Bethia (Lee) Smith (1732 - bef. 1808)

Born 27 Sep 1732 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Wife of Seth (Guernsey) Garnsey Jr. — married 15 Nov 1753 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts

Wife of Ebenezer Smith — married 19 Oct 1766 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA

Descendants

Died before 1808 before age 75 in Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Leigh Anne Dear [send private message] and Benjamin Harrison [send private message]

Biography

Birth
Bethiah Lee born 27 September 1732 to Richard Lee and Experience (Millard) Lee of Rehoboth, Bristol county, Massachusetts. ^[1]

Marriages and Children
Bethiah Lee and Seth Garnzey, Jr. aka Garnsey recorded their marriage intention on 15 November 1753 at Rehoboth. [V.R.R. 3:124] ^[2] and they had a daughter born soon after:

1. Bethia Garnzey, b. 12 Feb 1754, Rehoboth ^[3] ; child out-of-wedlock by Ezekiel Johnson, (Sr.) of Bellingham who was b. 12 Jan 1773, Uxbridge, MA. and named Ezekiel Johnson, (Jr.) ; she m. Jonathan King, 1776, at Douglas, MA. ; they relocated to New London, CT. ; she d. 7 May 1842, New London, New London, CT.

Husband Seth Garnzey passed away unexpectedly one month after the birth of his child. On 2 April 1754 the widow Bethiah "Garnsey" was appointed "admr-trix" of the late Seth Garnsey who died intestate. That there was some contention between Bethiah and her mother-in-law regarding Seth's due portion of his late father's estate can be witnessed in the following:

1 Aug 1759 Note dated Rehoboth, sgd by "Hannah Mansfield" (mother-in-law) stating "Whereas Estate of my son Seth Guarnsey, late of Rehoboth...late deceased...I do solemly declare that I have not Imbeseled...any of ye Estate which ye sd Seth Guarnsey dyed Seized of or had any Just right to." [Prig. Pro Files: "Garnsey, Seth 1754, Rehoboth"; 4 papers.] ^[1]

Widow Bethia (Lee) Garnzey married 2nd widower Ebenezer Smith (1735-1819) also of Rehoboth. Their marriage intention was filed 6 September 1766 and they were married by Elder Samuel Peck 19 October 1766 at Rehoboth. ^[4] Bethiah and Ebenezer Smith had two sons and a daughter during their marriage:

1. Lewis Smith, b. 29 Mar 1767, Rehoboth, Bristol, Mass. [quoting Vol.3:74] ^[5] ; Lewis m. Bethiah ^[6] (also called Rebecca in the Rehoboth VR's) Lee 14 May 1789, Douglass, Worcester, MA. (Bethiah Lee, 1766-1832 as noted on; his d. record hasn't been located yet. her gravestone in Uxbridge, "Bethiah, wife of Lewis Smith" ; Resided in Uxbridge and Douglas, Worcester county, MA. based upon 1790-1830 U.S. Federal Census records. ; mentioned in his father's Will.
2. Abel Smith, b. 8 May 1768, Rehoboth, Bristol, Mass. [quoting Vol.3:74] ^[5] ; mentioned in his father's Will.
3. Patience Smith, b. abt 1780(?); m. 19 Apr 1807, Sutton [int. 3 Apr 1807, Douglas], James Lee, Jr. (mother's 2nd cousin) ^[7] Widower James Lee, Jr. was several decades older than Patience; they are both mentioned in her father's Will ; They both died of small-pox in Winter of 1825. ^[8]

Changing Residences At some point before 1773 Ebenezer and Bethiah Smith relocated to Uxbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts while the children of their marriage and the child from Bethiah's first marriage were still young.

The couple later removed to Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts about seven to eight miles away from Uxbridge and very near the northern-most border of Rhode Island near Connecticut.

Death
Bethiah Smith probably passed away before 1808 the year a deed was executed which allowed husband Ebenezer Smith to transfer (probably for consideration) his home and portions of his land to his son-in-law James Lee, Jr., husband of their daughter Patience. The transfer included lease-back provisions of Ebenezer's "home-land for the remainder of his life" but wife Bethiah goes unmentioned.

Husband Ebenezer Smith passed away 7 December 1819 at Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts and his Will was probated 11 February 1819. ^[9] Mentioned in the Will are their sons Lewis and Abel, granddaughter Lydia Smith, granddaughter Olive Smith, daughter Sarah (Smith) Tilley and her husband James Tilley, Jr. of Douglas.

