Doddridge County Roots

A West Virginia Genealogy

Family: Francis Marion Franklin SMITH / Julia Ann NEELY (F32177)  [1

m. 29 Nov 1847


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  • Francis Marion Franklin SMITHFather | Male
    Francis Marion Franklin SMITH

    Born  4 Jun 1822  Fauquier Co, VA Find all individuals with events at this location
    Died  5 Apr 1897  Smithton (now Smithburg), Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried    Archbold Cemetery, Smithburg, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Married  29 Nov 1847  [2]   
    Father  Walter A. SMITH | F32216 Group Sheet 
    Mother  Charlotte TRIPLETT | F32216 Group Sheet 

    Julia Ann NEELYMother | Female
    Julia Ann NEELY

    Born  16 Sep 1820  Kingwood, Preston Co, (W)VA Find all individuals with events at this location
    Died  25 Feb 1893  Smithton (now Smithburg), Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried    Archbold Cemetery, Smithburg, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Father  Matthew NEELY | F26163 Group Sheet 
    Mother  Maria NEWLON | F26163 Group Sheet 

    Julia Ann SMITHChild 1 | Female
    Julia Ann SMITH

    Born  4 Dec 1848   
    Died  4 Dec 1848   
    Buried    Blockhouse Hill Cemetery (old SDB section), West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location

    Charlotte I. SMITHChild 2 | Female
    Charlotte I. SMITH

    Born  CA 1849   
    Died  Bef Apr 1897   
    Buried     

    Franklin Herbert SMITHChild 3 | Male
    Franklin Herbert SMITH

    Born  19 Feb 1857   
    Died  10 May 1888   
    Buried     
    Spouse  Mary Jane REAGAN | F32218 
    Married  20 Sep 1885   

    Ella Maria SMITHChild 4 | Female
    Ella Maria SMITH

    Born  15 Dec 1859  Smithton (now Smithburg), Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Died  19 May 1933  West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried    Blockhouse Hill Cemetery (IOOF section), West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Spouse  Jackson VanBuren BLAIR | F32175 
    Married  31 Jul 1879  Smithburg, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location

    Georgia SMITHChild 5 | Female
    Georgia SMITH

    Born  9 Oct 1864  Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Died  15 May 1949  Smithburg, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Buried    Archbold Cemetery, Smithburg, Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location
    Spouse  Edwin Camden JONES | F32205 
    Married  16 Sep 1897  Smithton (now Smithburg), Doddridge Co, WV Find all individuals with events at this location


  • Notes 
    • In 1847, when in western Virginia on their way to the Ohio River, Francis Marion Franklin Smith and his traveling companions stopped overnight at a tavern kept by Matthew Neely. There he met Mr. Neely's daughter, Julia Ann. This was a fateful encounter, for he did not return to Virginia with his companions, but married Julia Ann and lived the rest of his life in Doddridge County. The young couple settled first in West Union. They later bought land three miles to the east, which had formerly belonged to Julia Ann's grandfather, Elijah Newlon, and they remained there till their deaths. That settlement eventually became known as Smithton, which was re-named Smithburg in about 1923. F. M. F. Smith was the first postmaster and the first stationmaster of the community which bears his name.
      Source: Smith family history prepared by the F. M. F. Smith's granddaughter Eleanor Jones Cook (1899-1965), on file at Doddridge County Historical Society.

      1850 Census Doddridge Co, Virginia (now West Virginia), enumerated on Jul 16 1850 in the Town of West Union:
      Francis F. M. Smith, 27, hotel keeper, value of real estate $3,000; Julia A. Smith, 26; Charlotte I. Smith, 7 months; Charlotte Smith, 62 (presumably Francis Smith's mother).
      The following enumerated persons were presumably tenants of Francis Smith's hotel:
      Floyd Neely, 27, miller, value of real estate $1,000 (brother of Julia Neely Smith); E. L. Hewett, 25, lawyer; Benjamin W. Jackson, 24, lawyer, value of real estate $900; John McCann, 22, stage driver; Evan Gatrell, 21, stage driver; Milly Cain, 26; Emily Neely, 11 (sister of Julia Neely Smith). All born in Virginia.
      NOTE: E. L. Hewett was Edwin Littleton Smith, a prominent attorney from Richmond, Virginia. Milly Cain was otherwise known as Amelia Cain, who later married the renowned Joseph H. Diss Debar.

      The 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedule for Doddridge County contains the following entries:
      Slave owner: F M F Smith. Description of slave: Black female, age 11.
      Slave owner: Charlotte Smith. Description of slave: Black female, age 11.

      1860 Census, Doddridge Co, Virginia (now West Virginia):
      F. M. F. Smith, 38, farmer; J. A. Smith (female), 39; Herbert Smith, 3; E. M. Smith (female), 1; J. Neely (male), 14; N. (surname not clear) (male), 14; Silas Davis, 24.

      The 1860 Federal Census Slave Schedule for Doddridge County, enumerated on Jun 1 1860, contains the following entry:
      Slave owner: F M F Smith
      Description of slaves:
      1 black female, age 20
      1 black female, age 13

      1880 Census, Doddridge Co, WV (West Union District), enumerated on Jun 7 1880:
      F. M. F. Smith, 59, farmer; wife Julia A, 50; son F. H., 23; dau Georgia, 15, attended school within the year, cannot read/write; ward David Hunter, 10, attended school; niece Lucy McKinley, 13.
      NOTE: Lucy McKinley was the daughter of Julia's sister Margaret, who had died in 1869. Althought the exact location is not specified, it is almost certainly Smithton, now known as Smithburg.

  • Sources 
    1. [S1583] Marriage record of daughter.

    2. [S2539] Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, (Ancestry.com), National No. 87275, Ohio No. 5285.