Captain William Smith (b. circa 1757 - d. 1829)
MSA SC 5496-050804
War of 1812 Claimant, St. Mary's County, Maryland
Biography:
William Smith was born around 1757 to John Smith and his wife, Amy Leigh. He had at least one sibling, Ann, who married Robert Dunkinson.3 In 1776, William enlisted as "a private in the 9th Co. of Light Infantry in 1776."1 He married Margaret Williams, the daughter of Benjamin Williams, on January 7, 1796.2 William Smith had at least three children: John Sylvester, William Leigh, and Ann Maria.4 Smith may have received a promotion during his service, since he appeared in circa 1827 records as a captain.
He owned nineteen slaves in 1813.5 In October 1814, William Smith's slave Nace escaped to the British frigate Havannah. Smith joined Mathias Clarke, Robert Clarke, George Loker, Peter U. Thomson, and James Richardson in pursuing the ship to the Virginia Capes. Although they boarded the ship and spoke to the captain, they failed to retrieve the escaped slaves.6
Smith owned eighteen slaves in 1820.7 The following year,
the names of twenty-three slaves appeared
in St. Mary's County slave assessment records.8 He died on January
28, 1829.9
1. Henry C. Peden Jr.,
Revolutionary
Patriots of Calvert and St. Mary's Counties, Maryland, 1775-1783 (Westminster,
MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1996)
245.
1.
Edwin Warfield Beitzell, St. Mary's County, Maryland in the American
Revolution: Calendar of Events (St. Mary's County Historical Society,
Leonardtown: MD, 1975) 143.
2. ST. MARY'S COUNTY COURT,
(Marriage Licenses), [MSA CM905-1]. William Smith and Margaret Williams,
January 7, 1796.
2.
ST. MARY'S COUNTY COURT, (Land Records), Liber JH 9, Folio 155, [MSA CE
121-3]. John S. Smith to William L. Smith, October 29, 1831.
3. Linda Reno, "British Land Near Point Lookout (cont'd)," A Journey Through Time The County Times 12 February 2010 02: 23.
4. Peden 245.
4.
ST. MARY'S COUNTY COURT, (Land Records), Liber JH 9, Folio 155, [MSA CE
121-3], John S. Smith to William L. Smith, October 29, 1831.
5. ST. MARY'S COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE TAX, (Assessment Record, Slaves), [MSA C1544-40], William Smith, April 4, 1813.
5.
Claim of William Smith, St. Mary's County, Case No. 119, Case Files, Ca.
1814-28, entry 190, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park.
6. Claim
of Mathias Clarke, Case 120. Case Files, compiled ca. 1827 - ca. 1828,
documenting the period ca. 1814 - ca. 1828, *ARC Identifier 1174160 / MLR
Number PI 177 190,* National Archives, College Park.
7. U.S. Census Bureau, (Census Record, MD) for William Smith, 1820, St. Mary's County, Election District 1, Page 2b, 4th line from bottom [MSA SM61-76, M 2067-2].
8. ST. MARY'S COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE TAX, (Assessment Record, Slaves), [MSA C1544-62], William Smith, April 27, 1821.
9. Peden 245.
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