Who was Albert Smith?

 

In my earlier post, The Schoolhouse, I explored a nontypical, brief deed wherein my Third Great Grandfather, Henry Davis, deed a half-acre's lot to a School that obviously already sat upon it. The deed, shown below, was witnesses by two men I knew, James Palmer, my Fourth Great Grandfather, and Henry's father-in-law, and Bailey Smith, his brother-in-law. They had married Palmer sisters. It was also witnessed by two men I did not know, James Sanders and Albert Smith. I wondered if James Sanders could have been related to Bailey Sanders, and if the first name of "Bailey" had somehow descended through a Bailey family line to both Baily's, Smith and Sanders. I also wonder about who was Albert Smith? Was he a relative of Bailey Smith?

I've done a bit of ferreting around the Smith family within the past year, as I have a link to one branch, and discovered that Bailey Smith, was descended from a William Smith who passed away in the 1840's. During my rootling around, I did not come across an Albert.

Brief lives who left no heirs and few traces are often viewed as inconsequential by genealogy hounds and are disregarded. Left to collect dust, those without descendants fade away into oblivion, forgotten and dishonored. Yet I'm as intrigued by the mysterious as the perspicuous. Enter Albert Smith. Who was he?

Although his name had not caught my attention until the schoolhouse deed, I soon came across it again, as I was perusing the 1841 land entries in Stanly County, the year of its formation. Albert Smith is mentioned twice in these, and that fact is very telling. It again brings him in the sphere connection to the same people in the deed.

Entry 80, dated December 20, 1841, has Albert Smith with 100 acres of land on the waters of Mountain Creek, adjoining John C. Smiths line. So, here he is in connection with another Smith. The next entry, number 81, on the same date, is John C. Smith's entry for 100 acres on Mountain Creek, adjoining Albert Smith's entry. Nothing to see here, however, it's the entries preceding Alberts, also on the same date, that pique my interest.

77 12-20-1841 James Palmer enters 100 acres on the waters of Mountain Creek adj. Joseph Picker.

78 12-20-1841 Elisha Smith enters 100 acres on the waters of Mountain Creek adj James Palmers.

79 12-20-1841 Williamson Smith enters 100 acres on the waters of Mountain Creek adj Elisha Smith.

A hive of Smith's with connection to James Palmer, perhaps? Then, in March, I had discovered the following:

391 3-25-1841 John Davis 100 acres on S. W. side of Mountain Creek adjoining B.F. Davis's 100-acre entry. These were the two oldest sons of Henry Davis.

393 3-28-1841 John C Smith 100 acres on the waters of Mountain Creek adj. his own lines.

394 3-28-1841 Albert Smith entered 100 acres on the waters of Mountain Creek adjoining John C. Smith's entry.

There were at a minimum, three distinct families of Smiths in the area in those days, and possibly as many as five or six. I will not try to separate them out or tie them together, just the one group with ties to my Davis and Palmer lines. 

On March 25th, Bailey Smith, Henry's brother-in-law, also entered 100 acres on the S.W. side of Mountain Creek adjoining Joseph Pickler's line and on the same day, Bailey's son Edward P. Smith entered 100 acres joining his father's line. These were entries 388 and 389. Entry 390, just before the John Davis entry seen above, was the one for his brother, Benjamin Franklin Davis. On the same date as John, March 25th, he entered:

"100 acres on the S. W. side of Mountain Creek adjoining Bailey Smiths' and Edward P Smith's line."

One might think that in a census record, either the one before or after, you'd find all these folks together in a little community along Mountain Creek and there would be Albert, but no. James Palmer is not listed near any Smiths at all, and neither is Bailey Smith.

1850 is a different story. Bailey is listed next to his mother, Elizabeth Smith, his brother, James Smith and near a John Smith and his wife, Lurena. No Albert anywhere. 

The thing about the land entries, they are void of any indicators of age, unlike census records. For instance, in 1841, in the above entries, B. F. Davis, born in 1829, was about 12, and his younger brother John, about 10. Same with Edward Pinkney Smith, son of Bailey Smith, born in 1932, he was only 9. These men, (Henry Davis and Bailey Smith), had entries applied to for their young sons. So, seeing Albert Smiths name there does not mean he was an adult. 

