Jeremiah Smith, Sr. 1755 SC

Jeremiah Smith  was born in South Carolina circa 1755 but the names of his parents and their country of origin is still to be discovered.[i]The oldest reference to Jeremiah is in 1770 in Craven County on Lynches Creek, sometimes referred to as Great Lynches Creek or, later, as Lynches River. His name is shown as owning land adjacent to John Kirkley. Most of the land surrounding the property of these two was men was described as ‘vacant land’.[ii]In 1773 Jeremiah’s land on Lynches Creek was again referenced in land records, this time as adjoining the property of James Minzies.[iii]

Jeremiah Smith served in the South Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. He served as a private in Colonel Benton’s Regiment for 29 days in March 1782 and 36 days in October 1782. In 1785 he went to the Justice of the Peace in Cheraws District to apply for compensation for his service. He also claimed 109 days service for Richard, Charles and John Smith. Were these other Smiths his brothers? This service amounted to a claim for 87 pounds. He received an additional 16 pounds sterling for Beef he gave “for public use” during the war.[i]

On 24 June 1784 he married Jemimah Hollis, daughter of Moses Hollis and Rosannah (Hagan) Hollis.[i]The Hollis family had been in the area for some years. Moses Hollis owned 300 acres on the Wateree River in 1768.[ii]Both Lynches Creek/River and Wateree River carve wandering lines across South Carolina but they run roughly parallel to each other.[iii]Various events, such as visiting the courthouse, could have brought the Smith and Hollis families together.

In October 1785 Jeremiah Smith had 100 acres of land on Rickey Creek in the Cheraws District.[i]In 1788 he owned 400 acres in the Lynches Creek and Rocky Creek area.[ii] He was in Greenville, South Carolina in 1790 when the first United States Census was taken[iii]and in 1800 for the second census.[iv]

When researching the death date and location for Jeremiah Smith, I found a wide assortment of dates from 1810 to 1827, from the Carolinas to Mississippi. Because of the abundance of Jeremiah Smiths it cannot yet be determined which date and place relate to this man.

[i]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. State Plat Books; Series S213190, Volume 8, Page 267, Item 1; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) Jeremiah Smith, 1785.

[ii]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. State Plat Books; Series S213190, Volume 22, Page 873, Item 2; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) Jeremiah Smith, 1788, Cheraws District.

[iii]1790 US Census, SC, Greenville; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed October 2019) Jeremiah Smith.

[iv]1800 US Census, SC, Greenville; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed October 2019) Jeremiah Smith.

[i]Gurr, Cindy Brock and Dennis Ray Gurr. The Ties That Bind US Together, Volume 5 (Privately Printed, 2006) Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com: accessed March 2019) 131-212.

[ii]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Colonial Land Grants; Series S213019, Volume 16, Page 367; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) Moses Hollis, 1768.

[iii]Pruitt, A. B. Creeks and Rivers in South Carolina(Privately Printed, 2001) 14.

[i]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Account Audited Of Claims Growing out of the American Revolution; Series S108092, Reel 136, Frame 422; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) Jeremiah Smith.

[i]Gurr, Cindy Brock and Dennis Ray Gurr. The Ties That Bind US Together, Volume 5 (Privatley Print3ed, 2006) Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com: accessed March 2019) 131-212.

[ii]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Colonial Plat Books; Series S213184, Volume 17, Page 500, Item 2; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) John Kirkley adj. Jeremiah Smith, 1770.

[iii]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Colonial Plat Books; Series S213184, Volume 18, Page 445, Item 2; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) James Minzies adj. Jeremiah Smith, Great Lynches Creek, 1773.

….. 1 Jeremiah Smith Sr. b: 1755, d: Aft. 1827 in Walthall, Mississippi
….. + Jemimah Hollis
……….. 2 Jeremiah Smith b: 23 Dec1773 in South Carolina, d: 1843 in Pike, Mississippi
……….. + Joanna Dillon b: 22 August 1778 in Bertie, North Carolina, m: 16 Dec 1798 in South Carolina, d: Aft. 30 April 1821 in Pike, Mississippi
……….. 2 George Smith Sr. b: 1775 in South Carolina, USA, d: 1833
……….. + Clarissa Dillon
……….. 2 Daniel Smith b: Abt. 1777
……….. 2 Mary Smith b: Abt. 1779