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Smith Family History
James Helman
Historical Society Note: James Helman is know as the writer of the first detailed history of the
Emmitsburg area: History of Emmitsburg, Md., published in 1906. While not 100%
historically accurate, Helman's History of Emmitsburg is still an excellent effort, especially given the difficulty one faced collecting and
compiling information during that time period.
Prior to authoring the History of Emmitsburg, Helman authored two other books, the Troxell
Family History, and the Smith Family History. We have yet to find a copy of the Troxell Family History, however, thanks to the
effort of Smith Family researcher Leo Lutz, we now have a copy of The Smith Family History.
Written in 1896, it provided a detailed history and genealogical account of the Smith Family of
Emmitsburg and it's allied families, i.e., the Rowes, &c. Upon reading The Smith Family History, we find it hard not to notice the
similarity between the stores in it and Helman's later work: The History of Emmtisburg.
The patriarch of the smith family, George Smith, took out a patent for 500 acres 3 miles east of
Emmitsubrg, near the present intersection of Rt 140 and Tom's Creek Church Road. The survey was called Cattail Branch. George was the father of 11
children, 4 boys and 7 girls. In 1775 his son John Smith was a Sergeant in Capt William Blair's
Game Cock Company.
Click on picture to view large map show where Cattell Brach in located
with regards to other deeds in the Tom's Creek Hundred (Northern Fredrick County)
Unfortunately, Helman's Smith Family history was written in long hand, and while it is our policy to try
to transcribe and convert to editable text all material submitted to us, 155 pages was more then we could handle. So instead, we have converted
the book's pages into easily downloadable JPG images. In addition, we've broken the book up into two sections, one covering 'historical'
information, and a second covering 'genealogical' information.
We're still in the process of putting the sections together, but here's what we got so far!
For more genealogical information of the Smith family, we recommend Leo Lutz's
Descendants of George Smith.
If you have additional information on the Smith Family of Emmitsburg,
especially stories or antidotes about them please send them to us at history@emmitsburg.net
Have a family history you are willing to share?
If so, send it to us at history@emmitsburg.net |
