Person Page - 292

William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA

• Charts: Smith Ancestry, Smith Descendants

• Last Edited: 9 Nov 2020

• Name Variation: William Slade Smith
• Name Variation: William Sias Smith; Sias seems more likely as a middle name for this William, than Slade. There is no evidence for either.
• (Child) Birth*: circa 1779; Virginia
• (Groom) Marriage*: 3 February 1803; Rutherford Co., North Carolina; Bride=Sarah Hill Burge
• 1810 Census*: 6 August 1810; Rutherford Co., North Carolina; Principal=Sarah Hill Burge
• 1820 Census*: 7 August 1820; Rutherford Co., North Carolina¹
• 1830 Census*: 1 June 1830; Gwinnett Co., Georgia; Principal=Sarah Hill Burge²
• (Grantee) Deed*: 7 November 1832; Troup Co., Georgia; Book C, Page 146 -- Francis Power to William S. Smith, both of Troup, for $200, W 1/2 of Lot 17 in the 15th District, 101 1/4 acres. Witness: Richard Lane, Archibald M. Harris, J. P.; Principal=Francis Power
• 1840 Census*: 1 June 1840; Heard Co., Georgia; Principal=Sarah Hill Burge³
• 1850 Census*: 1 June 1850; Heard Co., Georgia; household member=Sarah Hill Burge⁴
• (Deceased) Death*: after 1 June 1850; Heard Co., Georgia
• Biography*: 13 September 2018; from Ada Barrett Carlisle to Sarah Belle Fletcher McDonald, 5 Dec 1945:
  
  (Ada was raised by her Grandmother, Sarah Hill SMITH Jackson.)
  
  "Grandmother Jackson told me of her father's name for his father William Smith. Grandmother's father moved from Virginia to N. Carolina sometime after their marriage and many, many years afterward to Ga. Our Grandmother never got over her love for Virginia - and Grandfather often teased her about her P. F. V. S.'s."
  
  "I have no bible records of the Smith line but have lots of information grandmother Jackson told me. She had a wonderful memory and retained it until the last. She liked nothing better than reminiscing in her the [last] years of life. I should like to write you of the many things she told me ( and may times too) of her grandfather William Smith Sr. marriage to her grandmother Sara Hill Burge - both of Stillwell, Virginia. Her grandfather William Sr. was the Revolutionary soldier. I'll write you all my grandmother's information in you wish it."
  
  from Ada Barrett Carlisle to Sarah Belle Fletcher McDonald, 28 Feb 1948:
  "William Smith came from North Carolina in a small colony, settled in Troup Co. GA 1825. He was a Smith right patented the Smith rifles and sold them to the Indians. Later moved to Heard Co. GA."
  "Yes, grandmother Jackson's mother was born near Stillwell Virginia - but our grandmother was born in N. C. Her father imigrating to Ga 1826 - With a Colony - As I wrote you, her grandfather Smith threatened to disinherit her father for leaving N. C. Her father returned to Virginia only once - (riding horseback) to get his inheritance, about a couple thousand dollars."
  
  "Yes, granmother Jackson's mother was born near Stillwell, VA -- but our grandmother was born in N. C. Her father immigrating to Ga 1826 - with a colony. As I wrote you before, her grandfather Smith threatened to disinherit her father for leaving N. C.
  
  Her father returned to N. C. only once (riding horseback) to get his inheritance, about a couple of thousand dollars."
  
  from Ada Barrett Carlisle, Dec. 28th, 1934:
  "There were six children, four girls and two boys in our grandmother's family. Polly, Clarrisa [ should be Lucretia Christina], Sara Hill, and Aliza [Elizabeth], William, and Washington. The two oldest girls married brothers, Robert and William [actually, James and Giles] Mayfield of Gwinnett Count Georgia, Aliza [Elizabeth] married a Mr. Rainwater of Cobb County, had no children, I do not recall who the brothers married."
• Research Note: 27 September 2018; from Glen Cress:
  According to secondary information from his descendants, William's middle name was Slade, but no record has been found that spells out his middle name. William is said to have made and patented the Smith Wright Rifle, which he sold to Indians, sometimes taking part payment in wild turkey or deer, but no record of this has been found.
  
  William was in Troup County Georgia as early as 1832 when he paid $200 to a Francis Power for the west half of land lot 17 in the 15th district of Troup County (formally of Coweta County) consisting of 100.25 acres and "appurtinances".
  
  Further evidence of William living in Troup County is from the January 1835 Court of Pleas in Rutherford County, where John Burge presented a deed from "William S Smith and wife Sarah of Troup County Georgia", another deed from Nancy Joyce, wife of Andrew Joyce, and a third deed from Priscilla Tatum, wife of John Tatum, both of Patrick County Virginia for a tract of land in Rutherford County and prayed for commissioners to take their private examination - which was granted and issued. John Burge and Priscilla Tatum were siblings of William's wife Sarah Burge Smith.
  
  On 8 December 1836, William made a promissory note for $232, defaulted for several months, but settled the loan before the October 1838 term of the Troup County Superior Court. On 22 March 1837, William made another promissory not for $167, defaulted, but apparently settled since the suit was dismissed at the same October 1838 Court.
  
