaac Smith one Negro boy named George...
- ...my Loving Wife Eliz'a Smith two Negros named Nan & Moll... and one Negro named Wiggon... all the Stock of hoggs & Cattle... after her death to be devided between my Sons Edwin and Benjamin Smiths
- ...my Son Benjamin Smith one Gen & one Negro named Wiggon after my Wifes decease... & the tract of Land whereon I now live... allowing my Son Edwin to work that part of the Same...
- ...my granddaughter Mary Ann Bryant one negro girl named Bess...
- ...my Son Benjamin Smith my whole & Sole Executor... 14 Sep 1739
- Will Sm'th {Seal}
- Signed & Sealed in the presence of
- Zachary Taylor
- George Nettles
- Mark [his mark] Thornton
- ...I Elizabeth Smith being Sick and weak...
- ...my Son Edwin Smith my negro woman named Nan during his natural Life and her Increase the first Child She shall bring to be for My Son Benj's Smith...
- ...my Son Isaac Smith one Negro Girl named Moll...
- ...my Sons John & Sam Smiths one Shilling Sterling apiece they having received their part before
- ...my daughter Elizabeth one Shilling Sterling She having received her part before
- ...my Negro Woman Nan and her Increases after my Son Edwins decease go to my Daughter Ann...
- ...the first Child raised on the Negro Moll to be for my Grand Daughter Winifred Smith'...
- ...my Son Isaac One young horse on the consideration that he gives unto my grandson William Bryant one hundred acres of Land when he comes to the Age of Eighteen...
- ...my Son Benjamin Smith my whole & Sole Executor... 26 Sep 1739
- Eliz'a [her mark] Smith {Seal}
- Signed & Sealed in the presence of
- Zach'y Taylor
- Mark [his mark] Thornton
Research Notes
Zachary Taylor Sr. (abt.1707-bef.1768), the grandfather of President Zachary Taylor. was a witness to both wills (William's & his wife Elizabeth's).[12]
It was previously speculated here that William Smith might have been the son of Richard Smith (abt.1629-abt.1678) and Anne (Hull) Smith (1649-).
Sources
- ↑ Orange County, Virginia, Court Order Book 2, 1739-1741, p. 116.
- ↑ Richmond County, Virginia, Deed Book 3, 1697-1704, pp. 110-111.
- ↑ Orange County, Virginia, Court Order Book 2, 1739-1741, p. 116.
- ↑ Keach, O. A. “The Downings of Northumberland County.” The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, vol. 24, no. 3, 1916, pp. 189–93. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1915128. Accessed 10 May 2025.
- ↑ Fleet, Beverley. 1961. Northumbria Collectanea, 1645-1720. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co. v. 20. 1645-1720 M to Z; p. 20N 69.
- ↑ Northumberland, Virginia, Record Book 1710-1713, pp. 304-306
- ↑ Northumberland, Virginia, Record Book 1718-1726, pp. 355-356.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Richmond County, Virginia, Deed Book 8, 1720-1733, pp. 609-613.
- ↑ Richmond County, Virginia, Order Book 9, 1721-1732, p. 432.
- ↑ Slaughter, Robext, Virginia. Colonial Land Office., and Library of Virginia. Archives. Land Grant 30 June 1726. N.p., 1726.
- ↑ Orange, Virginia, Deed Book 6, pp. 42-44, pp. 44-47 & pp. 51-55.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Orange, Virginia, Will Book 1, pp. 108-115.
- See the research profile for William 'of the Ponds' Smith at Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties.
- "Family: William Smith/Elizabeth Downing (F16421)" Smith Official DNA and One Name Study Project,
- Diemer, Darryl J. The Descendants of Richard Smith of Northumberland County, Virginia (Louisville, KY: Diemer, 1995). See p. 5 "William Smith."
- Colonial fams. Of the southern states of Amer. By Stella *Pickett Hardy. Baltimore. 1958. (643p.):185
