Brief Life History of James A
When James A Smith was born about 1848, in Spartanburg, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, his father, Marcus Wales Smith, was 22 and his mother, Margaret Jane Broome, was 19. He married Amanda Secrest about 1877, in South Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Marion, South Carolina, United States in 1900 and Reeves Township, Marion, South Carolina, United States for about 10 years.
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Family Time Line
Sources (10)
- James Smith, "United States Census, 1910"
- James Smith in the Texas, Death Certificates, 1903
- Jim Smith in entry for Harvey Smith, "South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1965"
Spouse and Children
Children (10)
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Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1860
In 1860, South Carolina quit the United States because its citizens were in favor of slavery and President Lincoln was not. The Civil War started a year later.
1863
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
1881 · The Assassination of James Garfield
Garfield was shot twice by Charles J. Guitea at Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881. After eleven weeks of intensive and other care Garfield died in Elberon, New Jersey, the second of four presidents to be assassinated, following Abraham Lincoln.
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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