  William appears to have moved to Heard County Georgia before 1840....^5,6
• Research Note*: 18 September 2020; from Lew Griffin:
  Descendants of this William Smith share almost identical autosomal DNA with the descendants of Clator Smith (died 1822 in Rutherford NC) and his wife's family, the Hamricks. One possible conclusion is that this William was a twin brother of William Smith of Rutherford (also born in 1779). One might have been William Slade Smith, and the other, William Sias Smith. The middle names have not been reliably passed down to the current generation. Giving two sons the same first name is uncommon but not unheard of. However, only one William S. Smith was mentioned in Clator Smith Jr.'s will. So it would be hard to convince anyone that Clator had two sons named William.
  
  The other possibility, given the DNA evidence, is that the two Williams were double cousins on both the Smith and Hamrick side. This possibility has not been explored, as far as I know.
  
  A male Smith from this line needs to take a Y-DNA test, and join the Hamrick Y- DNA project at familytreedna.com, to see if he is actually a Hamrick on his direct male line.⁷

Sarah Hill Burge

• Father: Woody Burge b. 22 Mar 1743/44, d. 1833
• Mother: Judith Davis b. s 1749

• Charts: Smith Ancestry, Smith Descendants

• Last Edited: 12 May 2020

• (Child) Birth*: circa 1779; Virginia
• (Bride) Marriage*: 3 February 1803; Rutherford Co., North Carolina; Groom=William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA
• Married Name: 3 February 1803; Smith
• 1810 Census*: 6 August 1810; Rutherford Co., North Carolina; Principal=William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA
• 1830 Census*: 1 June 1830; Gwinnett Co., Georgia; Principal=William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA¹
• 1840 Census*: 1 June 1840; Heard Co., Georgia; Principal=William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA²
• (household member) 1850 Census: 1 June 1850; Heard Co., Georgia; Principal=William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA³
• (Deceased) Death*: after 1 June 1850; Heard Co., Georgia
• Biography*: 16 September 2018; The following is from a letter by Ada Barrett Carlisle, great granddaughter of William S. Smith and Sarah Hill Burge Smith, dated 28 Dec 1934:
  
  (Ada was raised by her grandparents, John C. Jackson & Sarah Hill Smith Jackson)
  
  "Our maternal great grandmother was Sara Hill Burge, of Stillwell Virginia, or near there. This is a small place and still in existance. There were several in the family, one brother, a noted surgeon, Dr. Newton Burge, who settled in South Carolina. I believe Charleston. Her people were wealthy owning over a hundred slaves at the time. She married William Smith in Virginia. Our grandmother often spoke of her grandfather Burge who served seven years in the American Revolution, was an officer, and that she had seen his uniform, sword and Cap. I do not recall however which member of the family kept these relics. It seemed the rest of the family lived in Virginia. It seems both sides of the family oppossed their pioneering to Georgia. Our grandmother said her father William Smith, Jr. made only one trip back to Virginia after coming to Georgia. This journey was made on horseback taking him six weeks. His father William Smith, Sr. gave him quite a large sum of money, which he brought back."⁴
• Research Note*: 11 May 2020; Sarah Hill Burge has been a source of confusion for decades. Her marriage to a William S. Smith, in 1803, in Rutherford County, NC, has been linked to two different William Smiths. My AncestryDNA test results show that I am related to both Williams. One was the William Smith (no recorded middle initial) who died in 1858 in Rutherford County, NC. The other was the William S. Smith who was listed in the 1850 census of Heard County, GA. Both were born around 1779, in Rutherford County, NC, and both had large families. Both are said to have had middle names, maybe Slade, maybe Sias. My current theory is that the two men were first cousins. For my own convenience, I have labeled the William who died in Rutherford, NC, in 1858 as William Slade, and the one who died in Heard, GA, after the 1850 census, as William Sias.
  
  You can find both of these Williams, and their children, in my file: www.lwgriffin.com .
  I descend from the William S. Smith who died after 1850 in Heard Co. GA. My autosomal DNA results, at Ancestry.com, mentioned above, connect me to Woody Burge, father of Sarah Hill Burge, and several of her brothers.
  The William Smith who died in Rutherford, NC, does not seem to have mentioned a middle name, if any, in any public document. If anyone has primary source evidence, from his lifetime, of his middle name, I'd be interested to hear.
  I feel confident that I have documented the children of these two Williams. The William who died in 1858 in Rutherford, is said to have married Edna Webb, or Edna Hollifield. This marriage was not recorded in NC marriage bond records. The much more common and less expensive manner of getting married was by proclamation, if no one disagreed, in your church. This William had children well before the 1803 marriage of a William S. Smith to Sarah Burge. That marriage was witnessed by Clator Smith, and David Burge. David Burge was Sarah Burge's brother. Clator Smith could have been William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA's father. But the evidence suggests that William S. Smith of Heard Co. GA's father may have been either deceased, or far away in Virginia. So Clator could have been This William S. Smith's uncle.
  I'd like to note, that I have letters from the 1930's, which discuss the William S. Smith of GA, and his wife, Sarah Hill Burge. Please visit www.lwgriffin.com and look these names up for more information.
  If you descend from the William Smith who died in 1858 in Rutherford, I'd suggest taking the AncestryDNA test, on Ancestry.com. Do you have any matches to the Burge family, in their Thrulines feature?

Selia Ann Crenshaw

• Last Edited: 1 Jul 2009

• (Child) Birth*: 25 April 1855
• Married Name: say 1878; Dean
• (Deceased) Death*: 29 December 1941
• (Interred) Burial*: say 31 December 1941; Standing Rock United Methodist Church Cemetery, Chambers Co., Alabama