Frances Smith

Femaleabout 1784–1816

Brief Life History of Frances

Frances Smith was born about 1784, in Wilkes, Georgia, United States as the daughter of Benjamin or Benajah Smith and Sarah Alexander. She died in 1816, at the age of 33.

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Family Time Line

Benjamin or Benajah Smith
Sarah Alexander
1743–1797
Bedaiah Smith
1766–
Franky Smith
1771–
Elizabeth Smith
1778–
Mildred "Milly" Smith
1779–
Frances Smith
1784–1816
Robert Matthews Smith
1790–
Margaret Smith
1773–
Mary Smith
1774–
William Smith
1778–
Margaret Elizabeth Smith
1780–1829
Nancy Smith
1782–
Alexander Smith
1785–
Alexander Smith
1794–

Sources (0)

    Sources

    There are no historical documents attached to Frances.

    Parents and Siblings

    Siblings (13)

    +8 More Children

    World Events (3)

    1786 · Shays' Rebellion

    Age 2

    Caused by war veteran Daniel Shays, Shays' Rebellion was to protest economic and civil rights injustices that he and other farmers were seeing after the Revolutionary War. Because of the Rebellion it opened the eyes of the governing officials that the Articles of Confederation needed a reform. The Rebellion served as a guardrail when helping reform the United States Constitution.

    1787 · The Making of the U.S. Constitution.

    Age 3

    The Philadelphia Convention was intended to be the first meeting to establish the first system of government under the Articles of Confederation. From this Convention, the Constitution of the United States was made and then put into place making it one of the major events in all American History.

    1795 · Yazoo Land Fraud

    Age 11

    As Georgia had been weakened during the Revolutionary War, it was unable to defend its Yazoo lands, or land west of the Yazoo River. Thirty-five million acres were sold to four companies for $500,000 as Governor George Mathews signed the Yazoo Act on January 7, 1795. Angry Georgians protested in the streets as they felt bribery and corruption were involved and the sale was far below market value. The legislation tried to rescind the Yazoo Act, but much of the land had been sold to third parties. The issue made its way to the United States Supreme Court and it was determined that rescinding the law was an unconstitutional infringement on a legal contract. The government took full possession of the territory by 1814 and awarded its claimants over $4,000,000.

    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.

    Possible Related Names

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