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.

 

 

I just realized that I’ve never shared family sketches of the two daughters of the mysterious Mr. Broadway and Mary (MNU) who later married John Dulworth and then Solomon Prewitt.

Today, we’ll take a look at the older of the two children, Margaret, called Peggy, who was born c1796, in North Carolina per the 1850 census, but in Tennessee in the 1870 census.

It turns out that by examining Peggy’s FAN (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) Club, I have a new significant amount of information about the Broadways.

To begin, Peggy married twice. Her first marriage was to Thomas Robinson on 23 December 1813 in Knox County, Tennessee. Given the lack of census and vital records during that time period, I have but two facts for Thomas. (1) He married Peggy and (2) he died before 11 March 1815, when administration began on his estate. I assume that he was at least 21 years old when he married, so born no later than 1792.

However, aside from administration being opened on his estate with William Nelson as administrator and putting up bond with William Tipton, I found no other entries pertaining to Thomas Robinson’s estate.

Peggy would have been only about 18 years old when Thomas died. Whether or not they had a child together is unknown, but I have a thought about that. More later.

Five months later, on 26 August 1815, Peggy married (2) John Andrew Smith, also in Knox County, Tennessee. This was a bit of a surprise to me, as John was about old enough to be her grandfather.

John Andrew Smith was a Revolutionary War veteran who received a pension beginning in November 1818 in Blount County, Tennessee. He was born on 7 April 1754 and lived in Fauquier County, Virginia at the time of his military service. He married (1) Margaret Allen and they had several children. More on them coming up, too!

No land records have been found for Thomas Robinson, or Peggy releasing dower rights or widow’s thirds. There is a single land sale filed by John A. Smith to James Harris on 11 November 1818 in Knox County. It was recorded on 13 May 1819. His middle name Andrew is proven by this deed, as it was how his name was recorded by the clerk.

Given that John was living in Blount County, Tennessee, I have to wonder if this land had been property owned by Thomas Robinson. I couldn’t find a record for either of them purchasing the land.

The Smith family set off for Lawrence County, Indiana not long after that and the John A. Smith family appears in the 1820 Indiana census.

John was over 45 years old with a female aged 16-25 and two females under 10 years old. Since we don’t know exactly how old these girls are, if Thomas Robinson has any living descendants today, it would be through the older of these two children.

John A. Smith last appears in the 1830 census of Lawrence County, Indiana. He is aged 70-79 years old with an adult female aged 30-39. There is one male 10-14, two females 10-14, one male 5-9, one female 5-9 and two females under the age of five years.

From this, we can determine that the oldest daughter was born c1816. However, if she hadn’t yet had her birthday, she could have been born in 1815 and then possibly a Robinson.

Aside from the possibility of a Robinson child, based on the 1820 and 1830 census records, John had a large family with Peggy. Although the ages are off slightly, the 1850 census shows three Smiths still at home with Margaret. I’ve placed them as close to the age range as possible:

1. Daughter, born c1816
2. Daughter, born c1818
3. Daughter, born c1820
4. Son, born c1823
   
5. Daughter, born c1824
6. Daughter, born c1826
7. Daughter, born c1828
8. Son, born c1831
9. Son, born c1833

Who were the other children? Thankfully, John Andrew Smith was approved for a Revolutionary War pension. In 1824, he stated that he and his wife had the following children: Elizabeth, 8 years old, Rejoice, 6 years old, Sarah, 3 years old and Alex, 1 year old.

With a bit of digging, I’ve been able to add birth dates, so now we have:

1. Elizabeth Bell, born 3 July 1815, Blount County, Tennessee; died 25 November 1894, Lawrence County, Indiana; married David Edward Leatherman, 30 March 1831, Orange County, Indiana. He was born 28 March 1812, Ohio; died 10 March 1876, Lawrence County, Indiana.

2. Son, born c1816 (between 1816-1820); died before 1824 Revolutionary War pension statement.

3. Rejoice (Joicey), born 3 September 1818, Blount County, Tennessee; died 20 August 1854, Iroquois County, Illinois; married Robert Frost, 3 April 1838, Orange County, Indiana. He was born c1819, Indiana, died after 1850.

4. Sarah, born 28 January 1821, Indiana; died 15 December 1915, St. Francois County, Missouri. NOTE: Sarah was a DAR member and was one of a handful who was able to be called a “Real Daughter.” That means she was able to join the Daughters of the American Revolution based on the fact that her father served in the war; married George Stringer, 6 September 1835, Orange County, Indiana. He was born c1816, Kentucky; died between 1870-1880, possibly in Clay County, Arkansas, where Sarah lived in 1880.

