Jabez Smith Sr (1715 - 1782)

Born 17 Feb 1715 in Groton, New London County, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Desire (Denison) Smith — married 11 Nov 1736 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut Colony

Husband of Amy (Avery) Smith — married 26 May 1742 in Groton, New London, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 11 Aug 1782 at age 67 in New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA

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Biography

Jabez Smith was born 17 February 1714/5 ^[1] to Nehemiah Smith and Dorothy Wheeler in Groton, Connecticut.

Jabez received two lots in the distribution of Nehemiah's estate on 7 July 1726 -- 44 acres acres on the north side of the parsonage land and 10 acres in the great lot in Poquanok.^[2]

Jabez married Desire Denison, daughter of Edward and Mercy (Hedge) Denison, on 11 November 1736 at Stonington First Congregational Church.^[3] Their marriage was also recorded in Groton town records.^[4]

Child of Jabez and Desire (Denison) Smith:

1. Desire (Smith) Denison (1737-1815), b. 31 July 1737^[5]

Desire, his wife, might have died in childbirth, because there is no further record of her.

Jabez married, second, Amy Avery, daughter of Ebenezer and Dorothy (Parke) Avery, on 26 May 1742 in Groton.^[4]

Children of Jabez and Amy (Avery) Smith were born at Groton and baptized in First Church of Groton ^[6]:

1. Amy (Smith) Prentice, b. 18 January 1746/7; married Jonas Prentice; d. 11 Mar 1814
2. Eunice Smith, b. 25 Feb 1748/49
3. Jabez Smith (Jr.), b. 31 August 1751
4. Anne Smith, b. 4 December 1754
5. John Smith, b. 11 April 1757, d. February 1759 @ Groton
6. Mary Smith, b. 31 Oct 1759 [Note: Possibly this was Mary (Smith) Stanton (abt.; not certain]
7. John Smith (1762-1833), b. 10 April 1762
8. Perez Swan Smith, b. 15 July 1766

Jabez Smith was commissioned Ensign of the Groton train-band in October 1748,^[7] and as Captain of the 1st company in Groton 1754.^[8] The highest ranking Jabez Smith found in records of Connecticut revolutionary soldiers was an Ensign in Col. Selden's Regiment.^[9]

Jabez Smith died 11 August 1782 in New Haven. His remains were interred at the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven ^[10]. His grave bears a Revolutionary War marker.

Sources

1. ↑ Groton Vital Records 1704-1853, p. 203, citing Groton 1:114.
2. ↑ Probate record, estate of Nehemiah Smith Jr., 1724. Hartford Probate Packets, Smith, Daniel-Smith, R, 1675-1850, image 1240; Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts; Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
3. ↑ Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Volume 111 Stonington, p. 118, citing Stonington First Congregational Church 4:40; Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920. Provo, UT, USA: 2013.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Groton Vital Records 1704-1853, p. 203, citing Groton 1:178.
5. ↑ Groton Vital Records 1704-1853, p. 201, citing Groton 1:178.
6. ↑ The Groton Avery Clan (Avery & Avery, 1912), p. 172, no. 71: https://archive.org/details/grotonaveryclan01aver/page/172/mode/1up
7. ↑ Connecticut. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut [1636-1776]... Hartford: Brown & Parsons, 1850-90.9:389.
8. ↑ Ibid., 10:315.
9. ↑ NARA M881. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. Roll, 0372, Smith, Jabez.
10. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #128795144

• Denison Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of Captain George Denison; E. Glenn Denison, Josephine M. Peck and Donald L. Jacobus; Gateway Press, Inc. Baltimore, MD 1993 [Originally published, Pequot Press 1963; Reprinted, Baltimore, MD 1978, 1982, 1993], no. 146: https://archive.org/details/denisongenealogy00deni/page/6/mode/1up

• White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002; Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

• Wheeler, Richard. History of the Town of Stonington, County of New London, Connecticut, p. 203, no. 68: https://archive.org/stream/historyoftownofs00whee_1#page/n225/mode/1up; p. 342, no. 129: https://archive.org/stream/historyoftownofs00whee_1#page/n364/mode/1up; p. 639, no. 33: https://archive.org/stream/historyoftownofs00whee_1#page/n661/mode/1up