The Smiths of Virginia; Vol. 4, No. 2, Pages 95 - 101 Transcribed by Kathy Merrill for the USGenWeb Archives Special Collections Project ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** THE SMITHS OF VIRGINIA. 1. FAMILY OF JOHN SMITH OF PURTON - (Continued). REGISTER OF 17, I., Augustine Smith, son of 10, John Smith and Mary Jaquelin, his wife, of Shooter's Hill: AUGUSTINE SMITH and MILDRED BOOKER were married Feby 4, 1762. 25. I. Mildred Smith was born Feby 7th at 12 o'clock 1768 and died Sept. 14, 1768. Mildred Smith senr died ----- -----. Augustine Smith (above) and Margaret Boyd, dau. of John Boyd, Esq. (a Scotch Gentleman by birth and Attorney-general under the King's government in the colony of Virginia), were married January 25, 1770, and lived at "West Grove", near Alexandria, which was burned during the late war, destroying much of interest to the Smith and Jaquelin families in the way of old papers and books. 26. II. Mary Jaquelin Smith was born Feby. 12th at 9 in the evening 1773. (She married first Jesse Taylor of Alexandria, who died leaving one son. She then married John G. Vowell, a prominent and wealthy merchant of Alexandria, and left two children). 27. III. (Dr.) Augustine Jaquelin Smith was born May 28th, 1774, about 10 in the morning. (He married 23 March, 1796, Susanna Taylor, dau. of an Irish emigrant from Dublin, though she was born in Alexandria. Her mother was a Miss Johnstone, dau. of Sir Edward Johnstone of Dublin.) Augustine Smith departed this life on Sunday, June 13, 1774, at half-past two in the morning. Register of 23, VII., John Smith, son of John Smith and Mary Jaquelin: JOHN SMITH and ANIMUS (or ANNA as she preferred it) BULL were married the 10th day of February 1781, by the revd. Mr. Sturgess in Berkeley. 28. I. Martha Maria Smith was born the 23rd day of January 1782 between six and seven o'clock P.M. (She became Mr. Wm. Davison). 29. II. Eliza Barnwell Smith was born the 10th day of February 1784 about 12 o'clock in the Night. (She married Robert Mills). 30. III. John Augustine Smith was born the 30th day of January 1786 about four o'clock P.M. (Was killed in 1803 by a wagon passing over him). Page 96. 31. IV. Edward Jaquelin Smith was born the 30th day of December 1787 between 10 and eleven o'clock P.M. (Died in infancy). 32. V. Augustine Charles Smith was born the 5th day of April 1789, about 2 o'clock in the morning. (He graduated from William and Mary in 1811, received an appointment as Major in the regular army; married Miss Magill, and raised a large family). Here the register ends, and the balance is supplied. 33. VI. Peyton Bull Smith was born in 1791. He was killed in a duel in November, 1809, near Shepherdstown, W. Va. He attended William and Mary in 1808. 34. VII. Edward Jaquelina Haines Smith was born about 1793-'94. Became Mrs. ---- Murdoch Nov. 6, 1815, and afterwards Mrs. J. M. Daniel, and died in Jacksonville, Fla. 35. VIII. Robert Mackey Smith was born ----, and died in infancy. 36. IX. John Bull Davison Smith was born about 1800, married May 3, 1837, Miss Elizabeth Peyton, of Winchester, a relative of Gen. Daniel Morgan. He was a lawyer, and was especially gifted. He was amember of the Virginia House of Delegates for several terms, being there in 1833-'34. He died at Hannibal, Missouri, 1839. John Smith, whose register is given above, known as General, of "Hackwood", removed from Northumberland county, Virginia, although born in Middlesex, at "Shooter's Hill", to Frederick county in 1773, and settled on an estate which he named "Hackwood". His brother Edward accompanied him, and settled on an adjoining estate, which he named "Smithfield". Both are near Winchester. Their only capital was one thousand pounds, given them by their aunt, Miss Martha Jaquelin, as the entire family estates of "Shooter's Hill", in Middlesex, and "Fleet's Bay", in Northumberland, were sold to satisfy the shortage of Speaker John Robinson. In 1774 John Smith was engaged in Dunmore's war against the Indians. January 8, 1776, he was commissioned colonel by the "Council of Safety of Virginia"; March 6, 1777, "County Lieutenant", by "P. Henry, Governor; March 6, 1793, Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant, by Henry Lee, Governor; December 21, 1801, Brigadier-General, by James Monroe, Gov.; and January 26, 1811, Major-General, by James Monroe, Governor. He received a pension of $50 per month for services as Colonel during the Revolutionary War. Though not of the regular line, he acted under direct orders from Congress. He was commissary of prisoners and had the Scotch, taken in the chesapeake, the Hessians, at Princeton, and the Saratoga prisoners, in his charge for a long time. He was employed by the government to hold these, and furnished with Page 97. money to defray expenses by the government. He was also recruiting officer for a time and enlisted many men, made purchases of arms, clothing, subsistence, etc. The following note is in the possession of Mr. Edward Jaquelin Davison: "Dear Sir, "Upon examining into the number of arms delivered in Winchester by the Militia I find my accounts make them less in number than I supposed. I have sent your orders back, that you may make any alterations you think proper. I am "Sir "with great respect "Musketts 934 Your mt. obt. "Bayonets 428 John