Gideon Smith

Brief Life History of Gideon

When Gideon Smith was born on 1 April 1683, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, Joseph Smith Sr., was 36 and his mother, Rebecca Tirrell, was 27. He had at least 1 son with Elizabeth Cowgill. He lived in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States in 1683.

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Family Time Line

Gideon Smith
1683–
Elizabeth Cowgill
1685–
Gideon Smith
1700–1752

Sources (7)

  • Gideon Smith, "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915"
  • Gideon Smith, "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001"
  • Gideon Smith, "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915"

Spouse and Children

World Events (2)

1776

Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress. Colonies declare independence.

1776 · The Declaration to the King

"At the end of the Second Continental Congress the 13 colonies came together to petition independence from King George III. With no opposing votes, the Declaration of Independence was drafted and ready for all delegates to sign on the Fourth of July 1776. While many think the Declaration was to tell the King that they were becoming independent, its true purpose was to be a formal explanation of why the Congress voted together to declare their independence from Britain. The Declaration also is home to one of the best-known sentences in the English language, stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."""

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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