George R. Smith (son of Peter and Jemima Smith), I had abandoned hope of learning anything
about this son of Peter and Jemima. Then
a very few years ago, a letter was received from Mrs. Henry R. (Dorothymae) Peck, of Evansville,
Indiana, saying she was a
descendant of George R. Smith and that she had been told I was engaged in
research on other members of his family. Our subsequent exchange of information has
been of assistance to both. I am
indebted to Mrs. Peck for most of what will follow concerning this man's
family.
He was born in Caswell County, North Carolina, on April 10, 1772; died
June 23, 1840, in Smith Township, Posey County, Indiana, and is buried in the
Smith Cemetery there. He married, first,
Lydia
(Jenny) Tate (also Tait) and, second,
Sarah Armstrong.
George R. Smith's and Lydia Tate's marriage took place on December 20, 1800, in Caswell County. Lydia was the daughter of Zaccheus
Tate and almost
certainly was a native of Caswell
County. Her date of birth is not known, but she died
after January 6, 1807,
in Kentucky. It is believed that, after their marriage,
George and Lydia
lived in Kentucky
and that after her death he went to Indiana
on a prospecting mission and, while there, met and married Sarah Armstrong. George R. and
Sarah settled in Posey County,
Indiana, in what became known as Smith Township
(named for George). He was a farmer, a
Baptist, and became an influential man of affairs in Smith Township.
George R. and Lydia's children were:
George R. Smith was married to Sarah Armstrong on May 14, 1810,
in Knox County, Indiana. Sarah was the daughter of John Armstrong and Mary Swain; her date of birth was December 17, 1784; of death,
June 24, 1854. George R. and Sarah (Armstrong) Smith's children were:
William Bailey Smith
Knox County, Indiana, Index to Marriages,
page 28
