The Smith Family

Family Gathering of the Tom and Cerise Smith Family [minus 3]

Smith: is an English Occupational name for man who works with metal, one ofthe earliest jobs
for which specialist skills were required. It is a craft that was practiced in all countries, making the
surname and its cognizants the most widely found of all occupational names in Europe. Medieval
Smiths made horseshoes, plows, and items for the house. English variations are Smyth , and Smither;
German = Schmidt ; Flemish = De Smid ; Dutch = Smit ; Norwegian = Smidth ; Polish = Szmyt ;
Czechoslovakian = Smid ; Jewish = Schmieder . Even the gypsies had the name: the Romany
Petulengro translates to Smith.

Our last names -- are a story handed down for hundreds of years, and yet many people don't know
what the story means. Most last names have a unique history that tells us about the medieval ancestors
who gave us our surnames.

WHERE DID THE SURNAME COME FROM?

I once was told that ALL people in the land were given the surname of Smith. Then one by one as a
person did a bad deed their names were changed! And since there were so many Smith's in the land...
there must be a lot of good people on this earth.

Smith is one of the septs of Macpherson. It comes from blacksmith or Mac a' ghobhainn (MacGowan). Blacksmiths were common to all the clans, so you might find a Smith or MacGowan in many areas.

After the Jacobite uprisings in 1715 and 1745, many MacGowans changed their names to the less Scottish sounding Smith. Smith, however was also used in the Isles. For more than 400 years a family of Smith were settled in the parish of Strathblane at Craigend.
You can read more in Black's "The Surnames of Scotland".
You may inquire to:Charlene McGowan.
Or visit the Clan Macpherson Clan Macpherson website.

Fennimore L. Smith was the son of Reuben Smith. Fen was born in Fenner, NY and moved on to Dane County, WI where he married Nancy Jane Brink. From here they moved on to South Dakota and then came to Black Hawk County, Waterloo, Ia. Fen died of cancer in 1899. Photo provided by Charmayne

Fennimore [or Fen L. as listed in service records and headstone] served in the 23rd WI INF REG CO A. and CO A. 35TH WI INF REG of the Civil War. He was discharged on March 15, 1866. I want to thank James Dittberner at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for supplying this information to me.

This photo of Asa [on left] and George Smith . Also in the photo was a man which still is unidentifiable so I have left him out. Photo provided by Dorothy

CLAN LINKS

Below you will find links to several other web sites that are researching the Smith surname.

Mike and Stacy -
Terry and Christy .
Torrey/Smith family.
George Smith in Kentucky, Born 1731 Family. Site of Jack Masters
Welcome to the Smith Family Web Page! Michael Smith.
Smith's from NC.
Mary Smith who married Samuel Denton, Sr.
SMITH .
SMITH and other surnames.
SMITH family arrived in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1776 on board the ship Albion.
Metheny Genealogy Connection.
Family names of Baltimore city Maryland.
Searching PHILLIPS, SARGENT, APPLETON, HALLETT, SMITH, BENEDICT, HUNT, TURNER
Direct ancestors of main lines that includes Smith .
Smith, 350 surnames to choose from.
SMITH List of only SMITHs some related but most not related.
SMITH .
Smith Genealogy database .
Smith Baumgardner's from Germany, IA, PA, and MI.
In preparation and correction: Family of Fennimore and Nancy Smith.

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BRINK FAMILY

This section is just beginning it's construction. Below are some links you may find helpful until the site to fully constructed.

17th CENTURY IMMIGRANTS TO NEW YORK REGISTRY the following children: Arie Gerritsen b abt 1661 m Lysbet Lambertse Brink aft 17 Oct 1686 Cornelis Newkirk b abt 1662.
Lammert Huybertsen, [Brink?] from Wagening, and Wife and two children Jan Harmans and Wife.
Heirs of Hybert, 1861.
Date: 1630 Briggs, John \Name of Ship: Blessing \Arrival Date: 1635 Brink, Lambert Huybertse \ Name of Ship: De Trouw \ Arrival Date: Dec 1659.
Civil War Union Court-Martial Case Files New York Infantry submitted an affidavit on Cole's behalf. Privates Bills, Brink, Tripp, and Quinn.