Brief Life History of John Metcalf
When John Metcalf Smith was born on 7 September 1876, in Danby Wiske, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, John F Smith, was 21 and his mother, Rachel Metcalfe, was 18. He had at least 2 sons and 1 daughter with Jeanie Pennel. He lived in Central Falls, Providence, Rhode Island, United States for about 10 years and Dighton, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States in 1920. He died on 4 January 1929, in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States, at the age of 52.
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Family Time Line
Sources (21)
- John Smith, "England and Wales Census, 1881"
- John Jr. Smith, "Rhode Island Town Marriages Index, 1639-1916"
- John Metcalf Smith, "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1880 · School Attendance Becomes Mandatory for Children
School attendance became compulsory from ages five to ten on August 2, 1880.
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.
1895 · College Hall Catches on Fire
On January 27, 1895, College Hall catches on fire and is fully consumed within one hour. During the fire, many students and faculty work together to save many of the items in the building. Some of these are library books. They save the books by piling them onto the rugs and dragging them out of the burning building. College Hall is then later rebuilt and renamed Davis Hall after Governor John W. Davis.
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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