Brief Life History of John
When John Smith was born on 22 September 1832, in Kirtland, Geauga, Ohio, United States, his father, Hyrum Smith, was 32 and his mother, Jerusha Barden, was 27. He married Hellen Maria Fisher on 25 December 1853, in Salt Lake, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 4 daughters. He immigrated to Utah, United States in 1864 and lived in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States in 1839 and Salt Lake, Utah, United States for about 40 years. He died on 6 November 1911, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 79, and was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.
Photos and Memories (10)
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Family Time Line
Sources (64)
- John Smith, "United States Census, 1870"
- John Smith, "United States Western States Marriage Index"
- John Smith, "Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849-1949"
Spouse and Children
Children (9)
+4 More Children
Parents and Siblings
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World Events (8)
1836 · Remember the Alamo
Being a monumental event in the Texas Revolution, The Battle of the Alamo was a thirteen-day battle at the Alamo Mission near San Antonio. In the early morning of the final battle, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. Quickly being overrun, the Texian Soldiers quickly withdrew inside the building. The battle has often been overshadowed by events from the Mexican–American War, But the Alamo gradually became known as a national battle site and later named an official Texas State Shrine.
1839 · Nauvoo is Settled
After the Saints had been chased out of Missouri they moved to a swampy area located next to the Mississippi River. Here they settled and named the place Nauvoo which translates into the city beautiful.
1856 · The Largest Map Company in the World
William Rand opened a small printing shop in Chicago. Doing most of the work himself for the first two years he decided to hire some help. Rand Hired Andrew McNally, an Irish Immigrant, to work in his shop. After doing business with the Chicago Tribune, Rand and McNally were hired to run the Tribune's entire printing operation. Years later, Rand and McNally established Rand McNally & Co after purchasing the Tribune's printing business. They focused mainly on printing tickets, complete railroad guides and timetables for the booming railroad industry around the city. What made the company successful was the detailed maps of roadways, along with directions to certain places. Rand McNally was the first major map publisher to embrace a system of numbered highways and erected many of the roadside highway signs that have been adopted by state and federal highway authorities. The company is still making and updating the world maps that are looked at every day.
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 NamesStory Highlight
A Biographical Sketch of the Life of The Patriarch John Smith
John Smith, the sixth presiding Patriarch of the Church was the son of Hyrum Smith and Jerusha Barden. He was born September 22, 1832, in Kirtland, Ohio. His mother died October 13, 1837. She had six …
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