Genealogy Report: Descendants of James Turner, Sr.
Descendants of James Turner, Sr.
39.JAMES NORMAN4 SMITH (JAMES TURNER3, SARAH2TURNER, JAMES1)189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200 was born September 14, 1789 in Richmond County, North Carolina200, and died March 21, 1875 in Cuero, Texas200.He married (1) SARAH JENKINS201,202,203 January 16, 1812 in Covington County, Tennessee203.She was born June 28, 1788 in Maury County, Tennessee203, and died November 19, 1820 in Covington County, Tennessee203.He married (2) ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD MOREHEAD203 February 07, 1825 in Tennessee203, daughter of JOSEPH MOREHEAD and JANE JENKINS.She was born January 16, 1803 in Maury County, Tennessee203, and died October 23, 1857 in Cuero, Texas203.
Notes for JAMES NORMAN SMITH:
[keren1.FTW]
The following is extracted from History of DeWitt County, Texas:
In his handwritten, four-volume Personal Memoirs, written in 1860, James Norman Smith presents a vivid picture of his day.He wrote not only of his family, but also about the people he knew.All come to life as he traces the journey that led him to DeWitt County.His memories, beginning in early childhood, were still as sharp and clear as the day they happened.
The fascinating life of James Norman Smith began in Richmond County, North Carolina, in 1789.This story of his heritage goes back much further:
His father James Turner Smith volunteered at seventeen to fight in the Revolutionary War.He was critically wounded at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina and lay neglected for hours with his thigh completely shattered.Finally he was moved to a log home near the battlefield, where doctors planned to cut the leg off.But Smith would not consent to the amputation.
As word of the bloody battle spread to Maryland, his grandmother Kerenhappuch Norman Turner, 90, rode all the way on horseback to be with him, where she nursed him and others back to health.She bored holes in large tubs mounted to the rafters above him.The tubs were kept full of cool water and allowed to drip, continuously cleansing his wound.Today there is a monument at Guilford Battleground to the memory of Kerenhappuch Turner's spirit and courage.
It was a year before he could be moved, but James Turner Smith recovered and married Constantia Ann Ford.Of their five children, only James Norman and his twin Charles Allison survived to adulthood.
James Norman's account of his childhood in North Carolina provides a graphic picture of everyday life - the work, the songs, the poems, the games, the pranks, and even the tragedies.As a teenager Smith accompanied his father on a horseback trip into Kentucky and Tennessee.Soon after, the family moved to "The Cumberland."On the Tennesse frontier Smith began his lifelong career:teaching.One of his first pupils - James K. Polk - would grow up to be President, and their association would last until Smith's death.
Smith met and married Sarah Jenkins of Maury County, Tennessee. Through his wife's example Smith became a devout Christian, and he he settled into earning a living and raising three children.The death of Sarah in 1820 left Smith devastated.In 1825, he married his cousin Elizabeth Hungerford Moorehead, who remained his faithful companion until her death in 1857.Together they had eight children, five of whom lived long, productive lives.
When the recession of the late 1830's hit Tennessee, Smith made the same decision as many other residents of the area:They headed for Texas.After an eventful trip down the Mississippi and across the gulf, they arrived at Matagorda.Smith found work immediately, only to be caught in the Great Comanche Raid of 1840.At age 51, James Norman Smith fought in his first battle at Plum Creek.
Later Smith brought his family back to the Guadalupe River Valley.In 1846, when DeWitt County was created, he was elected the first county clerk.He surveyed the original DeWitt County lines, using "the old stock lock compass" his father had made for him when he was a boy.His memoirs include a detailed description of the instrument, how it was made, and how it worked.
In his narrative style Smith provides insightful view of the county's earliest politics, as its citizens debated where to locate the county seat and struggled to establish organized religion.
James Noran Smith, affectionately known as "Uncle Jimmy," was loved and respected in DeWitt County until his death in 1875.He is buried beside his wife Elizabeth in Clinton Cemetery.-- by Cynthia Salm
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The following is page 1 of the four volume handwritten manuscript:
July 21, 1871
James N. Smith - history of his early life, with anecdotes, poetry, etc.
This history is commenced at Bloomington, Illinois on the date above written at the house of his son-in-law, R. E. Williams for the use and benefit of his children and my other grandchildren elsewhere.
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The following is extracted from the first page of James Norman Smith, His Descendants & Connections:
Jean Stephenson states the following:
"Kerenhappuch Norman's mother, nee Frances Courtney, is supposed to have been one of the Courtneys who were descended from the Plantagenets, and early members of the family often referred to the energetic tendencies of the family as being the result of this Plantagenet blood.It would be interesting to trace and see if the 'servigorous' (to use the expression of old negroes who spoke of her) qualities of Kerenhappuch are to be found all the way through her mother's ancestry."
(Note)Jean Stephenson was a descendant of Sarah Smith who was a sister of James Turner Smith, the father of James Norman Smith.
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From "They Passed This Way":
SMITH CEMETERY, located on old James Norman Smith farm in "Big Bend" of Duck River, 12 miles above Columbia, north side of river.The following are known to be buried here.Information taken from "The Life of James Norman Smith", unpublished;original in Texas State Archives;microfilm copies in Tenn. State Archives and Maury County Public Library.Copied 30 Oct, 1968 by Jill K. Garrett.