Smith. "Cart: Boxes 649 April 13, 1782. "(Endorsed) 'Col. James Wood'. (Afterwards General.)" The records of the Pension Office give his service as Colonel under Generals Morgan and Muhlenburg. The records of the Treasury Department show the granting of the pension. The Congressional records state that he was a member of Congress in 1801-'15. The following letter of Gen. Smith is of more than ordinary interest: "WASHINGTON CITY, April 8, 1808. "DEAR CHARLES: "I avail myself of the opportunity afforded by the British packet again to pay you my attentions from my post. Since I wrote you last, the President has communicated to Congress interesting information in regard to our foreign relations. "A letter from Champagny to Gen. Armstrong fully demonstrates Bonaparte's intentions towards the U. N. States. It is a pleasing circumstance to find that the embargo has prevented the accomplishment in full of this arch Despot's contemplated outrage; & that but a small portion of American property has fallen into his iron grasp. The plunder I consider too inconsiderable to compensate for the loss of greater benefits, & therefore, we are taught to expect the orders under which American vessels are now held in sequestration will be rescinded. "By a letter from Mr. Erskine to Mr. Madison, & from information derived through the medium of Mr. Pinckney, we find the tone of hte British administration greatly altererd. If that nation wishes for amity with the U.N. States and considers her commerce with this country as an object of attention, the sooner she recalls her despotic edicts, & meets the American government upon fiar and equitable terms, the better for herself. Few men who have not witnessed the revolutionary contest, have a proper idea of the perseverance of an American, or his ingenuity in supplying his wants. The embargo appears now to be settled down to a system. We begin to look fo the loss of our Page 98. crops & to turn our attention to other things. We have samples of excellent wool sent us from different parts of the U.N. States, & some of the eastern gentlemen have produced cloth from their portion of the union, not unworthy of the best manufactories of England. "Our cotton spinning, & weaving machinery, is rapidly advancing, & necessity will compell us to go on. I fear the people in G. Britain have formed an opinion of the American character, from the wretched calumnies of our public prints. Even the speeches made in Congress are but a delusive fatuus, calculated for very different purposes from what they express. "Old Pickering has been exhibiting his talents, by writing to the Governor of Massachusetts, which letter you will see, & according to custom it is made an engine of party. The old Gentleman has been unfortunate in having given his vote in the Senate reprobating one of the primary principles upon which the embargo was founded. You will hear perhaps much said of this letter, & I therefore mention, that neither Pickering nor his letter have the most distant weight with the ruling sect of the U. N. States. Our Army bill is still upon the carpet. Randolfph is again upon his feet & leads a charge against its passage. We have been five days engaged in animated debate at this state of the business. It will pass however, & a pitiful thinkg it is of six thousand men. Gardonier is out again, & recovering fast. He is a little warped at present in appearance. I can hardly tell you when we shall rise, the 27th of the month is spoken of, this however is uncertain. "I have no written you a long letter; but before I conclude, I must request if any public prints on late improvements in agriculture should fall in your way to shew yourself here the next fall with the work. Accept my wishes for your happiness & afe. regard. "JOHN SMITH. "P.S. six o'clock. I have just returned from the Hall. The army has passed, 96 vs. 16, hence you see how Mr. Randolph stands. "Mr. Madison still gains ground as a candidate to succeed Mr. Jefferson, & I have no doubt myself but what he will succeed. "J.S." (Written to Maj. Charles Nourse, his nephew). General Smith was also a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for several years. Mrs. Anna Smith, his wife, died September 15, 1831, aged about seventy years. She was a woman of more than usual literary and business ability. She had built the house at "Hackwood", out of limestone quarried on the place, and the walls yet bid fair to stand another century. It is one of hte most picturesque odl houses in the valley; but the old people did not get the benefit of its shelter in their declining days, for misfortune overtook them in 1824, and they were compelled to leave it. It is said that Mrs. Smith not only educated, but started in life fifty children besides her own, and some of General and Mrs. Smith's misfortune has been attributed to the open hand with which she dealt out her charity. Page 99. It was not always worthily bestowed, and ungratefulness was the result. In many of her letters she mentions a number of her proteges with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, that they were succeeding in life so well. The General died at the home of his granddaughter, Mrs. Isaac F. Hite, Jr., near Middletown, Frederick county, March 3, 1836. Mr. Edward Jaquelin Davison writes as follows about