5. Alexander Henry, born 19 June 1823, Indiana; died 19 December 1912, Orange County, Indiana; married Elizabeth Freed, 14 December 1843, Orange County, Indiana. She was born 5 November 1823; died 13 November 1903, both in Orange County, Indiana.

From the 1850 census and DAR records, we can expand the family a bit more. (NOTE: There is a Margaret Smith, living in the same town in Lawrence County as this family. However, she was the widow of  Peter Smith. Some have confused these two ladies.)

Margaret Broadway Robinson Smith married (3) John Henry on 13 July 1849, Lawrence County, Indiana. He was born 1787, Pennsylvania and died 1854, Iroquois County, Illinois.

In 1850, the blended family was living in Loda, Iroquois County, Illinois and mis-indexed as “Hensey.” Noah and Jacob Smith were living there with their mother, stepfather and step siblings.

6. Mary, born 29 November 1827, Indiana; died 2 October 1876; married John Freed, 14 October 1848, Lawrence County, Indiana.

7. Daughter, born c1829; died 1830 – 1840

8. Noah, born c1832, Indiana; died c 1880, probably Atchison County, Missouri; married Eliza Jane Jenkins, 12 January 1862, Lucas County, Iowa.  He is enumerated with brother Jacob’s 1880 household, but his name is crossed out. Find a Grave shows a death date of 13 February 1880 and buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Atchison County, Missouri. However, there is no photo of the gravestone.

9. Jacob K., born 11 March 1834, Indiana; died 27 April 1904, Lawrence County, Indiana. Jacob was somewhat of a rolling stone, as he lived not only in Indiana, but also in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. He was a Civil War pensioner. Annie applied for a widow’s pension after Jacob died in 1904, which is how this Jacob is connected to all those places. His death certificate named his father and his marriage record calls his mother Margaret “Brooding”, but image is not the original and the transcription is likely wrong; married (1) Nancy C. Devore, 11 March 1858, Iowa (2) Annie R. Enochs, 5 April 1892, Lawrence County, Indiana. She was born 14 December 1869; died 6 December 1957, Bartholomew County, Indiana. They had no children. Annie married (2) Allen Gwinn, before 1910.

Before concluding this portion of Peggy Broadway’s FAN club study, I need to make a couple of comments.

First, I have come to believe that Elizabeth Bell Smith, if truly born in 1815 and not in 1816, is the daughter of Thomas Robinson, Peggy’s first husband, and she would have been born several months after he died. John A. Smith would have been the only father she ever knew and she went by the Smith surname.

Second, Peggy Broadway Robinson Smith Henry reportedly died on 21 February 1874 in Saltillo, Washington, Indiana. She has a memorial on Find a Grave, but it shows her buried at the John A. Smith Cemetery in Lawrence County WITHOUT a gravestone.

Yet, while looking for Jacob Smith in Lucas County, Iowa in 1870, who pops up in the home with Jacob and wife Nancy? Margaret MOSS, born 1800 in Tennessee.

Margaret married (4) Benjamin Moss, probably either in Indiana or Illinois, but no record has been found. The 1855 census of Iroquois County, Illinois includes Benjamin Moss, aged 70-80, a female 60-70, three males aged 30-40 and one male 10-20. Living right next door is Alexander Henry, who lived next door to his father, John Henry, and stepmother Margaret in Iroquois County in 1850.

Benjamin Moss was born c1784, North Carolina. In 1850, he lived in Orange County, Indiana with wife Rachel (Allen), who he married on 19 July 1848 in Orange County, Indiana. She was born c1815, North Carolina and they had a ten month old son, Benjamin, at home along with Margaret M. Roberts, aged 14, relationship unknown.

Given that the bride was a Harris, who have ties to the Smith family, Benjamin is probably the Benjamin Moss who married Ann Harris, 29 November 1814 in Warren County, North Carolina. In 1820, they lived in Granville County and had removed to Orange County, Indiana by 1830.

Benjamin Moss died before 1860 and there are no Moss families in Iroquois County in that census year. Margaret has not been found. Perhaps she was in the midst of moving back to Indiana when the census taker came around. She was not living with any of her children, at least not the day the census taker appeared at the door.

Margaret’s son Jacob and wife Nancy had moved on to Atchison County, Missouri by 1880 and Margaret is not with them.

