William Farrar Smith (1824 - 1903)

Born 17 Feb 1824 in St. Albans, Franklin, Vermont, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah Ward (Lyon) Smith — married 24 Apr 1861 in New York County, New York, United States

Died 28 Feb 1903 at age 79 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Luke Lord Kemp-St. Margaret [send private message]

Biography

William Smith is Notable.

Maj. Gen. William Smith served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 1841
Mustered out: 1897
Side: USA
Regiment(s): Union General

According to Wikipedia, Major General William Farrar Smith, son of Ashbel and Sarah (Butler) Smith^[1], "was a Union general in the American Civil War, notable for attracting the extremes of glory and blame. He was praised for his gallantry in the Seven Days Battles and the Battle of Antietam, but was demoted for insubordination after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg. As chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland, he achieved recognition by restoring a supply line that saved that army from starvation and surrender, known the “Cracker Line”, that helped Union troops to success in the Chattanooga Campaign in the autumn of 1863. Leading the first operation against Petersburg, Smith’s hesitation, possibly illness-related, cost the Union a prime"opportunity for a quick end to the war, and he was relieved of command."

Wikipedia also says that William Smith "resigned from the volunteer service in 1865, and from the U.S. Army in 1867. From 1864 to 1873 he was president of the International Telegraph Company, and from 1875 to 1881 served on the board of police commissioners of New York City, becoming its president in 1877. After 1881 he was engaged in civil engineering work in Pennsylvania. He died at Philadelphia in 1903 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His Autobiography of Major General William F. Smith, 1861 – 1864 was published posthumously in 1990."

Paternal line of ancestors:
1 JOHN SMITH (s/o- John Smith d 669 Lancaster MA) (c1622 ENG -d 687 Sudbury MA) m1647 MA Sarah Hunt = 3 SONS
-2 THOMAS Smith-15305 (1658 MA-1730 Sudbury MA) m Abigail Rice-1045 = 4 Sons
--3 Thomas Smith-15304 (1679 -____) m Elizabeth Unknown-197864 = 4 Sons
---4 Bezaliel Smith-15294 (c1707 - c1747) m Sarah Miles = at least 1 Son,
.---5 Samuel (1748 MA -1829 VT) m Patience Gregory = 3 Sons
..---6 Ashbel (___ -___) m Sarah Butler = 4 Sons
...---7 William Farrar (1824 -1903) m_____?

DNA

Descendant of yDNA group NE05 John Smith-70371 (b ENG - 1669 Lancaster, Massachusetts) m Mary Unknown. See SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Dictionary of American biography by American Council of Learned Societies, Published 1943. Vol 17 page 362
2. ↑ SmithConnections Northeastern DNA Project, haplogroup Rb1 NE05 John Smith.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Farrar_Smith
• Smith, William F., Autobiography of Major General William F. "Baldy" Smith, 1861-1864. Edited by Herbert M. Schiller. Dayton, OH: Morningside House, 1990. ISBN 978-0-89029-534-2.
• http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wfsmith.htm
• http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=1367
• Find A Grave: Memorial #6529
• http://vermontcivilwar.org/get.php?input=5488
• "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WB7-1TS : 3 June 2020), William Farrar-Smith in entry for Clara Farrar-Smith, 1926.
• "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK8X-ZVY : 18 February 2021), Wm. F Smith, 28 Feb 1903; citing v 1 p 136, Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; FHL microfilm 1,011,832.
• "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2489-FRC : 21 June 2022), William F. Smith and Sarah U. Lyon, 1861.
• "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Births, 1860-1906," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBYM-ZBY : 8 March 2021), William Smith in entry for Smith, 12 Oct 1874; citing Birth, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, Pennsylvania.
• "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28G-1XWF : 22 July 2021), William Smith in entry for Stuart Farrar Smith and Bertha Irene Murphy, 4 Dec 1950; citing Marriage, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania.