The elusive Mr. Elisha Smith

Question

Hello everyone. I have dabbled in genealogy for a few years. Currently I am focusing on trying to trace my father's family. With a last name like Smith it isn't easy. I have hit a roadblock with my ggg grandfather: Elisha Smith (Smith-158732) The gentleman claims to be born in NY about 1800, but in later sources his son says England. That added to the fact he has about a 40 year absence in census records (from birth to 1840). In that time period he married Melissa Hedge. No marriage records, nothing. I am beginning to understand why most genealogist are gray headed. This is giving me gray hair!

Comments

Patrick, have you seen this

 

 

Name: Elisha Smith

Event Type: Census

Event Year: 1850

Event Place: Manchester, Dearborn, Indiana, United States

Gender: Male

Age: 50

Race: White

Race (Original):

Birth Year (Estimated): 1800

Birthplace: New York

Household ID: 210

House Number: 210

Line Number: 39

Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

Affiliate Publication Number: M432

Affiliate Film Number: 141

GS Film Number: 7754

Digital Folder Number: 004193373

Image Number: 00298

 

 

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

Elisha Smith M 50 New York

Melissa Smith F 33 New York

Lyman Smith M 13 Indiana

Edmund Smith M 10 Indiana

Mary M Smith F 7 Indiana

Samuel Smith M 6 Indiana

 

 

 

Citing this Record:

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHVL-6G3 : 12 April 2016), Elisha Smith, Manchester, Dearborn, Indiana, United States; citing family 210, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

---

Check out this in Find A Grave

 

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 May 2018), memorial page for Elisha Smith (1800–20 Jun 1863), Find A Grave Memorial no. 15871079, citing Stiles Cemetery, Stiles, Davis County, Iowa, USA ; Maintained by Airrow (contributor 46629499) .

---

Patrick, did you have a chance to check these?

Answer 1

Yes, I have checked each of those. Today I was able to find some more about Elisha. I found his middle initial is an M (from his son's tombstones) and I am confident I located him in the 1840 census living in Hendricks, IN. On ancestry.com there was a photo of his tombstone. Elisha is my white whale. This genealogy stuff is a blast. I feel like a detective.

Comments

Great, thanks