Thomas Smith Jr. (bef. 1771 - abt. 1839)

Born before 1771 in Chippinghurst, Oxfordshire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Gurden) Smith — married 27 Dec 1787 in Headington, Oxfordshire, England

Descendants

Died about 8 Sep 1839 after about age 68 in Vermilion County, Illinois [uncertain]

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Biography

Thomas Smith Jr. was born about 1767, Chippinghurst?, Cuddesdon Parish, Oxfordshire, England. He was perhaps first married to Ann (and had a son James bp. 31 May 1787 at Cuddesdon). If so, Ann apparently died between May 1787 and December 1787. Thomas married (2nd) on 27 December 1787, Headington, Oxfordshire, to Mary Gurden, daughter of Richard Gurden and Mary Harris.

He is presumably the Thomas Smith of Chippinghurst, Oxford, yeoman, subject of an unexecuted lease agreement dated 12 October 1812. The Oxfordshire Record Office has this lease agreement, which was between Joseph Francklin of Haddenham (Buckinghamshire), Esq., and Thomas Smith of Chippinghurst, Oxfordshire, yeoman. (Note: Joseph Francklin had probably acquired the Chippinghurst property because his mother was a member of the Greenwood family).

Mentioned in an 1814 lease agreement: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/cfb09e25-2519-4b1e-a3ff-38935edde50c

Mentioned in an 1816 lease agreement: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/4fc5591a-23b0-4587-8924-d7040d5d1dc7

He lived during the time (1816) of the "year without a summer" due to the cold summer weather caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora volcano the previous year. "On June 25, 1816, The Franklin Repository in Pennsylvania reported that snow blanketed the area. Around the same time, The Evening Post in New York described freezing temperatures and nearly a foot of snow. Farm animals in Vermont succumbed to the freezing temperatures as long-time residents said they’d never seen anything like it!" "As fall approached, the Hartford Courant noted that 1816 would go down in history because there had been frost every month of the year. European papers complained that constant rains had ruined crops and created a famine."

Family tradition says that Thomas Smith Jr. may have died in 1839 or 1841 in Vermilion County, Illinois. Therefore, he may very well be the Thomas Smith (died 08 September 1839) who is buried in Manns Family Cemetery in Vermilion Co., Illinois.

Sources

"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2D3-95K : 10 December 2014), Thomas Smith and Mary Gurden, 27 Dec 1787; citing Headington,Oxford,England, reference ; FHL microfilm 887,481.

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/2e5b126b-be91-4037-a2cc-c810021790a0

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2196270&GRid=28308832&