Margaret had only one child who lived in Washington County, Indiana, her reputed place of death. That child was Alexander Henry Smith. It is possible that she didn’t like Iowa and returned home to Indiana and lived with Alex until she died.

If someone can cite a source for her death date and place, I would very much appreciate it.

On Monday, we will take a look at the first family of John Andrew Smith. There are a couple of big surprises to come.

Taking the time to research his family provides an excellent example of why the FAN (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) Club is so important in genealogical research!

 

 

As I moved along in my quest to uncover new information about the Broadway families of North & South Carolina, it was quite disheartening to learn that Anson County, North Carolina, on which I had pinned my hopes, is a burned county.

Granted, probate and land records are extant, but early marriage records literally went up in flames.

Before we set off for North Carolina, though, I meandered around Tennessee hoping upon hope that there were some other Broadway people to be found there at the start of the 1800s.

What did I find in Tennessee records?

Be aware that I did not do any deep research on any of this. I just scoured online websites for possible clues to follow!

1. John Broadway, born c1760, South Carolina, married Nancy Davidson and died c1841 in Wayne County, Tennessee
2. Sally Broadway married F. Foster, 7 September 1813, Wilson County, Tennessee
3. Eby Broadway married John Prim, 17 January 1816, Williamson County, Tennessee
4. Jesse Broadway, 26-44 years old, 1820, Lincoln County, Tennessee
5. Joseph Broadway, 26-44 years old, 1820, Lincoln County, Tennessee
6. John Broadway, 45+, 1820, Stewart County, Tennessee
7. J. Broadway, 45+, 1820, Stewart County, Tennessee

These Tennessee counties are all in the middle or western portion of the state, while Knox County is in eastern Tennessee. There was nothing found to tie any of these people to eastern Tennessee before they settled further west.

This was a very cursory look, but it appears that widow Mary Broadway either didn’t make the westward trek with other Broadways – perhaps she migrated with her own family – or if there were in-laws on the journey, they didn’t remain in the area and left no records in Knox, Hawkins or Greene Counties, Tennessee.

What did I find in North Carolina?

As already mentioned, Anson County was a big disappointment. Marriage records might really have helped, given the dearth of other Broadway records.

There is but one surviving tax list dated 1763, which includes Nicholas Broadway. More about him in a minute.

Like many of my husband’s other ancestors, the Broadways were not of a mind to leave wills or other probate files. Robert Broadway is the first of the surname to appear in probate files and his will wasn’t proved until 1864.

Court records are mostly lost. The one book I was able to read mentioned Nicholas Broadway in an entry dated 1771.

I’ve often had excellent finds in land records. Not so this time around.

Nicholas Broadway is first mentioned in a land entry dated April 1748 with 5 white polls and 0 black polls. The county isn’t listed, but it was likely Bladen County, from which Anson County was formed in 1750.

Next, there is a Samuel Broadway, born c1763, Anson County, thought to be a son of Nicholas, who removed to Prince Edward County, Virginia and served in the American Revolution.

Land record entries reveal only a handful of early Broadways:

Nicholas, buying and selling land 1757-1768
(Elizabeth, thought to be wife of Nicholas, 1755)

Robert, with a land grant in 1782
(Gracie, 1790 head of household thought to be his widow)

Gracie reported three males over 16 in 1790. They are most likely John and William, below, plus one unknown.

John, appears in land records from 1795-1800
John, appears on Capt. Stator’s Co., taxed for 1 white poll and 1 black poll, 1815
William, land grant on 10 July 1797

I was unable to find the disposition of William’s land grant.

My tentative hypothesis is now that William, who appears in no other Anson County records, or the unknown third male over 16, could be the husband of Mary, who left for Tennessee between 1796-1800, if the birth years and places of Mary’s daughters Peggy and Louvina are accurate. It may be significant that William Broadway doesn’t appear anywhere else, either. If he is the man who married Mary, then he died no later than 1803.

A lot of “ifs” in that hypothesis!

As for South Carolina, it does seem that some of those families left for Tennessee in the early 1800s. However, if Peggy Broadway was born in North Carolina, then it isn’t likely that these families might be more than distant cousins to her at best.

It also appears, at first glance, that the Broadway/Broadaway family that migrated to the Carolinas came mostly from Virginia and possibly Delaware or Maryland before that.

The biggest issue trying to document this family is that everyone is linking the surname to multiple people and places with no documentation. There are bound to be quite a few errors in research like that!