Brief Life History of Douglas Willie
When Douglas Willie Smith was born about January 1881, in Bristol, England, United Kingdom, his father, Willie Smith, was 34 and his mother, Elizabeth Willett Pring, was 35. He married Ruth Marian Grimshaw in 1907, in West Ham, Essex, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. He lived in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England, United Kingdom for about 10 years. He died on 7 March 1935, at the age of 54.
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Family Time Line
Sources (13)
- Douglas Willie Smith in household of Willie Smith, "England and Wales Census, 1881"
- Douglas Willie Smith, "England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-1920"
- Douglas Willie Smith, "England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-1920"
Spouse and Children
1881–1935 Male
1884– Female
Children (1)
1908– Female
Parents and Siblings
1847–about 1923 Male
1846–1933 Female
Siblings (2)
1875–1956 Female
1881–1935 Male
World Events (7)
1884
Age 3
1904 · The Entente Cordiale
Age 23
1908
Age 27
Name Meaning
English and Scottish: occupational name denoting a worker in metal, especially iron, such as a blacksmith or farrier, from Middle English smith ‘smith’ (Old English smith, probably a derivative of smītan ‘to strike, hammer’). Early examples are also found in the Latin form Faber . Metal-working was one of the earliest occupations for which specialist skills were required, and its importance ensured that this term and its equivalents in other languages were the most widespread of all occupational surnames in Europe. Medieval smiths were important not only in making horseshoes, plowshares, and other domestic articles, but above all for their skill in forging swords, other weapons, and armor. This is also the most frequent of all surnames in the US. It is very common among African Americans and Native Americans (see also 5 below). This surname (in any of the two possible English senses; see also below) is also found in Haiti. See also Smither .
English: from Middle English smithe ‘smithy, forge’ (Old English smiththe). The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived in or by a blacksmith's shop, occupational, for someone who worked in one, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Smitha in King's Nympton (Devon). Compare Smithey .
Irish and Scottish: sometimes adopted for Gaelic Mac Gobhann, Irish Mac Gabhann ‘son of the smith’. See McGowan .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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