Brief Life History of Willis
When Willis Smith was born on 10 December 1810, in Shaftsbury, Bennington, Vermont, United States, his father, Samuel Smith, was 25 and his mother, Polly Fuller, was 23. He married Polly Downs on 3 October 1836, in Shaftsbury, Bennington, Vermont, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States in 1850. In 1880, at the age of 70, his occupation is listed as farmer see 1880 census. He died on 27 July 1896, in Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 85, and was buried in Murray, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.
Photos and Memories (5)
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Family Time Line
Sources (46)
- Willis Smith, "United States Census, 1850"
- Family Data Collection - Births
- Utah, Select County Marriages, 1887-1937
Spouse and Children
Children (9)
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Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1812
War of 1812. U.S. declares war on Britain over British interference with American maritime shipping and westward expansion.
1812 · War of 1812
Because of the outbreak of war from Napoleonic France, Britain decided to blockade the trade between the United States and the French. The US then fought this action and said it was illegal under international law. Britain supplied Native Americans who raided settlers living on the frontier and halting expansion westward. In 1814, one of the British raids stormed into Washington D.C. burning down the capital. Neither the Americans or the British wanted to continue fighting, so negotiations of peace began. After Treaty of Ghent was signed, Unaware of the treaty, British forces invaded Louisiana but were defeated in January 1815.
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.
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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