Smarts in Rutherford County, North Carolina in the 1700s (an analysis)

Correction of Erroneous Information

It is assumed that James and Nancy Smart are NOT the parents of Hiram Joseph SMART, as reflected in most genealogies such as those at familysearch.com and ancestry.com. The original error, I believe, was made by Richard Eugene Smart in his book. He should be applauded for his efforts and not blamed for this mistake. However, those who think his book (or this website) represents a "source" are mistaken.

Several Smart families lived in Rutherford County, North Carolina and the author used census records to sort out the lineage. This led to guessing and he guessed wrong at least this once.

This ist certainly is a good example of why we all need to better source our information. Certainly the web provides an excellent forum for such documentation such as digital copies of an actual will and recap of a source:

James Smart's Ancestry

Intro:

If you'll study this page closely, you see that the source* of genealogy for one Smart line got derailed onto the other Smart line as the author assigned the wrong children to James Smart and Nancy (nee Scott) Smart. When I discovered his will, it was clear that James and Nancy were as singed to the wrong children and were actually in my Smart line.

Apparently Richard Eugene Smart had used census records to write his book and had not located James' will. This error has been repeated where ever most people look at the Smart line.

I suggest you can depend on my site more at least where I have provided the actual source documents digitally.

Randy C. Smart

rsmart@ancestor-rescue.com

rsmart@wavecable.com

*"The Decedents of William Smart, St., 1720-c. 1795 and Allied Families," Vol. 1 by Richard Eugene Smart. et at., The Gregath Co., Cullman, Alabama.

Name	Born	At	Died	At	Age	Notes
Mr. Smart	1597	Scotland	?	?	?
John Smart [Sr.]	1623	Scotland	1680	England	57
John Smart [Jr.]	1663	Warwick Middleton, England	1727	Philadelphia	64	Was 57 when son was born. Immigrated to Maryland in 1684. Might have lived in Rutherford.
William Smart	1720	Rutherford	~1790	Rutherford	~70	Had money and land. Wife Isabella McGaughey (b. ~1730 Scotland).
John Smart	1745	Rutherford?	1780	King's Mt., NC	35	Died in Rev. War leaving James, the oldest, at 10 years old.

Joseph Smart Sr. [relationship to above not known]

Joseph Smart Sr., a carpenter/cooper, was born in [Philadelphia] PA. He left Pennsylvania around 1760 and stopped in Virginia where he married Elizabeth White ~1770. They first settled in Moorsboro. NC for a short time. They then moved to Rutherford County bet 1780-90 (when he shows up on the census). They lived a short distance from where the Corinth Church now stands. . He died June 24, 1818 in Rutherford Co. and is buried, with his wife, in the Old Smart Cemetery [now Hamrick Cemetery] near Ellenboro on Beams Mill Rd.

Chronological History 1700 Onward:

