Brief Life History of Ruth
When Ruth Smith was born on 9 April 1719, in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, British Colonial America, her father, Benjamin Smith, was 47 and her mother, Mercy Angell, was 43. She was buried in Daniel Smith Cemetery, North Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (6)
- Ruth Smith, "Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914"
- Ruth Smith, "Find a Grave Index"
- Ruth Smith, Rhode Island, Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 (Benjamin & Mercy Smith parents)
Parents and Siblings
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World Events (7)
1723 · Pirates Hung in Newport
On July 17, 1723, twenty-eight pirates are hung in Newport, Rhode Island.
1763 · First Synagogue in America
The first Jewish Synagogue in America was built in Newport, Rhode Island in 1763. It still stands today, making it the oldest synagogue in the United States.
1776
Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress. Colonies declare independence.
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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