Brief Life History of Barbara
When Barbara Smith was born on 8 March 1725, in Newton, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, her father, William Smith, was 33 and her mother, Isabell Paton, was 29.
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World Events (4)
1802 · John Playfair publishes summary of James Hutton's theories of geology.
In 1802, John Playfair published the Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. His influence was by James Hutton’s knowledge of the earth’s geology.
1815
The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena.
1817 · Dryburgh Abbey Bridge
Dryburgh Abbey Bridge was a cable-stayed footbridge that connected the villages of Dryburgh and St. Boswells, across the River Tweed. Before its construction, A ferry crossing service had existed here for centuries. It was originally 79 meters long and was undergoing a period of rapid growth in popularity. The Bridge was completed on August 1 but a few months later it collapsed. Very shortly after the collapse, another bridge was built further downstream. A new bridge, which still stands today, was constructed after the first World War.
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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