Albert Smith does appear in other documents, however. 

The above shows John Smith and Albert Smith, side by side, making purchases from an estate. There is a signature of James Smith, Executor of the Estate. 

The above is the Estate file this document came from, that of William Smith who passed away in 1845. James Smith was his son, and so was Bailey Smith. I posted on James Smith here: The Mysterious Disappearance of James Smith

And on Bailey Smith here: Bailey Francis Smith

Could John, and Albert, have been descendants of this same William Smith?

This is another excerpt from the William Smith, Referring to A.C. and Robert Smith, Robert being a proven son of William Smith and A.C being a son of Robert.

Yet another excerpt mentions James, William and Bailey Smith.

This next list in a row shows Bailey, Robert and Archibald C. Smith, along with Arthur Freeman Atkins and Henry Davis. A. F. Atkins is related to the mother of Mary Palmer Smith and Martha Palmer Davis, who was an Atkins, and perhaps even related to Henry Davis through his grandmother, Charlotte Freeman.

Above is another document containing the name of Albert Smith. It's the 1843, 100-acre Grant to Edward Pinkney Smith, son of Bailey and Mary Palmer Smith. The property was located on the Camp Branch of Mountain Creek. It joined the lands of William Smith, his grandfather, and Joseph Pickler, a name often seen in the deeds of this extended family. The witnesses were Joseph Pickler and Albert Smith.

The row of consecutive land entries for Bailey Smith adjoining Joseph Pickler and William Smith, Edward Pinkney Smith adjoining the same, James Palmer adjoining Joseph Pickler, Elisha Smith adjoining James Palmer, Williamson Smith adjoining Elisha Smith, and Albert Smith adjoining John C Smith, all on Mountain Creek.

Those were followed by John C Smith's entry adjoining Albert Smith's. Albert seems to be mostly connected to John C. Smith and this group of Smiths, as a whole, could very well be one family. 

John C Smith has two deeds in the Stanly County Deed books, back-to-back. He lived along Mountain Creek and in this virtual Smith's grove that included James Palmer, Henry Davis and his family.

The two questions concerning Albert Smith is where did he come from and where did he go?

In 1850, no Albert Smith was not to be found in Stanly County. But we do have this "Neighbors of Joseph Pickler" lineup above. John Smith with wife, Lavina, Daniel McLester household, Joseph Pickler household, James Smith household, his mother, Elizabeth, widow of William Smith, followed by the Bailey Smith household. Were these "His People"? 

Albert may have appeared in land records during Stanly's earliest decades, but not a census. That leads me to believe he was a young man, not ahead of household then.

He does appear in one other record in Stanly County, and that is in the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarters. In the August 1848 session, Barnett Clayton was released from working on Salisbury Road under Albert Smith as Overseer. This would ultimately prove to be a hint about Albert's future.

With a good deal of wrangling, rifling and the process of elimination, I believe I discovered what became of Albert Smith.

Name	George A Smith
Gender	Male
Race	White
Residence Age	30
Birth Date	abt 1820
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Laborer
Industry	Industry Not Reported
Line Number	14
Dwelling Number	934
Family Number	939
Inferred Spouse	Mary Smith
Inferred Child	Louisa Smith

Household members

Name	Age
George A Smith	30
Mary Smith	22
Louisa Smith	2

Albert was actually George Albert Smith. He married Mary Addams Clayton about 1846 or 1847, before the recorded Stanly County marriage records survived. In 1850, Albert and Mary lived in Albemarle District, but what looks somewhat north of the town, near Eli Russell and Nancy Cauble, where George Albert was working as a Laborer, and they were parents of 2-year-old Louisa C. Smith.

Name	George A Smith
Gender	Male
Race	White
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1860	Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina
Post Office	Gold Hill
Dwelling Number	496
Family Number	480
Occupation	Day Labourer
Personal Estate Value	50
Inferred Child	Mary A Smith

Household members

Name	Age
George A Smith
Mary A Smith	32
Louisa C Smith	11
Sarah L Smith	9
Carrell E Smith	8
John T Smith	10/12

By 1860, their family size had increased to four children, and they had moved to the bustling gold mining town of Gold Hill, just a few miles to the north in Rowan County. George was working as a day laborer.

