Smith, Ephraim Sr

Birth Name Smith, Ephraim Sr
Also Known As Epharim
Also Known As Eprahim
Gender male
Age at Death 74 years, 11 months, 17 days

Narrative

Christopher Smith said his father was "foreign-born". The use of word "farthen" for father in William Smith's will implies Dutch or German origins. A sizeable fraction of the Y-DNA matches of a male Smith descendant (Monte Smith) are located in Germany.

After years of research and DNA matching, I conclude the most likely parents of Ephraim Smith of Arkwright, NY are the following family shown to be Ephraim Smith and Deborah Sanford from Lyme, CT. Ephraim, Jr was incorrectly claimed by another family from Hadley, MA because of the same birth year.

Originally, my best guess for father of Ephraim Smith of Arkwright based on the Weaver's being in Saratoga ( Northumberland, then Greenfield) from 1794 to 1814+. Ephraim Smith must have married Mary Weaver before 1812 when Jesse was born. Eliminating all other Smith families in Greenfield and surrounding townships ( by mis-matching son's ages or found in existing trees), this leaves this Epharim Smith family:
Name: Epharim Smith
Home in 1800 (City, County, State): Greenfield , Saratoga, New York (mislabelled Northumberland on ancestry.com)
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: 3
Free White Persons - Males -10 thru 15: 3
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44: 1

Name: Ephraim Smith
Home in 1810 (City, County, State): Greenfield, Saratoga, New York
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 2
Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : 1

Name: Eprahim Smith
Home in 1820 (City, County, State): Greenfield, Saratoga, New York
Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : 1

Most of the rest of the Smith's in early Greenfield ( 1800) appear to be part of the John Smith line out of Ridgefield, Fairfield, CT

The Ephraim Smith in 1790 Balls Town, Albany, NY ( from which Greenfield was formed) is next to Elnathan Smith, from Ridgefield, Fairfield, CT

The closest other Smith in Northumberland to Caleb Weaver and Epharim Smith (above) is "Elishua Smith".

Events

Event Date Place Description Sources
Birth 1762-09-04 Lyme, New London, CT    
Event Note

26-45 in the 1800 Federal Census of Northumberland, Saratoga, NY (1756-1774)
45+ in the 1810 Federal Census of Greenfield, Saratoga, NY ( <1765 )
45+ in the 1820 Census of Greenfield, NY (<1775)

Death 1837-08-21 Evans Mills, Jefferson, NY    

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Smith, Thomas1720-11-281811
Mother Foote, Lydia17241816
         Smith, Ephraim Sr 1762-09-04 1837-08-21

Families

Family of Smith, Ephraim Sr and Sanford, Deborah
Married Wife Sanford, Deborah ( * 1758-10-01 + 1843-02-17 )
   
Event Date Place Description Sources
Marriage about 1785      
  Narrative

Numerous connections tie these 2 together. They must be related somehow.
1) Both named a son Royal.
2) Three of Christopher's children were living briefly in Royal D Smith's hh in 1860.
3) Royal D Smith's will was witnessed by Stukley Ellsworth Smith, s/o Christopher.

[kdd: Regarding my theory that the Smith's and Weaver's knew each other before Arkwright, NY, Caleb Weaver was said to have gone to SouthWest VT between 1790 and 1794 (when Mary Weaver was born in Saratoga, NY).]

Another brother may be William Smith of Greenfield, Saratoga Co, NY. He is 3 houses away from Caleb Weaver there in 1810 and appears to have a younger brother in his household (Ephraim's age). This has to be where Ephraim Smith met and married Mary Weaver, which was about 1812. Caleb Weaver and Ephraim Smith were in Genesee Co, NY in 1820 but William Smith stayed behind. He died in 1871 and his tombstone says he was born 1780 in Smithfield, RI. He married Catherine Comstock. This agrees with my theory that the Smith's and Weaver's were close way back in RI and left together to "southwestern VT" , thence to Saratoga Co, NY , thence to Genesee Co, NY and finally to Arkwright, Chautauqua Co, NY.

William Smith's grave -
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30771418

Of course, it is intriguing that they may have been Quakers as he is buried in Quaker Cemetery. He also named a son William C Smith. However a biography of Williiam C Smith found in "Our County and Its People: A Descriptive and Biographical Record of Saratoga County, New York" says William C Smith's grandfather, William Smith, fought and died in the Revolutionary War, thus could not have been father of Ephraim and Christopher who were born later.

Interesting multiple DNA matches to descendants of Ephraim Smith & Mary Weaver with descendants of Abiel Perry of b.1744 Attleborough, MA, son in Genesee Co, NY. Granddaughter Polly Maria Perry of Arkwright, NY married William Smith ( from TN? )

If this is the family in Greenfield, NY, in 1800 there were 3 sons born between 1785 and 1790:
Daniel Ephraim Smith b.1785 NY came from Saratoga to OH with a large family, including sons Ephraim, Edwin, Augustus, and Daniel ( like our Smith's)

  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Smith, Ephraim Jr1788-05-231860
Smith, Christopher1794-03-101872-02-01
Smith, Thomas18041894-08-22