Peartree Smith (born 1748), son of Obediah and Mary Burk Smith, had moved to Mecklenburg County Virginia at least by 1777 when his father Obediah Smith of Chesterfield County, Va. wrote his will. In 1778, Peartree Smith was a witness to the Halifax County , [Footnote 11.]Virginia will of John Dennis. [Footnote 12.] As we have seen, Peartree had one son named Obediah Smith by 1777, proven by the will of Peartree’s father Obediah Smith of Chesterfield County, Virginia. Apparently Peartree settled in Mecklenburg County, Virginia (or his widow did), because that is the county in which the guardian of his six under-aged children was appointed in 1791 after Peartree’s death. In 1791, Joseph Townes was appointed the guardian of Elizabeth Smith (born by 1777), Nancy Smith, Obadiah Smith (born by 1777), Peggy Smith, Patsy Smith, and Nancy Smith, orphans of Peartree Smith, deceased. John Smith was appointed their guardian in 1799. [Footnote 13.] It is not (yet) known by your present writer who this particular John Smith might have been or how he was related to the children.
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