Donald W Smith

Ancestors

Son of Art Smith and Doris Martha (Bergman) Smith

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Biography

My father Arthur Leon Smith and uncle Mark Worden Smith researched for about 20 years in the 1970s and 80s and produced a "Blue Binder' including over 400 relatives ^[1] and Hiram Smith Genealogy focusing on descendandants of Hiram Horace Smith^[2] I have some of their sources, including letters between family members. They hit a brick wall on our paternal Smith line at their 2GGF Hiram Horace Smith b. 1808 in either NY or VT. I have found no records, but DNA matches have led to highly probable parents for Hiram.

I re-created my father's Blue Binder ^[1] on Ancestry.com starting in 2018 as a public tree ^[3] and used Ancestry and other public records to confirm and add to the information provided. My father was pretty accurate!

I now have over 3900 relatives in my Ancestry tree, which includes many lines to ten generations in early New England colonies. I have used Ancestry ThruLines to help confirm relatives while researching shared DNA matches on Ancestry. I have notes and diagrams as I find common ancestors or possible connections with my DNA relatives,

Probable father for Hiram b. 1808

While researching trees of a group of 43 shared DNA matches, two of trees included a fairly uncommon name: "William Otho Smith". One of them listed his father as a 'John Smith' b. 1789. Another tree in the group listed a 'Reuben Smith' and father John Smith b. 1789. I know of at least 13 DNA matches with descendants of John Smith b. 1789 through three different half-siblings of Hiram. My conclusion is that my 3GGF Hiram Horace Smith b. 1808 is an undocumented first son of John Smith b. 1789.

Probable mother for Hiram b. 1808

Another group of DNA matches led to a couple David Convis and wife Deborah Kenyon. Per census records 1790 in Kent, RI. and 1800 in Rupert, Bennington, VT it appears they had two daughters: Lucy and another unknown daughter, probably near the same age and born before 1790. The first daughter named Lucy has a well documented family. My theory is that the 'unkonwn daughter is Hiram's mother. I know of over 14 DNA matches through four different siblings of who I call 'Daughter1' Converse in my Ancestry tree.

Circumstantial evidence of relationship between John Smith 1789's documented children and Hiram

Hiram was born in 1808, when John was about 19, and about 10 years before John Smith started his family with Mary Kenyon

There is a large Smith presence in the area of Rupert, Bennington, Vermont where the Convis family lived. John may have had relatives there.

Hiram died in 1848 and his probable half-brother John Pendleton Smith named his first born son Hiram in 1849, possibly to honor his older half-brother.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Unsourced family history 'Blue Binder' by my father Arthur L Smith
2. ↑ Hiram Smith Genealogy written by Mark Worden Smith (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MH3iivXZrbXsm-NJ_zzzUoBKGwNN3XFm/view?usp=share_link)
3. ↑ Smith-Knapp-Barnes Tree [1]

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Donald W Smith and his first cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their grandparents, Leon G Smith and Neva Elinor Knapp. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 1st Cousins, based on sharing 1063 cM across 39 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• Maternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Donald W Smith and his first cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their grandparents, William Bergman and Lucille Barnes. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 1st Cousin WickKrch (Sue Ann Bergman), based on sharing 912 cM across 33 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• Paternal and maternal relationships are confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Donald W Smith and his brother Arthur William Smith. Their most-recent common ancestors are their parents, Arthur L Smith and LDoris Martha Bergman. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: Brother, based on sharing 2793 cM across 41 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• First-hand information. Entered by Donald Smith at registration.