Looking for help finding the right parents for Smith 303652.

+4 votes
449 views
I am trying to build the smith side of my tree, I am having trouble because the mother listed on his death record i do not think ever existed cause i cannot find her nowhere other than on the death record.could someone please help me..
WikiTree profile: Dennis Smith
in Genealogy Help by Kathie Mitchell G2G1 (1.2k points)
retagged by Ellen Smith

3 Answers

+3 votes
 
Best answer

Take a look at this profile for Esther Coville:

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MKPV-H62

It appears to be the wife of Dennis Smith (the father listed on your attached profile) with a number of sources.

by Roger Stong G2G Astronaut (1.8m points)
selected by Mary Lou Finley

P.S.  There is also a profile of the father with some sources for him, as well as a suggested profile:

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G4R4-R72

Nice finds, Roger. smiley A minor detail I noticed: The Milford, Massachusetts, death record for Esther (Caval) Smith cited on that FamilySearch profile is misidentified on the FS site as a "burial" record. She was recorded as age 68 years and 16 days, giving a birth date of 28 September 1802, which date is mislabeled at FS as a christening date.

+2 votes

Interestingly, the death record for Dennis Smith, the father of Dennis Smith Jr. who is linked to this profile, names his parents as Daniel Smith and Esther Cover or Coven. The mother has the same name as the mother on the death record for Dennis Smith Jr's brother Jasper Smith! I don't think that Dennis Smith was his own father, so this is an error -- and a reminder to be cautious about relying on death records for details of the deceased person's parents.

Edited because I confused the names Daniel and Dennis in the death record.

by Ellen Smith G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
edited by Ellen Smith
+1 vote

There is a variety of spellings for her last name at birth, but there's a good basis for concluding that Esther existed and her last name was something like Covill. At least three sources that I've seen (death record for her and death records for her sons Dennis and Jasper) indicate that she was born in Boston,

That FamilySearch profile that Roger Stong found has a link to her death record. Esther (Caval) Smith died in Milford, Massachusetts, on 14 October 1870 at age 68 years and 16 days. That age at death gives her birth date as 28 September 1802. Source: "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N72Z-7G4 : 17 November 2022), Esther Caval Smith, 1870.

Esther Covel married Dennis Smith in the city of Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on 13 December. Source is ''Vital Records of Worcester, Massachusetts, to 1850'', page 322, at https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Worcester/Worcester/Images/Worcester_M322.shtml

Edited to correct my comment about sources that give Esther's birthplace.

by Ellen Smith G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
edited by Ellen Smith

The 1840 U.S. Census has Dennis Smith (the father of Dennis M. Smith Jr.) in Holden, age 30 to 39. Other household members are one female age 30 to 39 (this would be his wife), one male under age 5, one male age 5 to 9, one male age 10 to 14, and one female age 10 to 14. See "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHT6-B99 : 8 December 2020), Dennis Smith, Holden, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; citing p. 97, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm.

Marriage of Alice Jane Smith, daughter of John and Esther, on 19 June 1850: "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NW1L-VWX : 16 November 2022), Dennis Smith in entry for George W Mason and Alice Jane Smith, 1850.

The oldest child of Dennis and Esther was son Asa, born about 1825. He married for the second time in 1854: "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NWBV-QM2 : 16 November 2022), Dennis Smith in entry for Asa Smith and Catherine Mullen, 1854.

Records for siblings Asa Smith and Alice (Smith) Mason may have additional clues regarding their parents.

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