Is Christopher Smith the son of Charles Smith?

Question

I'm working on the Smith family of Louisa County, Virginia, and I've run into a real head-scratcher. I found a court case styled Smith's Executors v. Garland Anderson. Charles Smith and Garland Anderson formed a partnership which they dissolved in 1767. Anderson made a deed of trust to secure Smith's interest in the partnership and indemnify Smith against any debts.

The executor of Christopher Smith's estate, Charles Smith (presumably his son), filed a lawsuit in 1818 trying to recover the monies due to Charles the elder, due to the agreement reached in 1767. 

All of this is found in Virginia Migrations, Hanover County, 1723-1871, Vol II, ppgs vi, vii, 1-8, a copy of which I purchased.

Here's the problem. I found what I thought was a copy of Charles Smith's will, written in 1768 and probated in Dec 1768. But, the executor of his estate was his son William and a man named Hawkins, not Christopher Smith. Furthermore, Smith names six children in his will, none of which are Christopher.

So I went back to the lawsuit and read it more carefully. I found the following:

Charles Smith, excr of Christopher Smith, decd., a citizen and inhabitant of the state of Virginia, ... sheweth unto your Honors

That prior to the late Revolutionary war between the United States and Great Britain your Orator's Testator Charles Smith was engaged in a commercial business with a certain Garland Anderson under the name and firm of Smith & Anderson

What does he mean by "your Orator's Testator"? Is he referring to himself?

Later in the complaint, he writes this:

That there remains due from said Anderson to his Testator Charles Smith, dec.

Christopher Smith, who was much more familiar with the affairs of the said Charles Smith, decd. 

He goes on to explain that Christopher Smith filed suit against Garland Anderson but then died, and the suit died with him. So this Charles Smith is rejuvenating the suit.

This makes me think that the Charles Smith who was in business with Garland Anderson was not the Charles Smith who filed this lawsuit. And that Christopher was his father and Charles Smith was his grandfather. 

Am I understanding this correctly?

There's one other issue.

On page 7 of Vol II, Bogle and Scott filed suit against Smith Excrs and stated.

To the Honorable the Judges, etc., your Orators Robert and Robert Bogle & Scott prior to the year 1771 had considerable dealings with Garland Anderson and the Testator of the defendant...who carried on trade under the firm of Smith & Anderson. Some time after this (July 1771) the said Smith departed this life...

The will of Charles Smith that I referred to earlier was probated in Dec 1768, so, this makes it appear that the lawsuit involves a different Charles Smith, both of who lived in Louisa County.

Thus my confusion.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

UPDATE: I found a will for a Charles Smith of Louisa County that reveals that he was the brother of a Christopher Smith. His will is dated 12 Aug 1810 and was probated 13 Oct 1815. And he refers to his brother as deceased, so there may well have been two Smith families in Louisa County with similar or identical given names.

Answer 1

­­­­­­­­­­­­Yes, I think you have it figured correctly. The Charles Smith who filed the suit is executor and probable son of Christopher Smith who filed the original suit as executor of Charles Smith who was in business with Garland Anderson. The Orator is the person filing the bill of complaint, also called the plaintiff. The Testator is the person who left a will and I think he’s referring to Charles Smith who was in business with Garland Anderson.

That you have two Smith families is proved twice. The 1768 will names William Smith as executor, not Christopher Smith, so not the same man. And the Smith v. Anderson suit says that Smith died after 1771 and so he could not be the Smith who died in 1768. Multiple men with the same name is a common problem in genealogy and Smith is a common name so it’s bound to happen often.

Because Hanover County has lost the majority of its records for that time period I don’t think you’ll find a will for Charles Smith or Christopher Smith. A man’s estate was probated in the county where he lived when he died.

Hope this helps. Laurie

Comments

Thanks, Laurie. I have come to that conclusion myself and changed Charles Smith's profile accordingly. I HAVE found wills for both Christopher Smith and Charles Smith the younger. I have not found a will for Charles Smith the elder.

I'll keep looking. It means wading through a lot of wills for Louisa County trying to find the needle in the haystack.

Answer 2

Unlikely connected to the Smith's in my family Who lives in Iowa

Answer 3

Greetings: The "Orator," in a Chancery suit,  is a male Plaintiff; he is the one bringing the petition/ suit. The Defendant(s) is/ are the people answering the suit. (the party(ies) being sued). An oratrix is a female plaintiff. I work in Virginia chancery suits quite a bit and have a working familiarity of most of the terms, many of which are boilerplate legalese, and not commonly used in today's legal records. Also, if your Executor is an executor de bonis non, he is the one replacing the original executor, not the original. Look for that phrase, if it's there. Hope that helps.

Comments

Thank you. That clarifies things.