Side Bar: Activities involving the disposition of her deceased husband Seth Garnzey's (1732-1754) estate included:
--2 April 1754 widow Bethiah Garnsey was appointed admr-trix of the estate of her late husband who died intestate [14:17].
--2 April 1754 Bond of Bethiah Garnsey of Rehoboth, widow, with Sylvanus Martin and Daniel Ormsbee, both of Rehoboth, as her sureties for L2000 as "administratix on ye Estate of her Late Husband Seth Garnsey late of sd Rehoboth, Deceased".
--2 April 1754 Judge of Probate appt'd Silvanus Martin, Daniel Ormsbee, and John Ellis to take an Inv. of the est. of Seth Guansey, (sic) late of Rehoboth, deceased.
--10 May 1754 Inv. of the est. of "Seth Garnsey, Labourer, Late of ye town of Rehoboth, deceased: taken by Silvanus Martin, Daniel Ormsbee and John Ellis." Totalled L52-12-00; real estate consisted of "Item: to wild land twenty acres and three quarters Lying in Freetown woods 18 s per acre: L1911-06.: [Vol.14:140 and Orig. Files]
--1 Aug 1759 Note dated Rehoboth, sgd by "Hannah Mansfield" (mother-in-law) stating "Whereas Estate of my son Seth Guarnsey, late of Rehoboth...late deceased...I do solemly declare that I have not Imbeseled...any of ye Estate which ye sd Seth Guarnsey dyed Seized of or had any Just right to." [Prig. Pro Files: "Garnsey, Seth 1754, Rehoboth"; 4 papers.]

Research Notes
--Caution: Several Ebenezer Smith WikiTree profiles were conflated before the errors were untangled. This WikiTree profile is related by marriage to the Ebenezer Smith of Rehoboth who married 1st Sarah "Barden" and 2nd Bethiah Lee (maiden name) aka the widow Garnzey . ^[5]

--Caution: Another Bethiah [Lee] Smith (1766-1832) who was a niece of Bethia [Lee, Garnzey] Smith and who was a daughter of her brother Samuel Lee (1737-1772) & wife Hannah [Briggs] Smith of Rehoboth. This like-named niece married this profile's son Lewis Smith, son of Ebenezer, who lived in Uxbridge/Douglas, Mass.

Also residing in Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts

• Bethiah (Lee, Garnzy) Smith's mother Experience (Millard) Lee, originally from Rehoboth who died 1780 in Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Town location proximities:
Uxbridge and Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts are equidistant being about 7-8 miles apart. Douglas is not far from Burn, New London, Connecticut the last residence of her daughter Bethia (Garnzey) King.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Eva Garnsey Card, comp. "The Garnsey - Guernsey Genealogy: An Account of Thirteen Generations of Descendants from Henry Garnsey, (-1692), of Dorchester, Mass. & Joseph Garnsey-Guernsie (-1688), of Stamford, Conn." (Urbana, IL: E. & L. Card, 1963), p. 215-6. Revised with additions and corrections, by Judith L. Young-Thayer: Gateway Press, Inc. Baltimore, MD. HathiTrust.org.
2. ↑ Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. "Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850" Reprinted FamilySearch.org Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0562559. Reprinted 2005, Provo, UT., USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 15 Jan 2021. Source Text "Bethiah Lee and Seth Garnzey, m. 15 Nov 1753, Rehoboth, Bristol county, Mass."
3. ↑ Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896. Providence, RI, USA: Narragansett Historical Publishing, 1897. Reprinted (online db) 2000, Provo, UT., USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 17 Jan 2021. Source Text: "Bethiah Garnzey, b. 12 Feb 1754, Rehoboth, dau. Seth & Bethiah Garnzey"
4. ↑ Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. "Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850" Reprinted FamilySearch Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0562559. Reprinted (online db) 2005, Provo, UT., USA. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 13 Jan 2021. Source Text: Ebenezer Smith & [widow] Bethiah Garnzey, m. 10 Oct 1766, Rehoboth, Bristol, Mass."
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Arnold, James N., comp. "Vital Records of Rehoboth,1642-1896" p. 745 (image reader p.777/956) Pub. 1897, Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Pub. Co. Reprinted (online db) 2011, Provo, UT., USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 15 Jan 2021. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/22639296?h=fb5400
6. ↑ Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. "Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850" Reprinted FamilySearch.org, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0873751. Reprinted (online db) 2005, Provo, UT., USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. Accessed 15 Jan 2021. Source Text: "Lewis Smith, m. Bethiah Lee, 14 May 1789, Douglass, Worcester, Mass."
7. ↑ "Vital Records of Douglas, Massachusetts to the end of the Year 1849" p.143 (image reader p.140/188) Pub.1906, Worcester, Mass., USA: published by Franklin P. Rice, Trustee of the Historical Fund. Accessed 17 Jan 2021. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/22660827?h=23e087
8. ↑ Emerson, Wm. A. "History of the Town of Douglas, Massachusetts from the Earliest Period to the Close of 1878" p.66 (image reader p.66/363) Pub.1879, Boston, Mass.: Frank W. Bird, Publisher. Accessed 17 Jan 2021 https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/22660908?h=217391
9. ↑ Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, Vol 32-34, 1819-1820; Ebenezer Smith, death 1819; Probate: 11 Feb 1819. "Massachusetts: Worcester County Probate" Book 52: 174-176. Will of Ebenezer Smith transcribed by Ancestry.com member Pamela Cooper and posted 28 May 2018.