| 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.
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1848 - 1848 (0 years)
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