Brief Life History of William Harry
When William Harry Smith was born on 3 April 1859, in Lycoming, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, Alexander Henry Smith, was 24 and his mother, Susannah Conrad, was 21. He married Emma Tarissa Shipman on 20 December 1884, in Rock, Wisconsin, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Riley, McHenry, Illinois, United States in 1910 and Genoa, DeKalb, Illinois, United States for about 20 years. He died on 30 November 1949, in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, at the age of 90, and was buried in Genoa Cemetery, DeKalb, Illinois, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (13)
- Wm H Smith in household of Alexander Smith, "United States Census, 1860"
- Legacy NFS Source: William H. Smith - Government record: Census record: birth: about 1859; Pennsylvania, United States
- William H. Smith, "Wisconsin Marriages, 1836-1930"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1861 · Simple life to Soldiers
Illinois contributed 250,000 soldiers to the Union Army, ranking it fourth in terms of the total men fighting for a single state. Troops mainly fought in the Western side of the Appalachian Mountains, but a few regiments played important roles in the East side. Several thousand Illinoisians died during the war. No major battles were fought in the state, although several towns became sites for important supply depots and navy yards. Not everyone in the state supported the war and there were calls for secession in Southern Illinois several residents. However, the movement for secession soon died after the proposal was blocked.
1863 · Battle of Gettysburg
The three day Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest of the American Civil War. Between the Confederates and Unions, somewhere between 46,000 and 51,000 people died that day.
1885 · The First Skyscraper
The Home Insurance Building is considered to be the first skyscraper in the world. It was supported both inside and outside by steel and metal that were deemed fireproof and also it was reinforced with concrete. It originally had ten stories but in 1891 two more were added.
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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