After finding the family of my brick wall ancestor, John Smith, my 4th great grandfather, I set out to see what more I could discover about them. I should note here that I found his parents, Amos and Mary Smith, in Waukesha County, WI. This is very “small world” to me because this is the very town where my husband grew up and where his family still lives. So it’s a little wild that the only branch of my family that lived in Wisconsin did so in the same town. My husband’s mind is still blown by this fact.
John was born in New York, so I knew the family had started out there. According to Amos’ biography, he was from Oswego County, NY and his wife, Mary Frazier, was from Livingston County, NY, where they were married. 1 Amos was born about 1816 and Mary about 1818. They were living in Mt. Morris, NY in the 1840 census with 2 children and Amos was identified as being employed in manufacture or trade.2 They moved to Wisconsin after 1840. He acquired some land south of Waukesha via a cash entry land patent in 1843. The patent identifies him as a resident of Livingston County, NY. 3 Interestingly, the land he bought is now a subdivision with streets all named after locations in Scotland. This could be a coincidence, but in a later post will seem a little less so.
In 1850, the family was living in Pewaukee, a village near Waukesha, and consisted of Amos, Mary and their 6 children. Amos was listed as a farmer. 4 By 1852, Amos partnered up with William Blair to operate an implement manufacturing business. I suspect Amos was the blacksmith behind this venture and William was the businessman. As a side note, William Blair became a very well known figure in Waukesha and Wisconsin history. He later served on the state sensate for 3 terms. There’s a road and a school named for him in Waukesha and his house is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1860 the Smith family was enumerated in Waukesha and Amos is finally listed as a blacksmith. 5 Plat maps for Waukesha show Amos as having property in downtown Waukesha, near the foundry he and Blair operated.
From the 1858 City Directory. I might be biased, but I think this a pretty cool logo.
In 1861, Amos and Mary’s youngest child, Charles, was killed in a shooting accident. He and a friend were practicing shooting at a target; the friend held up the rifle when Charles suddenly stepped in front him as he took the shot. Charles was shot in the head, causing “instant death.” He was 12 years old. 6
A few years later, Blair and Amos dissolved their partnership. 7 Amos apparently went back to “rural” life in Pewaukee after that. There are newspaper accounts of his Aldernay cow producing 20.5 lb of butter per week. 8 In 1872 he sold off a number of animal and farm implements and in 1879 there is an account of his return from Nebrasksa, where he was so impressed by the soil and weather that he bought another farm. The article noted that he had no intention of leaving the village though. 9 10
Less than a year later, Amos was dead. He drowned while ice fishing on Pewaukee Lake in late January of 1880. 11 The mortality schedule lists him as a retired blacksmith. His probate was adminstered by his eldest son, Albion B. Smith. 12
I am not yet sure what became of Mary after this point. I have a found a couple possibilities for her in the Wisconsin Death Index, but I suspect she died prior to 1900 because I haven’t found her after the 1880 census.
As for their children:
- Albion B. Smith moved to Minnesota where he married and had 2 children. He became a railroad engineer and at one time was the oldest engineer in America. He was in charge of the locomotive “William Crooks” at the Alaska-Yukon World’s Fair in 1909. He died shortly after that. The William Crooks is now in a museum about 4-5 hours away from me and I think I’d like to go visit it sometime. I may also do a write-up in Albion.
- John Smith, my 4th great grand father left Wisconsin sometime between 1850 and 1863 when he married my 4th great grandmother in Bannack, Montana. I have previously written about him.
- Luke Smith disappears right along with John. They show up together in Oregon in the 1880 census and that’s the last I hear of them.
- William Henry Smith also married and moved to Minnesota. He also became an engineer.
- Mary Jane Smith married and moved to Illinois.
- Charles Smith died at the age of 12 due to a gunshot wound.
- The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Western Historical Company, Chicago 1880. Entry for Amos Smith, page 944. Linkstothepast.com [online database]. ↩
- United States of America, Bureau of the Census. 1840 United States Federal Census, St. Morris, Livingston, New York; Entry for Amos Smith; Roll: 294; Page: 192; Ancestry.com [database online]. ↩
- Bureau of Land Management, “Land Patent Search,” digital images, General Land Office Records (http://glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch : accessed [9 Jun 2020]), Amos Smith (Waukesha, WI), certificate no 7852. ↩
- United States of America, Bureau of the Census. 1850 United States Federal Census, Delafield, Waukesha, Wisconsin; Entry for Amos Smith, line 2; Roll: 1009; Page: 390A; Ancestry.com [database online]. ↩
- United States of America, Bureau of the Census. 1860 United States Federal Census, Waukesha, Waukesha, Wisconsin; Entry for Amos Smith, line 1; Page: 262; Ancestry.com [database online]. ↩
- Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, WI; Tue, Dec 10, 1861, “Died.” NewspaperArchive.com [online database]. ↩
- Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, WI; Tue, Jan 20, 1863, “Dissolution of Co-partnership.” Newspaperarchive.com [online database]. ↩
- The Superior Times, Superior, WI; 1 Jul 1875, page 2; “Waukesha County,” Newspapers.com [online database]. ↩
- Waukesha Plaindealer, Waukesha, WI; Tue, Sep 24, 1872, “Auction Sales,” Newspaperarchive.com [online database]. ↩
- Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, WI; Thu, Apr 24, 1879, “Correspondence,” Newspaperarchive.com [online database]. ↩
- Waukesha Daily Freeman, Waukesha, WI; 4 Mar 1880, page 1; Newspapers.com [online database]. ↩
- Waukesha Freeman, Waukesha, WI. Thu, Nov 25, 1880; Newspaperarchive.com [online database]. ↩
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