NEW! Click here for Advanced Search
Click here to
to the database
| Name | Lifespan | Where Born | |
| William SMEATHERS | abt 1765-1837 | VA or NC | |
| Additional Notes | Migration Steps | ||
| Wm Smeathers first was officially found in Ky. Prior researchers have him in Va around 1760's. No confirmation is found for this data. His parents have not been located. We know for sure he had his own military troop of what was called the Battalion of Mounted Spies in the War of 1812 under the command of Major Touissant Dubois. He was a Capt which inc his brother James Smeathers of Ohio Co Ky and his brother in law, Caleb Winters of Robertson Co Tn. We believe, that most probably Wm was born in then what was called Tn, later to become part of Va. Caleb Winters as well as Jas Smeathers and Jas Gentry were in his battallion. We have those military rec fr Richmond Va. We know that Wm did marry Caleb Winters sister, Mary Winters, dau of Moses Winters of Robertson Co Tn and wife Eliz Head Crain Winters. On the headstone of Moses in the Head Cem in Robertson Co Tn, it does list Mary, b 1769 married Smothers/Smeathers. All the census we have found on their 3 children: John Bate Smeathers sr, Archibald Smeathers, Mary Smithers, all list their place of birth as Tn. We have recds of Wm being in the Ky ^Corn Stalk Militia^ which also lists his bro Jas, and Caleb Winters. Wm is a Lt and when he is in the War of 1812 he is a Capt..so this makes sense, if one understands military upgrade. Wm Smeathers obviously made his home fr abt 1797-1810 at the Yellowbanks, [later to be Owensboro] Ky as we have various court documents where his home was the meeting place for county commissioner meetings and he was a Land Commissioner for that county. We also have court papers which verify that in 1809 Wm was indicted for the murder of a river boatman named Andrew Norris. This was taken to court in Hartford Ky. Joe Daviess was Wm Smeathers attorney. The court found him in less than 1 hr ^not guilty^. Story goes that abt 7 river boatmen pulled up to Smeathers cabin on the Ohio to take food, lodge and do some gambling. On being rather ^rough^ speaking, Wm sent his sister, Mary away to his good friend, Valentine ^Felty^ Husk's cabin for protection, but Mary was obviously waylaid by one Andrew Norris in the barn and ^raped^. Wm found her there with blood about and next thing this man Norris is found dead. Smeathers turned himself in to the JP. In the court papers, Smeathers refused to allow his sister, Mary to testify-leading to one's thinking this was certainly what happened and he did not want to cause her any more anguish by being on the wittness stand. Upon acquittal by the jury, Joe Daviess advised Smeathers to leave the county, as friend's of this Norris were ^out to get him^. Smeathers did not leave right away but hung around until the beginning of the winter c1810 then saying his goodbyes to his bro Jas Smeathers and family, loaded his 3 dogs onto his skiff on the Ohio River and went all the way down to New Orleans and Galveston Island, Tx. Meanwhile, his sister shows up in the 1810 census with a child born she ended up calling her ^nephew^ but we believe was actually a son caused by the rape by ^Norris in 1809^. We have the will of Mary Smeathers, who NEVER married, of 1846 when she died, and her whole will is totally consumed with her sister, Jane Smeathers Grass [who m Judge Daniel Grass 1800] as being the custodial of this child called James Smeathers and how Jane and her sons should care for this child. In the 1850 census we found that this child was declared ^idiotic^ on the census. In Mary's will she calls him ^mentally challenged^. Smeathers shows up again in Ohio Co Ky in 1811-1815 in various court records. In 1816 he is found in Monroe Co In in court rec and his son in law, John Berry, who m Smeathers dau, Betsy, along with Smeathers 2nd son, Archibald Jacob. Smeathers is then found to appear in Tx abt 1821 as a scout for Stephen F Austin searching out land for the Austin Colony in Tx. Meanwhile, John Berry is known to have left In c1826 along with Archibald Jacob Smeathers for Tx as they show up in Liberty Co Tx census. Also Wm Smeathers lst son John Smeathers apparently left with the Berry's as a letter written by Archibald Smeathers dau, Mary Jane, tells of when the Berry's and her father, Archibald left In to meet up with her grandfather, Wm Smeathers in Williamson Co Tx. Census do show Archibald and the Berrys there c1831. Wm Smeathers shows up in the Dewitt colony along with his lst son John Smeathers fr 1828-1830 in Lavaca Co. John Smeathers obtains a land grant there and Wm Smeathers buys some property fr Maj James Kerr. Wm Smeathers ends up selling his property later to a Hardy and returns to the Ft Bend, Tx area where he dies Aug 1837 in Columbia. The Houston paper publishes his obit saying he is 71y old. He left a hand written will given as heirs his grandsons, John Bate Berry and Andrew Jackson Berry and their father, John Berry property, he leaves as executor his 2nd son, Archibald Jacob Smeathers and his lst son, John Bate Smeathers is not an heir to anything. A historical marker is erected at Ft Bend which declares Wm Smeathers as ^One of the Ole 300^ and in Hallettsville Tx a marker declares him Vet of Tx Rev. |
to Ft. Vienna, Nelson County now Calhoun, McLean County, KY in aft 1780 to Yellowbanks, Ohio County now Owensboro, Daviess County, KY in abt 1797 to Ft. Bend County, TX in 1821 to Dewitt Colony, Lavaca County, TX in 1828 to Brazoria County, TX in abt 1830 | ||
| Researcher: Nena Smothers | |||
If you didn't find who you were looking for...
click here to
to the database!
To report database errors, contact Migrations Support