Then War hit, and that is what happened to George Albert Smith. 

Albert joined Co A. 20th North Carolina Infantry, in Cabarrus County, at the age of 40, on March 9, 1862. He survived many battles. 

As shown above, Albert fought at such notable places as Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, where he was wounded and captured.

The above shows him as being reported wounded during a muster.

On another muster, he was reported as being "in the hands of the enemy", captured and wounded. But the wounds didn't kill him.

Albert Smith died of disease caught while a prisoner of war. He died of payaemia, or blood poisoning. 

Below is his entire service record in a nutshell, from Fold3.com.

Name	George Albert Smith
Enlistment Age	40
Birth Date	abt 1822
Enlistment Date	22 Mar 1862
Enlistment Place	Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Enlistment Rank	Private
Muster Date	22 Mar 1862
Muster Place	North Carolina
Muster Company	A
Muster Regiment	20th Infantry
Muster Regiment Type	Infantry
Muster Information	Enlisted
Imprisonment Date	3 Jul 1863
Imprisonment Place	Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Casualty Date	27 Jun 1862
Casualty Place	Gaines' Mill, Virginia
Type of Casualty	Wounded
Muster Out Date	12 Aug 1863
Muster Out Place	David's Island, New York
Muster Out Information	died disease POW
Side of War	Confederacy
Survived War?	No
Residence Place	Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Notes	1862-09-01 Returned, estimated day; 1863-06-30 Returned, Estimated day; 1863-07-17 Transferred, (David's Island, NY Harbor)
Additional Notes 2	Casualty 2 Date: 17 Sep 1862; Casualty 2 Place: Sharpsburg, Maryland; Casualty 2 Type of Casualty: Wounded; Casualty 2 Information: Estimated day; Casualty 3 Date: 03 Jul 1863; Casualty 3 Place: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Casualty 3 Type of Casualty: Hospitalized; Casualty 4 Date: 03 Jul 1863; Casualty 4 Place: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Casualty 4 Type of Casualty: Wounded; Casualty 4 Information: Wounded in the foot
Title	North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster

George Albert Smith is buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Name	Geo A Smith
Death Date	13 Aug 1863
Interment Date	13 Aug 1863
Interment Place	New York, USA
Cemetery Address	625 Jamaica Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11208
Cemetery	Cypress Hills National Cemetery
Plot	Section 1 Site 776
Notes	Us Army

The Civil War may have taken the life of Albert Smith, but that wasn't the end of his legacy. He left a widow and children. The records of his surviving family members verified that he was our Stanly County Albert Smith. After the War, they appear to have been scattered like the wind.

Albert had married Mary Addams Clayton. She was most likely a daughter of Joseph Clayton and Margaret Houston, due to ties to the Thomas Clayton family who lived near her in 1850. I've not fully explored that possibility. Thomas Clayton married Martha Patsy Moore, that will come into play later. Her children's records give her maiden name as Clayton. This would make Albert and Barnette Clayton, mentioned above in the road records, Brothers-in-law.

Name	Mary Smith
Age in 1870	44
Birth Date	abt 1826
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	84
Home in 1870	Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Female
Post Office	Salisbury
Occupation	No Occupation

Household members

Name	Age
John H Verble	50
Nancy Verble	60
Mary Smith	44
Richard Julian	11
Hattie Klutts	8

1870 found Mary in a boarding house in Salisbury. Her children had been bound out.

Name	Edward Smith
Age in 1870	18
Birth Date	abt 1852
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	266
Home in 1870	Atwell, Rowan, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Male
Post Office	Salisbury
Occupation	Farm Laborer

Household members

Name	Age
John O King	42
Martha King	24
Joseph W King	13
Rosy King	9
Mary A King	8
Nannie K King	6
John O King	4
Mattie B King
Sarah Mills	21
Jane Barnhart	21
Edward Smith	18

Carroll Edward Smith was working for John O. King.

