Person:Abraham Smith (35)

The Proprietors sold the lands, but some times the buyers never showed up and the land was resold. Thus there is some evidence that Zachariah did not move to Dorset in "1769", as he did not begin to disburse his investments until 1773. (So Deborah Foster was most likely born in Connecticut or Dutchess County, NY>)when Abraham apparently was a colorful individual. According to THE HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO, "Abraham Smith, also called 'Wolf Smith' or 'Essence Smith', was a noted character well known throughout a wide section of the country. In early times he was a trapper and hunter; but after the wolves and bears became scarce he turned his attention to gathering and distilling herbs, making various kinds of essences and perfumes, which he peddled from house to house." He is also known to have a built a mill on Meis Creek and is said to have been so strong that he could singlehandedly lift a huge millstone. (Taken from A Family History, by Donovan Faust)

Manchester, Bennington County, Vermont 1820 census showed the followin

    Smith, Abraham
    1 free white male 16-18 years
    1 free white male 16-26 years
    1 free white male 26-45 years
    1 f. w. female under 10 years
    1 f.w. female 16-26 years
    1 f.w. female 26-45 years
    2 in agriculture (farmers)

Although Abraham is said to have traveled to the Northwest Territories with brother Nathan, he did not show up in the 1820 Morgan County, Ohio census.

Note from MaryLu McClure, 11/2003: Yes, Abraham bought half of the 82 acres originally purchased by Morgan Maxwell on September 8, 1835. According to the map, the farms of Nathan and Abraham Smith were on the Dye's Fork of Meigs Creek. It is not known if Abraham Smith built more than one mill. We do know IF he did build a second mill on the land that apparently Morgan Maxwell let go back, then the second mill was built when William Reuben Smith was 13 years old. I must remind you that this is a 1875 map you are looking at - printed some 25-35 years after Abraham left Manchester Township, Morgan County. Maybe a later resident built the mill. Yes, I know for us, it more fun to believe that Abraham built the mill on Nathan's farm & the next resident took over the business. But this is only speculation!

While Nathan purchased his farm in "NW 1/4 of Section 17, 161.9 acres", Manchester Township, in 1819, half of this property was sold in 1826, as apparently Nathan was in poor health and they cut back on their land holdings. On June 19, 1826 (Document B 263:19) Nathan and Rosannah Smith of Manchester Township, Morgan County, OH, sold 80.95 acres to John Sears for $163.00; said property located in the N 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of Section 17, range 10. This appears to be the patent which was issued to Nathan dated July 2, 1825, and number 844. In 1838, when Rosannah decided to move to Delaware County, IN, she sold the S 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of Section 10" (which on later documents is listed as "Section 17", so apparently someone made a mistake which was caught when the children signed off on that part & accepted their inheritances!) Yes, I have seen these documents & the documents where the children each signed off. However, the Quit Claim documents, where the children signed off, were so difficult to read, that I just forward them to Jan so that she could see them, as I did not think they would copy well. Yes, there were true copies of documents on file at the courthouse in Morgan County explaining where Abraham lived in 1820: (For example, I have another grandfather who purchased 160 acres in Todd County, MN. So this means that the land was made up of for "40's. His only son built a small house on one of the 40's, but they farm together.) So maybe since Abraham arrived late, he just built a little house down by the river! (On Nathan's land.) Family did things like that way-back-then.

Marian Foster-Deming ( mother of Mary Anne) drafted an Indenture in 1817 whereby Abraham Smith would care for her and the farm in her later years. Abraham was still in the town of Manchester, in 1820. This census shows Abraham 26-45; Male age 16-18 (born 1802-04, Samuel?); Male 16-26 (born 1794-1804, Truman?), female under 10, (Minerva born 1813), female 16-26 (Esther born 1802), female age 26-45 (Mary Anne). Marylu McClure, 2/2007.

Apparently Abraham's mother-in-law, Mary Ann/Marian (Curtis) Foster-Deming died in about 1819. For on April 24, Abraham sold the property earlier owned by "Marian Deming, widow of Eliakim Deming, late of Manchester, deceased..." to his brother, Silas Smith. Yes, Josiah Foster and his wife Mary Ann are listed as heirs of Zachariah Curtis, who died in the Town of Dorset in 1805. Like all of the settlers at that time, Zachariah moved around several times, ending up in Dorset in 1769, The Proprietors sold the lands, but some times the buyers never showed up and the land was resold. Thus there is some evidence that Zachariah did not move to Dorset in "1769", as he did not begin to disburse his investments until 1773, so Deborah Foster was most likely born in Connecticut or Dutchess County, NY when Mary Ann (his daughter) was about 19. There is the possibility that Josiah Foster married Mary Ann Curtis in Connecticut - as that reference was made in the 1881 Delaware County, IN, history by Helm. No one has found any land records in the Towns of Dorset or Manchester for Josiah Foster. Because Zachariah and his cousins Eliakim and Eli Deming invested in lands in the valleys that runs north and south through Manchester and Dorset, I suppose there is a possibility that Josiah Foster came from Connecticut to help his father-in-law develop these lands. I also found it interesting that Abraham sold his saw mill on the Battenkill (River) in Vermont before he left to join his brother, Nathan Smith, in Morgan County, OH. MaryLu McClure 12/2007

1. ↑ 1820 Bennington County, Vermont census.
2. ↑ Manchester Land Records, Volume 1, 1766. (Town meetings, marriages, births & pig ear markings.).
3. ↑ Linda L. Spence, Clerk. Manchester Town Clerk Records, Book 1.
4. ↑ Town Hall, Town of Manchester, Vermont. (Book 1, page 443).