Brief Life History of William
When William Smith was born in 1795, in Willenhall, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, Joseph Smith, was 47 and his mother, Ann Shaw, was 39. He had at least 1 son and 4 daughters with Rosanna.
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Family Time Line
Sources (27)
- William Smith in household of William Browen, "England and Wales Census, 1851"
- William Smith, "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
- Smith, "England, Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
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World Events (8)
1801 · The Act of Union
The Act of Union was a legislative agreement which united England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland under the name of the United Kingdom on January 1, 1801.
1815
The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena.
1830
Eclectic Period (Art and Antiques).
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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