Name	Sarah Mitcher
Age in 1870	18
Birth Date	abt 1852
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	225
Home in 1870	Township 1, Cabarrus, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Female
Post Office	Concord
Occupation	Keeping House
Inferred Spouse	Victor Mitcher

Household members

Name	Age
Victor Mitcher	31
Sarah Mitcher	18
Florence Mitcher	3

Daughter Sarah L. "Sallie" Smith had married on August 13, 186 to Victor Theopolis Melchor, and they were living in Township 1, Cabarrus County, NC. They had married in Cabarrus and the whole family would hover around the area where Stanly, Cabarrus and Rowan all come together.

Name	Louisa Smith
Age in 1870	25
Birth Date	abt 1845
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	49
Home in 1870	Ridenhour, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Female
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	At Home
Cannot Read	Yes
Cannot Write	Yes
Inferred Mother	Jane Smith

Household members

Name	Age
Jane Smith	41
Louisa Smith	25
Lucy J Welson	7
William Welson	4
Nancy Lowder	35

Oldest daughter, Louisa J. Smith, was living with a lady named Jane Smith in Ridenhour Township, the northernmost part of Stanly County. This was Jemima Jane Wilson Smith, a Civil War widow, and the Wilson's have a story of their own. I've not determined how her husband, Joshua, may have been connected to the Albert Smith family, if at all. He was definitely a friend of Bennett Russell, of Stanly County. Nancy Lowder was Jane's sister, Nancy Wilson Lowder, widow of Henry Lowder. The children were the children of their sister, Eliza Wilson.

The infant son of Albert and Mary Smith, John T. Smith, is not to be found. He may have died as a child or taken in and raised under a different name by family, possibly as a Clayton, I can't determine.

The next decade would one of recovery and resilience.

Mary would eventually remarry, on a spring day, May 15, 1877, at the age of 49, Mary A. Clayton Smith married George Wilson Barringer, age 60, son of George Barringer. Under Mary's parents, it appears as if they were about to write her name again, or something, but marked it out. That deed has led to a great deal of confusion but meant nothing. Her parents, as well as George's, were deceased. They were in Cabarrus County, and both was said to be from Township 7. Witnesses to the wedding were Victor T. Melchor, Mary's son-in-law, husband of Sarah, Calvin J. Russell and L. C. Smith, Mary's daughter, Louisa. The marriage was performed by Samuel Rothrock, Minister of the Gospel of the Lutheran Church, and was held at home of Victor and Sarah.

Cabarrus County Numbered, instead of named their Townships, but Township 7 is considered Gold Hill, although the town of Gold Hill is in Rowan County, it grew close to the Cabarrus County border and became very large in those days. They were basically living within a few miles of where Albert and Mary had first settled after getting married. 

Mary wasn't the only one hearing wedding bells. 

Son, Carroll Edward Smith, 21, married Lorena Catherine Redwine, 17, on February 23, 1874. The bride was the daughter of J. D. and Phoebe G. Redwine, both living, while the groom reported that he was the son of George A. Smith, deceased, and Mary A. Smith, living. Both lived in Township 7 of Cabarrus County, and the wedding took place at the home of the bride's parents. Performed by Rev. Thomas M. Joiner, a Methodist Episcopal Minister, witnesses again were C. J. Russell, William G. Melchor and S. C. Fisher. (husband of sister Louisa).

Louisa C. Smith was married on March 2, 1871, to Calvin Solomon Fisher, son of Solomon Fisher and Christena Foutz Fisher. The groom was 21 and the bride was 22. His name is seen as both Solomon Calvin and Calvin Solomon. The wedding was performed at the bride's mother's house by Rev. John C. Denny, in Cabarrus County. 

Their Lives

Mary Addams Clayton Smith Barringer would settle in the Reed Masenheimers part of Cabarrus County. This, again, was near Gold Hill and not far from the northernmost part of Stanly County. 

