On Saturday, I began the story of the family of John Andrew Smith, Revolutionary War soldier, and Margaret (Broadway) Robinson, his second wife.

My husband isn’t descended from either of these people. My interest in Margaret is actually her mother, Mary (MNU) and her first husband, Mr. Broadway, who died at an unknown place between 1800 and 2 December 1803, when Mary married (2) John Dulworth in Knox County, Tennessee.

I am hoping to glean new clues about Mary’s origins and the mysterious Mr. Broadway by following the lives of her daughters, Margaret, or Peggy as she was known, born c1796 in North Carolina, and Luvina, her younger sister, born c1800 in Tennessee, who married John Rush and lived in Cumberland County, Kentucky.

I have found from past experience that one can never cast too wide a net when working on brick walls. Therefore, it is important to piece together the first family of John Smith, who actually lived in Blount County, Tennessee.

John Andrew Smith was born 7 April 1754 in Fauquier County, Virginia. Exactly when he moved westward is unknown, except that he resided in Tennessee by 26 August 1815, when he married Peggy (Broadway) Robinson in Knox County.

Although John A. Smith applied for his Revolutionary War pension from Blount County, Tennessee, I have found no record of him buying or selling land there. By 1820, he had removed to Lawrence County, Indiana.

Now we need to back up into the 18th century.

John Andrew Smith, born in 1754, married (1) Margaret Allen on 24 October 1788 in Fauquier County, Virginia, where he was born. John was 34 years old and, if he was married previously, no record has been found.

Although I’ve seen birth and death years for Margaret Allen, no documentation has been provided with them. However, it’s safe to say she likely was at least 16 years old when she married, so was born no later than 1772.

Additionally, the DAR Ancestor database indicates that he may have had an unknown wife in between Margaret and Margaret.

John Smith died on 22 November 1836 in Lawrence County, Indiana and left a will! It’s not one to get excited about, though, because he left all to his wife, Margaret, and then to “her” children, none of which he named.

He did leave the following other bequests, who we might assume were his children still living at the time:

Nelly Harris, $1.00
Elias Smith, $1.00
William Smith, $1.00
John Smith, $1.00
Thomas Smith, $1.00

Ladies who have joined DAR under the service of John Andrew Smith include descendants of:

Benjamin Smith
Thomas Shelton Smith
John Andrew Smith Jr.

One important item to note is about Nellie Harris. She was reportedly born in 1785 and a niece of John Smith’s. This is another tidbit for which there is no documentation. Because she is in a list of other Smith heirs of John Andrew, and I’ve no proof she was a niece, Nellie will be part of the list of John Andrew’s children.

More sleuthing produced:

1. Elenor (Nelly), born 1780-1790, probably Virginia; died after 1840, when she was enumerated as head of household in Blount County and not found in the 1850 or 1860 censuses; married Benjamin Harris, reportedly c1807, Blount County, Tennessee or ??? Benjamin died by 1829 when probate on his estate began. In 1830, “Ellender Harris” was head of household in Blount County. Because Archibald Hitch was made guardian of Benjamin’s minor children, it has been suggested that her maiden name was actually Hitch. I don’t think that is true, though, as Archibald’s wife was Mary Harris and they were from Fauquier County, Virginia. I think they were inlaws of some kind to Nelly.
   
2. Benjamin, born c1790, probably Virginia; married Polly McAlroy, 1 February 1817, Blount County, Tennessee. He likely died before 1836, as he was not part of the $1.00 legacy list.
3. John Andrew, born c1792, Virginia; died 22 July 1862, Orange County, Indiana. Here is the huge shock – John Andrew married ELIZABETH BROADWAY! They were apparent newlyweds living in Orange County, Indiana at the time of the 1820 census. No marriage record has been found for them, but there are more details to share. Elizabeth’s maiden name is given on the death certificate of their son, Jasper Newton Smith, who died on 7 May 1926 in Macon County, Missouri.
4. Thomas Shelton, born c1794, Virginia; died 11 August 1870, Orange County, Indiana; married (1) Nancy Farmer, 2 January 1817, Blount County, Tennessee. She was born c1794, North Carolina. Nancy is reportedly the half sister of Margaret and Elizabeth Broadway!  and (2) Elizabeth Broadway Smith, widow of his brother John, 24 November 1863, Lawrence County, Indiana. Elizabeth was born 1796-1798, Georgia; died 1881.
5. Elias, possibly the man in Knox County, Tennessee in 1830, born 1790-1800, one female 30-40, one male 20-30, one female 15-20, one female 10-15, one female 5-10, one female under 5. He is gone in 1840.
6. William, died after 1836

There were three surprises here, all highlighted in red. First, John Andrew Smith Jr. married Elizabeth BROADWAY. As mentioned above, their son Jasper’s death certificate in 1926 gives his mother’s maiden name as Broadway, although the informant didn’t know her first name.

The second surprise is that after John died, Elizabeth (Broadway) Smith married his recently widowed brother, Thomas Shelton Smith. She also lived long enough to appear in the 1880 census, which gives the birthplaces of parents.

The last surprise is that (undocumented) information online states that Thomas Shelton Smith’s first wife, Nancy Farmer, was the half sister of the Broadway girls!

Part 3, and the last post in this series, will sift through the loose ends of information produced during this research.