the General and his wife: "These old people raised my father, who lost his mother at the tender age of twenty-one months, and he ever spoke of them with the tenderest affection and highest respect. Indeed, they were his pattern for honorable men and women, and he attributed all that was good in him to their training. "Regarding the defalcation of Speaker John Robinson, a full account appears in Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, though it is in substance this: John Robinson was Speaker of the House of Burgesses as well as Colonial Treasurer, and it was in the latter capacity his shortage occurred. Associated with them were many prominent gentlemen whom he was, at times, accustomed to accommodate with loans. These were at first made out of his ample fortune, but a time arrived when his own resources gave out, and he accommodated them from the public funds. These amounts became so large that he and his friends became alarmed, and a bill was introduced into the house to create a public loan office, and upon its passage the loans which Robinson had made were to be transferred, and thus cover his shortage. When the bill was introduced Patrick Henry attacked it with his usual vehemence and succeeded in defeating it, though he was not aware, at the time, that the shortage existed. Robinson dying the next year, the defalcation became public. John Smith, of "Shooter's Hill", was one of the bondsmen, and one of the few to pay. There was some close relationship existing between Smith and Robinson, and I have been told they were brothers-in-law, but this has not been verified and it could only have been the case by the marriage of Robinson with one of the Smiths. No record of the marriage is obtainable, and I mention it simply as a clue. Suit was brought in 1839 against the Robinson estate and some money recovered. General Smith's portion was $2,800. The suit was instituted in the Chancery Court at Richmond". Kercheval dedicated his History of the Valley, issued in 1833, to General Smith in a very handsome eulogy of his character and public service of fifty years. Register of 24, Edward Smith, son of 10, John Smith and Mary Jaquelin of "Shooter's Hill", Middlesex County, Va.: Edward Smith removed, with his brother, John, from Northumberland Co., in 1773, and settled near Winchester on an estate which he named "Smithfield". He was a Federalist, while his brother was a Democrat. He bore the title of Colonel, presumably for revolutionary services; though the matter has never been verified. He was married June 22, 1777, to Miss Elizabeth Bush, dau. of Philip Bush of Wichester. Issue: Page 100. 37. I. Mary Jaquelin Smith was born June 15, 1779 and died Dec. 7, 1839. 38. II. Mathew Smith was born Nov. 30, 1781, and died June 27, 1786. 39. III. Catherine Smith was born Sept. 9, 1783 and died Jany. 28, 1836. 40. IV. Edward Jaquelin Smith was born July 26, 1785 and died March 1878. 41. V. (Dr) Philip Smith was born May 15, 1790 and died July 1863. 42. VI. Emily Smith was born March 19, 1792 and died July 2, 1860. 43. VII. Sidney Smith was born Jany. 22, 1794, and died Feb. 16, 1874. (She married John Bruce, son of George Bruce and Margaret Balmain of Perthshire, Scotland. The latter was a sister of Rev. Alexander Balmain, for many years a clergyman at Winchester. These were the parents of Edward C. Bruce, the artist). 44. VIII. Mathew Smith (2nd) was born June 4, 1797 and died July 4, 1797. 45. IX. Ariana Ambler Smith was born April 9, 1799. 46. X. Eliza Smith was born August 12, 1800. Edward Smith, Denr. of "Smithfield", died ---- ---- 1826. Elizabeth B. Smith, Senr, of "Smithfield", died ---- ---- 1832. MATHEW SMITH(1), son of John Smith and Mary Jaquelin of "Shooter's Hill", Middlesex county, was killed while carrying a flag of truce up to Chew's house at the battle of Germantown, during the Revolution. Full particulars can be had from Bryant's Popular History of the Unites States, Vol. I., pp. 556-558. A small extract, taken from some newspaper clipping, gives briefly and clearly, in substance, a correct account of hte scene: "An interesting scene here took place. Washington, anxious to put an end to the brutal sacrifice of life consequent on this attack, turned to his generals and in a calm voice asked for an officer who would consent to bear a flag of truce to the enemy. A young and valiant officer of Lee's Rangers sprang from his horse, gave his name, Lieutenant Mathew Smith of Virginia. He took the snow-white flag, held sacred by all nations, and advanced to Chew's house, where the enemy was entrenched. In a short time he was lost to sight in the blur of the flog. A moment the fire ceased, and the young officer went steadily up and stood within thirty paces of the house, and waving his white flag on high rushed to the hall door. Alas, he never reached it. He was cruelly shot down. A volley of fire (says the historian) blazed from every window, and the whole American army looked in vain for the messenger of peace. The flag was stained with blood - it ________________________________________________________ (1)He appears to have been omitted in the list of children published in last issue. Page 101. was the warm blood flowing from the young Virginia's heart. His comrades wrapt his body within its folds and consigned it to the tomb".