Date

Event

Source(s) & Notes

1720	Wm. Smart Sr. born in Rutherford	?
1745	John Smart born in Rutherford	?
~ 1770	James Smart born in Rutherford	?



~ 1777	Nancy Scott born	Daughter of John SCOTT Sr. and Agnes REED and granddaughter of Joseph REED. According to one Rootsweb chart, Nancy had a brother named Joseph, a sister named Polly but no Hiram.
March 8, 1794	James & Nancy married in Rutherford Co., NC	Bondsman/Witness: Lewis Tomerton/James Morris. NC Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868. An Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the NC State Archives, Raleigh, NC: NC Div. of Archives and History, 1977. [Brent H. Holcomb, Marriages of Rutherford Co., NC, 1779-1868].
May 1, 1795	John Novin born in Rutherford Co.
1797	Luanna (Susan) born in Rutherford Co.
1797	Christian Co., KY from from Logan Co., KY
1797	Christian Co., KY from from Logan Co., KY
1799	Christian County, KY	Census performed
March 19, 1799	James Smart granted land (200 acres) on Skinframe Creek in Christian Co., KY. This creek is presently in Caldwell County--running along the boarder of Lyon Co, just across the boarder from Eddyville, KY.	The Kentucky Land Grants, Vol. 1, Part 1, Chapter IV - Grants South of Green River (1797-1866) Filson Club Pubs., 1925 The Counties of Kentucky, page 402.
1800	Livingston County, KY	Census performed
1800	William born in Rutherford Co.
1800	William born in Rutherford Co.
1802	Nancy born in Christian Co., KY
1804	Jane born in Christian Co., KY
1806	Polly born in Christian Co., KY
1809	Caldwell Co., KY formed from Christian Co., KY
1809	Land valued at 200 (dollars?), Caldwell County, straight frame house, 1 white over 21, 3 horses.	Caldwell Co., KY Tax roll for 1809
Sept. 5, 1809	Caldwell Co., KY Court appointed a surveyor on "the high land lick road from where same crosses the saline lick road to James Smarts..."	Caldwell Co. Court Order Book A. page 40, May 1809-Oct. 1815, transcribed by Brenda Joyce Jerome, (Newburg, IN, 2000), p. 13.
Feb., 1810	Caldwell Co., KY Court appointed James Smart overseer of road.	Caldwell Co. Court Order Book A. page 70, May 1809-Oct. 1815, transcribed by Brenda Joyce Jerome, (Newburg, IN, 2000), p. 22.
1811 or later	Caldwell Co., KY Court appointed James Smart overseer of road.	Caldwell Co. Court Order Book A. page 161, May 1809-Oct. 1815, transcribed by Brenda Joyce Jerome, (Newburg, IN, 2000), p. 46.
July 14, 1814	John Novin married Anna Tyler in Caldwell Co., KY	Married by James Rucker (bond 12 Jul 1814) Sec: James Smart per "Caldwell County, KY Marriage Records 1809-1900" by Smith and "Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1809-1832" by Jerome.
Sept. 6, 1817	James Smart was an inventory appraiser for the estate of Joshua Henson.	Will Book A, 1809-1834, pp. 296-7 in eds. Olive Eldred and Nancy Beck, "Pioneers of Caldwell County, Kentucky," Vol. 1, "Probate Records of the Original Settlers, 1809-1834" (Pioneers: Princeton, KY, 1976), p. 30
Sept. 24, 1817	James and Nancy Smart give consent [bond] in person for their daughter, Susan Luanna Smart to marry Thomas Patterson on the 25th	Transcribed by Brenda Joyce Jerome, "Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1809-1832" (Newberg, IN, 1996) p. 41.
1820	Lawrenceburg, Franklin Co., KY	Census
1820	NW section of Caldwell County, KY	Census 10001 [or 0? (This number looks as if it had been changed from 1 to 0) 1-021010-10] 1 male under 10 [?] 1 male 45 or over [James] 2 females age 10-16 [Jane 16, Polly 14] 1 female 16-26 [Nancy 18] 1 female 26-45 [Nancy 43-46] 1 engaged in agriculture [James]
Nov. 14, 1825	James Smart secured the bond for his daughter Jane S. Smart to marry Peter Leroy: married on the 17th at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Caldwell Co., KY.	Transcribed by Brenda Joyce Jerome, "Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1809-1832" (Newberg, IN, 1996) p. 88.
1830	Caldwell Co., KY	Census (NW part of county) 1 male under 5 [grandson?] 1 male 15-20 [?] 1 male 60-70 [James 60 1 female 20-30 [Nancy 28 or Polly 26] 1 female 50-60 [Nancy 53-56] no slaves
Jan. 9, 1836	James signs will - produced in court Apr. 17, 1837	See Will
1837	James Died in Caldwell Co., KY	?
1840	Caldwell Co., KY	Census (NW part of county) 1 male 10-15 [grandson?] 1 female 10-15 [granddaughter?] 1 female 40-50 [Polly 36?] 1 female 70-80 [Nancy 63-66]

James and Nancy could have "bounced" around western Kentucky/Tennessee between 1794 and 1799. The Eddyville area wasn't settled until around 1798. Livingston County has changed names several times. It's now Lyon County. Or they could have stayed in NC until the area was settled.

Ancestry of James and Nancy (nee Scott) Smart

Family Contacts:

Ronnie Smart in Texas - smart5306@sbcglobal.net is descended from Joseph Reed Smart. Ronnie has been wondering about all the Smarts in Texas. He grew up in Hardesty, in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Randy C. Smart in Washington - rsmart@ancestor-rescue.com is also descended from Joseph Reed Smart.

Otis Slusher oslushmom@webtv.net is retired in Florida and a descendent of John Noven Smart, the oldest son of James and Nancy (nee Scott) Smart.

Dennis Smart smarts2u@bellsouth.net lives in Missouri. He is a descendant of James & Nancy's daughter Polly Reed Smart.

Eric Smart eesmart@bellsouth.net is retired in Atlanta and is a descendant of Joseph Smart Sr. and Elizabeth (nee White) Smart. It may be possible that his line is related to James and Nancy Smart but no documented source has been found to support this. His GGrandfather A.L. Smith wrote a family history letter in 1931 which claims Joseph Sr. came from Philadelphia to NC between 1780 and 1790. Whereas, James's family may have been in NC as early as 1720.

Martha in NC - MLATCLEM@aol.com. Martha is also descended from Joseph Smart Sr. She and Eric were involved in a cemetery search in NC along with other Smarts.

Bill Smart - [e-mail withheld by Bill's request] is the GGGGrandson of Hiram Joseph Smart and Sydney Brandon Carson. He has some interesting history on NC. Bill referenced a book "The Decedents of William Smart, St., 1720-c. 1795 and Allied Families, vol. 1 by Richard Eugene Smart. et at., The Gregath Co., Cullman, Alabama.

Information:

"The Decedents of William Smart, St., 1720-c. 1795 and Allied Families," Vol. 1 by Richard Eugene Smart. et at., The Gregath Co., Cullman, Alabama.

"History of old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, NC, 1730-1936, by Clarence W. Griffin. Miller Printing Co., 1937, Asheville, NC.

Theories, Questions, Additional Sources etc.:

The call-out of Polly marrying "A. REED" may be interpreted from the speculation that she married a Reed as a theory as to why the Reed conflicts with the Mary shown elsewhere as her middle name. The will or her father clearly names her Polly Reed Smart which would mean she is named after her mother's sister Polly and her mother's mother's maiden name of Reed.

An Elizabeth SMART (b.1770 in Rutherford Co., NC and d. 1863) - daughter of William Smart Sr. and Jane HUDDLESTON - married a John REED (b. 1770) in Rutherford County on Dec. 15, 1792. Witnessed by William Mitchel and Rd Lewis, Clerk. NC Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868. An Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the NC State Archives, Raleigh, NC: NC Div. of Archives and History, 1977.