Smart Line - Rutherford County, NC 1700s

Revised January 2012

Overview:

In light of James Smart's will and without conflicting sources, it is assumed that James and Nancy (nee Scott) Smart are NOT the parents of Hiram Joseph SMART, as reflected in most genealogies such as those at familysearch.com and ancestry.com. Their actual lineage (as I have it): Ancestry of James and Nancy (nee Scott) Smart

The error seems to have originated in the 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.

Published date 1986? [copy? Phillip Minch?]

The authors should be applauded for their efforts and not blamed for mistakes. However, the error makes one suspect the genealogies as represented in this book because (as I understand it) it doesn't list any actual sources and suspect information cannot be re verified.

It seems evident that several Smart families lived in Rutherford County, North Carolina in the 1700s. The authors used incomplete records to sort out the lineages.

This is a good example of why all family historians need to provide sources for our information. Certainly the Internet provides an excellent forum for such documentation. Examples: digital copies of an actual will and recap of a source/will.

Suggestion:

What is necessary is a systematic recreation of the Rutherford records that relate to all Smart lines. This will not only set the records straight and allow us to tie sources directly to facts, but will provide an ongoing source to re-review information any time one questioned a fact.

To create this would require a complete review (by someone intimately familiar with local records) of all available records for that 100 year period from about 1700-1800. I did a similar project last year on another line and came up with a mini-index for marriages and births and death records available. I then provided contact info. for anyone wanting to get a copy of any particular records found.

Randy C. Smart

Rutherford 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 the 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. Bill was hostile to the will but had to admit it changed his family lineage.

Troy Smart - Descendant of Hiram Joseph Smart. Lives in Texas? steelshot4ducks@yahoo.com Troy commented:

"The Will you have is your only source you have in hand, verses the Smart book, Family search, Ancestory.com, and the Caroliana Genealogy Site - well that's 4 to 1. The odds are a little high that all 4 "studies" are mistaken, vs the 1 assumption of the Will is positive proof."

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.

The rest of this page (below) is for the author's reference only.

 

 

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James Smart's Ancestry

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 assigned to the wrong children and were actually in my Smart line.

I suggest you depend on my site only where I have provided the actual source documents digitally.

 

*"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
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.  
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.

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.