SMITH, Constance Ford, died July, 1812, in Maury County.(Note, mother of James Norman Smith;wife of James T. Smith, Revolutionary (Pensioner) soldier of Maury Co.;she was born in Charles Co., Maryland.James N. Smith noted that his mother's grave was the first one at his "new" house.Later he wrote that his mother, his first wife, and his "lost" children were buried here.)
SMITH, Sarah ("Sallie") Jenkins, died 1819.(wife of James N. Smith;first wife;daughter of Philip Jenkins of Maury County;married 16 Jan, 1812 in Maury Co.)
SMITH, Benjamin, born 1819, died 1819, age 8 days."Buried beside his mother."(child of James N. Smith and first wife Sallie Jenkins.She died of consumption and childbirth when this child was born.)
SMITH, Constance Ann, born Nov, 1812, died 1813.(Dau. of James N. and Sallie Jenkins Smith.At her death she was just beginning to crawl;he wrote "most distressing time I ever experienced" concerning her death.)
SMITH, Mary Morehead, born 1827, died 1827.(Dau. of James N. Smith & his second wife, Elizabeth H. Morehead, whom he married 7 Feb, 1825.)
NAPIER, Sallie, aunt of James N. Smith, who made her home with him for a number of years May be buried here.
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The following signs are erected in front of the 1st Presbyterian Church, Cuero, Texas:
STATE HISTORICAL SURVEY COMMITTEE
TEXAS
JAMES NORMAN SMITH (1789-1875)
"Uncle Jimmy the Peacemaker"
Son of Sgt. James Turner Smith, veteran of American Revolution.Born and educated in North Carolina.Lived 32 years in Tennesse, where he taught James K. Polk, later a U.S. President.Taught first school in area, now DeWitt County, 1840 (year he came to Texas).Surveyed DeWitt County, was first County Clerk.Organized Presbyterian Churches at Victoria, Hochheim, Clinton, Peebles Ranch, Mill Creek, Live Oak, and Cuero.Organized first Masonic Lodge in County.At 1857 political rally, introduced old Tennessee friend, Sam Houston.
Marker erected (1971) by descendants.
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CUERO
On July 8, 1849, A group of settlers gathered together under a live oak tree at the home of Dr. Robert and Mary C. Trigg Peebles to form the Live Oak Presbyterian Church, the first Presbyterian Church in DeWitt County.Led by the Rev. William Cochran Blair, the church's charter members included Elizabeth Smith Barnhill, Miles Squier Bennet, Bathsheba Gibson Bennet, Mary C. Trigg Peebles, James Norman Smith, and Elizabeth H. Morehead Smith.
In 1855 the county's second Presbyterian Church was organized in Concrete (11 mi. N) and in 1878 a third congregation began in the new county seat of Cuero.By 1883 the three churches had merged into one congregation located in Cuero.Eventually, congregations from Indianola and Thomaston also joined the Cuero church.
A number of structures have housed the church over the years, and the members have maintained an active involvement in community affairs.The street in front of the church was renamed in honor of the Rev. Dr. William Angus McLeod, who served as minister here from 1919 until his death in 1947.(1991)
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Marble slab (with Masonic emblem) mounted on wall in narthex of First Presbyterian Church, Cuero:
IN MEMORIAM
JAMES NORMAN SMITH
1789-1875
Born in Richmond County, North Carolina
Lived in Tennesse 1808-1840
Came to Texas in 1840
Established first school in DeWitt County.
Surveyed the county in 1846.
Charter ruling elder in Presbyterian Churches:
Hochheim, Victoria, 1841.
Mill Creek, 1843, Cuero, 1849.
He taught James K. Polk, eleventh President U.S.A.
Erected by his descendants - 1938
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Card (with Masonic emblem) describing gavel in show case, 1st Presbyterian Church, Cuero:
Gavel made from a tree growing on the site of first school in DeWitt County - then part of Gonzales County - established in summer of 1840 by James Norman Smith - who had taught James K. Polk, 11th President of U.S.A.In this school house, July 1841, was organized one of the first protestant churches in Guadalupe Valley - now Hochheim Presbyterian Church.Located on Cuero Creek - 6 miles north of Cuero.
Presented by Dr. W. A. McLeod, Cuero
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State historical marker 3 miles southwest of Cuero:
CLINTON(0.6 mile east)
Created in 1846, DeWitt County was named for Empresario Green DeWitt.The county seat, originally at Cameron, was moved in 1848 to the pioneer town of Clinton, named for DeWitt's son.County government returned briefly to Cameron, but Clinton again served as the county seat from 1850 to 1875 when Cuero was named the seat of government.Courthouses here included a log cabin and two frame buildings.A cemetery and well remain at the site of Clinton, evidence of the once thriving community that was the home of many prominent area pioneers.
Children of JAMES SMITH and SARAH JENKINS are:
i. | CONSTANIA ANN5 SMITH204,205, b. November 25, 1812205; d. October 13, 1813205. | ||
54. | ii. | ELIZABETH HUNGERFORD SMITH, b. August 09, 1814, Maury County, Tennessee; d. February 25, 1864, DeWitt County, Texas. | |
55. | iii. | JAMES BROWN SMITH, b. July 27, 1816; d. November 01, 1865. | |
56. | iv. | JANE CATHERINE SMITH, b. May 12, 1818; d. January 23, 1901. | |
v. | ROBERT BENJAMIN SMITH206,207, b. November 19, 1820207; d. December 01, 1820207. |
Children are listed above under (31) Elizabeth Hungerford Morehead.