Name	Mary A. Barringer
Age	51
Birth Date	Abt 1829
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Reed Misenheimers, Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	287
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Wife
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	George W. Barringer
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Housekeeper
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
George W. Barringer	63
Mary A. Barringer	51
George A. Barringer	19

George W. Barringer was a widower with 6 grown children. They are seen above in the 1880 census, with his youngest son, George Addison Barringer. George Wilson Barringer would pass away on Halloween in 1894, leaving Mary, again, a widow. 

She is found in 1900, at 71, living in King's Creek, Cabarrus County, with her oldest daughter, Louisa and her family. In 1910, she's back in Township 7, appearing to live in her own home, but she's sandwiched between 'Edward C. Smith', her son Carroll Edward, and Adam Edward Smith, his oldest son, and Burton A. Culp, who was married to Carroll's oldest daughter, Esther Lucy Smith. Carroll was a farmer, but Burton was a Gold Mining Engineer and Adam was a miner. 

Mary Addam Clayton Smith Barringer passed away on November 27, 1914, at the age of 85. She was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Concord, Cabarrus County with her second husband, George Wilson Barringer. The informant was her son-in-law, Solomon Fisher, and he got a few things wrong. He had her maiden name as Moore, possibly because her brother married a Moore, and they knew each other somewhat. The reason for her death was heart regurgitation due to Old Age. Mary had been the mother of 4 known children, Louisa C., Sarah L., Carroll Edward and John T. Smith.

Louisa C. Smith Fisher was born October 20, 1848. She married Solomon Calvin Fisher and became the mother of 5 children: 

1872-1943 Mary Ellen Fisher Ritchie Bost

1876-1953 Minnie Corabell Fisher Penninger

1878-1967 Rose Christine Fisher Mabry

1883-1966 Jason Holmes Fisher

1887-1943 Charles Albert Fisher

Louisa raised her children in Cabarrus County. 

She passed away on October 10, 1934, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Concord, like her mother. 

Sarah L. Smith Melchor was born on November 4, 1850. She married Victor Theopolis Melchor and became the mother of 5 children:

1867-1939 Florence E. Melchor Misenheimer

1873-1948 James Oscar Melchor

1877-1964 Walter Deberry Melchor

1879-1899 Charles H. Melchor

1886-1963 Hattie Marybelle Melchor Voncannon

Sarah raised her family in the Reed Misenheimer District of Cabarrus County. 

She passed away on February 3, 1929, and was buried at Saint Stephens Lutheran Church in Gold Hill, Rowan County. Her Death Certificate gave her father's name as Albert Smith, born in Stanly County and her mother as Molly Clayton, born in Rowan County. She died of Influenza and other complications due to Nephritis. 

Carroll Edward Smith was born February 24, 1853, in Gold Hill, Rowan County, North Carolina. He married Lorena Catherine Redwine and became the father of 6 children. 

1874-1877 John M. Smith was one month shy of 4 years old when he died. He is buried at Matton's

 Grove UMC Church in Richfield, Stanly County, NC. 

1876-1876 Minnie Smith was 3 weeks old when she died. She is also buried at Matton's Grove in Richfield, NC. 

1878-1942 Adam Edward Smith became the oldest sibling to make it to adulthood. He married Mary Jane Fisher.

1885-1968 Esther Luticia Smith Culp, married Burton L. Culp. 

1889-1965 Rufus Alexander Coy Smith, married Gertrude Harmon and Flora Belva Furr.

1894-1972 Myrtle E. Smith Payseur, married Darius F. Payseur

Carroll Smith raised his family in Cabarrus County Township 7, nearly right on the Stanly County line, in the Matton's Grove Church Community. He died on May 11, 1913, at the age of 60, and is buried at Matton's Grove. 

Albert Smith appears to me to be a member of the William Smith family, who died in 1845 in Stanly County. Exactly how, I have not discovered, but this is the branch of Smiths he was in close association with, including Bailey F. Smith and James Smith, whom I have blogged about. He may have been a nephew of those. Again, this is simply a theory based on circumstantial evidence. He married Mary Addams Clayton, daughter of Joseph Clayton and Margeret Houston Clayton and had at least 4 children, three known to have made it to adulthood. He was one of the casualties of the Civil War.  George Albert Smith has many living descendants to this day.