Today’s family sketch looks at John Smith & Agnes Service, who married in New Jersey in 1879, but were both born in Scotland. Whether or not the families knew each other beforehand is not known.

John Smith was born 26 December 1854, Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland. and Agnes was also born in Lanarkshire on 3 July 1853.

How this couple met is not known. However, the Service family quickly settled in Whitestown, Oneida, New York, appearing there in the 1875 state census.

Something drew Agnes to Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey, as she and John Smith married there on 14 November 1879.

Children:

1. Robert Alexander, born 11 August 1880, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; died 25 November 1954, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; married Catherine Babcock, 1 January 1900, probably Paterson, Passaic, new Jersey. They had three children.
2. Mamie, born about 3 February 1886, New Jersey; died 23 May 1960, New Jersey; married Michael Bielecki aka Barclay, 1918, New Jersey as his second wife. They had no children.
3. James, born 4 November 1887, Passaic County, New Jersey; died 17 April 1948, Totowa, Passaic, New Jersey; married Jane Crooks, 1912, New Jersey. They had no children.
4. Agnes, born 7 November 1889, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; died 7 April 1959, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; married William Spinnler, 20 June 1912, New Jersey. They had three children.

John Smith died about 1899, probably in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey. Agnes survived him by a couple of years. She is found as the widow of John Smith in the 1901 Paterson city directory and named as a survivor of her father in his May 1901 obituary. However, the 1902-1903 Paterson city directories are not extant. Agnes doesn’t appear in the 1904 edition, nor has a death certificate been found for her.

As I continue to help out my cousin with family research, I’m sharing some family lines hoping that there are other descendants out there who can add more facts to these life sketches.

Recently, I shared my cousin’s Turner families and I got nowhere locating possibilities in England. Now, I’m faced with the Smith family, but family lore says they came from Glasgow, Scotland and there are actually some primary records that support that lore!

Robert Smith was born c1828 in Scotland, said to be Renfrewshire. He married Elizabeth Scobie on 4 March 1848 in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, as found in Scotland’s People.

The only census in which Robert appears is the 1880, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey and the family couldn’t have arrived before 1872 because there is a birth record for their youngest child, Sarah, born in 1872 in Bridgeton, Lanark, Scotland.

At home, we have:

Smith, Robert, 52, silk weaver
Smith, Elizabeth, 50
Smith, Alexander, 18, silk weaver
Smith, Margaret, 16, silk weaver
Smith Sarah, 8, at school
Melady, John, 24, silk finisher
Melady, Martha, 20, silk weaver

John Melady is identified as a son-in-law and Martha as Robert’s daughter. The connection to the silk industry isn’t surprising since the Glasgow area was known for its textiles.

Neither Robert nor Elizabeth were found in the 1900 census, so I checked Paterson city directories. Not all years are extant, but I did manage to narrow down their death dates.

Robert last appears in the 1885 city directory, listed as a weaver, 41 Cross Street. In 1886, Elizabeth, widow of Robert, appears at 21 Huron Street. She is found in several more directories, the last being in 1894, when Elizabeth, the widow of Robert, lived at 52 Arch Street, Paterson.

However, neither appear to have death certificates, nor marked gravestones. So, the best that can be said is that Robert died between1885-1886 and Elizabeth died between 1894-1895, both probably in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey.

Children:

1. John, born 26 December 1854, Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland; died c1899, probably Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey; married Agnes Service, 14 November 1879, Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey
2. William, born 26 October 1854, Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland; no further record
3. Martha Lang, born about 1860, Scotland; died 28 December 1908, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut; married John F. Meleady, 1879, probably Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey
4. Alexander L., born 29 July 1862, Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland; died 19 December 1934, Easton, Northhampton, Pennsylvania; married Agnes L. Haytock, c1889, probably Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey
5. Margaret, born c1864, Scotland; died after 1880; no further record
6. Sarah Lang, born 25 November 1866, Paisley, Renfrew, Scotland; died before 1872
7. Sarah L., born 27 May 1872, Bridgeton, Lanark, Scotland; died 13 June 1963, Columbia, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; married John Turner, c1892. [Note: This man is not related to the Turners who were in Wayne. Case of two men with the name (common) name.) This man was born c1869 in Scotland.

If you are related to any of these people, please leave a comment.