James Smith (c1812-1856) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Kris Hocker on 25 Mar 2017

James Smith, my three times great grandfather, was born about 1812 in Whitburn, Linlithgow, Scotland1 to Thomas and Agnes (Nimmo) Smith and died on 8 February 1856 at age 44 in Whitburn.2 He was an “engineer,” a.k.a. engine worker, who worked in the coal mines.

On 25 December 1840, he married Isabella Aitken, daughter of William Aitken and Marion Brown of Lanark, Scotland.3 Isabella was born 27 February 1816 in Carnwath4 and died 1 December 1856 in Whitburn.5 Both she and James were buried in the Whitburn church yard.

On Sunday, 6 June 1841, the couple was living with Isabella’s parents at Auchengray in Carnwath parish.6 William and his son John were wrights, son-in-law George Tweedie a laborer, and son-in-law William Smith an ironstone miner.

By 30 March 1851, James and Isabella and their children were living at Crossroads in the parish of Whitburn in Linlithgow.7 They had apparently moved there by 1844 as all their childrens’ birthplaces are listed as Whitburn.

1856 was a terrible year for Thomas, Marion and William Smith, James and Isabella’s three children. After the death of their parents in February and December, they likely went to live with James’ brother and sister: William and Margaret. Marion died 11 May 18578 of hydrocephalus, likely acquired hydrocephalus caused by an injury, infection or tumor. Thomas and William can be found in Uncle William’s household in Whitburn in 1861.9

Thomas remained in Fauldhouse until his death in 1909. William became a ship’s engineer and travelled abroad, eventually marrying in Edinburgh and emigrating to the United States. He filed an intention to become a naturalized American citizen on 20 September 1886 in Berks County and became a citizen on 12 January 1893 at Harrisburg.10

James and Isabella (Aitken) Smith had children:

  1.  Thomas Smith was born circa 1844 and 9 May 1909, Fauldhouse, Greenburn, Whitburn parish. He married married Jane Bryce.
  2. Marion Smith was born circa 1846 and died 11 May 1857, Greenburn, Whitburn parish.
  3. William Smith (25 Sep 1851—23 Feb 1905, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), married Eliza Craig Bennington, 12 December 1882, Uphill parish, Linlithgow

52 ancestors in 52 weeks

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my twelfth 52 Ancestors post, and a make-up post for week eleven.

Footnotes

  1. Parish of Whitburn, County of Linlithgow, Scotland, death certificate no. 14 (1856), James Smith; online, ScotlandsPeople, “Statutory Death Records” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 8 Dec 2012); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. ↩
  2. Parish of Whitburn, County of Linlithgow, Scotland, death certificate no. 14 (1856), James Smith. ↩
  3. Parish of Carnwath, County of Lanark, Scotland, Register of Proclamations of Banns and Marriages, marriage record no. 46 (1840), James Smith and Isabella Aitkin, National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. ↩
  4. Parish of Carnwath, County of Lanark, Scotland, Parish register (births), page 445 (315, written), Isobel Aitken entry; digital image, ScotlandsPeople, “Old Parish Registers” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 27 Dec 2011); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. ↩
  5. Parish of Whitburn, County of Linlithgow, Scotland, death certificate no. 54 (1856), Isabella Smith; digital image, ScotlandsPeople, “Statutory Death Records” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 8 Jun 2006); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. ↩
  6. 1841 Scotland Census, Lanark, Carnwath parish, Auchengrey, enumeration district 3, page 11, lines 14-21, William Aitken household; digital image, ScotlandsPeople, “1841 Census” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 8 Dec 2012); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh, 632/00 003/00 011. ↩
  7. 1851 Census of Scotland, Linlithgow, Whitburn parish, page 12, household 54, Crossroads street, James Smith household; online, ScotlandsPeople, “1851 Census” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk” : accessed 11 July 2006); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. ↩
  8. Parish of Whitburn, County of Linlithgow, Scotland, Register of Deaths no. 40 (1857), Marion Smith; digital image; ScotlandsPeople, “Statutory Death Records” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 7 Dec 2006); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh, 673/00 0040. ↩
  9. 1861 Scotland Census, Linlithgow, Whitburn parish, enumeration district 6, pages 63 & 64, household 331, William Smith household; digital images, ScotlandsPeople, “1861 Census” (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 6 Jul 2007); citing National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. ↩
  10. William Wingeard, A German-American Hacker-Hocker Genealogy (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, Inc., 1991), page 309. ↩

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, "James Smith (c1812-1856) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks," A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy, the genealogy & family research site of Kris Hocker, modified 25 Mar 2017 (https://www.krishocker.com/james-smith-c1812-1856/ : accessed 2 Nov 2024).

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