•U.S., Dutch Selected States Reformed Church Vital Records, 1660-1926 show his birth as 20 Oct 1787 and his baptism as 04 Nov 1787.
~~~~~
Stark County News
Friday, 27 Feb 1880
The late William Smith, who died the 13th ult. and was buried the 15th, was born in the month of August 1787, either in Fort Herkimer or a neighboring one, as the troops about that time were changing their position frequently. It is not known by some of the family which fort he was born in; he was past 82 years of age. Sufficient interest is connected with his life and time of birth to give it a passing notice. His life has been an eventful one; he was a man whose constitution was very weak, so much so that his parents never sent him to school but three days until he became of age. His parents were English, a day or two after arriving in America, William's father enlisted to battle in the cause of freedom. This event so incensed his father that he sent two sons over the Atlantic to persuade him to be loyal to his mother country; but when they arrived in the U.S., the excitement ran so high that one of the brothers joined the army and the other one was run out of the country by the women, he was compelled to swim the Mohawk River to save his life; consequently, the late William's ancestors were disinherited, it is said, of a large estate. At the age of 7 years, William was taken west where his father had located his soldier's claim which is now in Cortland county, New York. William was there one year that he never saw the face of a white person except his father and brother; they were about 14 miles from their nearest neighbors and in a timbered section: readers can imagine something of the privitations and hardships that it is possible they had to undergo. The late William built and owned two mills while he lived in Courtland county, which were located on the north branch of the Susquehanna River - grist and sawmills. He emigrated to this state in 1844, locating in Lynn township, Knox county, where he resided until he died. He brought up a family of eight children and possessed at the time of his death, of 160 acres of land, which has been occupied by one of his sons, Heman, for a number of years. The mother is still living and is well advanced in years and quite feeble; her consort and self lived as man and wife for over 70 years. They lost two children in New York. The connecting links of humanity between us and the period of the revolution are fast dropping out and ere long, the only resource of narration will be the records of history.
~~~~~
Stark County News
Friday, 27 Feb 1880
The late William Smith, who died the 13th ult. and was buried the 15th, was born in the month of August 1787, either in Fort Herkimer or a neighboring one, as the troops about that time were changing their position frequently. It is not known by some of the family which fort he was born in; he was past 82 years of age. Sufficient interest is connected with his life and time of birth to give it a passing notice. His life has been an eventful one; he was a man whose constitution was very weak, so much so that his parents never sent him to school but three days until he became of age. His parents were English, a day or two after arriving in America, William's father enlisted to battle in the cause of freedom. This event so incensed his father that he sent two sons over the Atlantic to persuade him to be loyal to his mother country; but when they arrived in the U.S., the excitement ran so high that one of the brothers joined the army and the other one was run out of the country by the women, he was compelled to swim the Mohawk River to save his life; consequently, the late William's ancestors were disinherited, it is said, of a large estate. At the age of 7 years, William was taken west where his father had located his soldier's claim which is now in Cortland county, New York. William was there one year that he never saw the face of a white person except his father and brother; they were about 14 miles from their nearest neighbors and in a timbered section: readers can imagine something of the privitations and hardships that it is possible they had to undergo. The late William built and owned two mills while he lived in Courtland county, which were located on the north branch of the Susquehanna River - grist and sawmills. He emigrated to this state in 1844, locating in Lynn township, Knox county, where he resided until he died. He brought up a family of eight children and possessed at the time of his death, of 160 acres of land, which has been occupied by one of his sons, Heman, for a number of years. The mother is still living and is well advanced in years and quite feeble; her consort and self lived as man and wife for over 70 years. They lost two children in New York. The connecting links of humanity between us and the period of the revolution are fast dropping out and ere long, the only resource of narration will be the records of history.
•U.S., Dutch Selected States Reformed Church Vital Records, 1660-1926 show his birth as 20 Oct 1787 and his baptism as 04 Nov 1787.
~~~~~
Stark County News
Friday, 27 Feb 1880
The late William Smith, who died the 13th ult. and was buried the 15th, was born in the month of August 1787, either in Fort Herkimer or a neighboring one, as the troops about that time were changing their position frequently. It is not known by some of the family which fort he was born in; he was past 82 years of age. Sufficient interest is connected with his life and time of birth to give it a passing notice. His life has been an eventful one; he was a man whose constitution was very weak, so much so that his parents never sent him to school but three days until he became of age. His parents were English, a day or two after arriving in America, William's father enlisted to battle in the cause of freedom. This event so incensed his father that he sent two sons over the Atlantic to persuade him to be loyal to his mother country; but when they arrived in the U.S., the excitement ran so high that one of the brothers joined the army and the other one was run out of the country by the women, he was compelled to swim the Mohawk River to save his life; consequently, the late William's ancestors were disinherited, it is said, of a large estate. At the age of 7 years, William was taken west where his father had located his soldier's claim which is now in Cortland county, New York. William was there one year that he never saw the face of a white person except his father and brother; they were about 14 miles from their nearest neighbors and in a timbered section: readers can imagine something of the privitations and hardships that it is possible they had to undergo. The late William built and owned two mills while he lived in Courtland county, which were located on the north branch of the Susquehanna River - grist and sawmills. He emigrated to this state in 1844, locating in Lynn township, Knox county, where he resided until he died. He brought up a family of eight children and possessed at the time of his death, of 160 acres of land, which has been occupied by one of his sons, Heman, for a number of years. The mother is still living and is well advanced in years and quite feeble; her consort and self lived as man and wife for over 70 years. They lost two children in New York. The connecting links of humanity between us and the period of the revolution are fast dropping out and ere long, the only resource of narration will be the records of history.
~~~~~
Stark County News
Friday, 27 Feb 1880
The late William Smith, who died the 13th ult. and was buried the 15th, was born in the month of August 1787, either in Fort Herkimer or a neighboring one, as the troops about that time were changing their position frequently. It is not known by some of the family which fort he was born in; he was past 82 years of age. Sufficient interest is connected with his life and time of birth to give it a passing notice. His life has been an eventful one; he was a man whose constitution was very weak, so much so that his parents never sent him to school but three days until he became of age. His parents were English, a day or two after arriving in America, William's father enlisted to battle in the cause of freedom. This event so incensed his father that he sent two sons over the Atlantic to persuade him to be loyal to his mother country; but when they arrived in the U.S., the excitement ran so high that one of the brothers joined the army and the other one was run out of the country by the women, he was compelled to swim the Mohawk River to save his life; consequently, the late William's ancestors were disinherited, it is said, of a large estate. At the age of 7 years, William was taken west where his father had located his soldier's claim which is now in Cortland county, New York. William was there one year that he never saw the face of a white person except his father and brother; they were about 14 miles from their nearest neighbors and in a timbered section: readers can imagine something of the privitations and hardships that it is possible they had to undergo. The late William built and owned two mills while he lived in Courtland county, which were located on the north branch of the Susquehanna River - grist and sawmills. He emigrated to this state in 1844, locating in Lynn township, Knox county, where he resided until he died. He brought up a family of eight children and possessed at the time of his death, of 160 acres of land, which has been occupied by one of his sons, Heman, for a number of years. The mother is still living and is well advanced in years and quite feeble; her consort and self lived as man and wife for over 70 years. They lost two children in New York. The connecting links of humanity between us and the period of the revolution are fast dropping out and ere long, the only resource of narration will be the records of history.
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