Part 572sd – Smith Robertson Genealogy – GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith – Food For Thought – Part 3

Good Day,

The new puppy, Radar, aka Raydy, is a hoot to walk. He believes that he has to catch every lizard and bug on the ground and on every tree. Today, all of a sudden he began jumping up a good three feet into the air. He was trying to catch dragonflies. And the next thing he was trotting, ever so proud, with a white feather in his mouth. All I can do is laugh and smile. We have a master-dragonfly-catch-and-leaper-feather-slayer living in our home…

Today’s discussion is about the actual documentation that I have found in the research and search for the genealogy and history of my ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith. This is Part 3 of my discussion; following Part 570sd and Part 571sd.

The information and data that I have discovered to this point elaborates that she was a landowner and an owner of slaves. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann may have been illiterate. And she most definitely had personal and business relationships with ggg-grandfather James Smith.

GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann Doret and GGG-Grandfather James did have seven children before they were married on 11 December 1832 at Good Hope in the Parish of Saint George, in Grenada. At this point I have not discovered or unearthed whether they did or did not have any additional children.

This third part of my dialogue about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith pertains to the factual and physical documentation that I have discovered concerning her business acumen and dealings.

From the Grenada Registers of Records, one Indenture written 10 May 1821 and entered 26 May 1824 on Page 136 it appears that ggg-grandfather James Smith is in contract to sell a Lot of Land to one, Catherine Baillie. This Lot of Land is bounded “on the East by lands of Mary Ann Doret…” See Part 432s and Part 437s. (Note the re-occurrence of the Baillie surname.)

From the Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834, database, online with Ancestry.co.uk, I discovered a number of individual references to ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret as an owner. Documentation included from the years 1817, 1821, 1824, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1830. The original documents are kept at The National Archives in Kew, England. Two pieces of the total Grenada Collection; Pieces 264 and 266 are not included in the Ancestry.co.uk online database.

There are two types of documents specific to ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret before she is married to ggg-grandfather James Smith. One document is “A List of Slaves belonging or with lawful Po∫se∫sion of Mary Anne Doret of the Parish of Saint Georges Proprietre∫s” and the other is an “Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves belonging to Mary Ann Doret of the Parish of St. George for the Year (indicated)”. In all occasions ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret signs the Lists or the Annual Returns with her “X” mark. In 1817 it appears that ggg-grandfather James Smith is a witness to her mark.

In 1832 the “Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves belonging to James of the Parish of Saint George for the Year 1832” includes the explanation of the numbers increase “By Marriage with Mary Ann Doret”. The Lists for 1833 and 1834 are registered to both ggg-grandparents James and Mary Ann Smith.

If you have any pertinent and additional information, data, and tales of ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith, I certainly would appreciate hearing of them.

And I continue my search.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 570sd – Smith Robertson Genealogy – GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith – Food For Thought

Good Day,

When I first arrived on the genealogy scene a few years back, I learned very quickly that to find out information of one's ancestors one, that is me, had to ask a lot of questions. And I did… and did I ever get a lot of answers.

Some have been answers that make sense. And some of the answers just did provide the exact bit of information, about a long-gone ancestor.

Case in point, and this is the study which I am attempting to create and write about. Beginning with this Posting, I would like to find out who is and was my ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) was the wife of my ggg-grandfather James Smith and the mother of his, at last count, seven children.

In order to relay that which I have found, heard, received, and discovered, I have decided to write a couple of Posts to A Genealogy Hunt. The following is pertinent and documented information that I have, to date, discovered about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann.

To start, here is the list of the possible children of ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) and ggg-grandfather James Smith. The dates included could be either the registered birth date or the registered baptism date, or both.

• 17 March 1812 – Birth; 10 June 1814 – Baptism – Daughter: Eley Smith
• 20 March 1815 – Birth; 23 April 1815 – Baptism – Son: James Smith (my gg-grandfather). GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann’s surname is entered as Doral.
• 3 March 1818 – Birth; 1 January 1819 – Baptism – Son: Henry Smith. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann’s surname is entered as Dorette.
• 5 November 1820 – Birth; 1 January 1822 – Baptism – Son: Thomas Smith. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann’s surname is entered as Dorette.

I have not been able to find either birth or baptism registrations for the following, but their names are included in ggg-grandfather James’ 1842 Last Will and Testament. (See Part 347s.) The additional children include:

• George Smith – Son. Mentioned in ggg-grandfather James Smith’s 1842 Last Will and Testament.
• Sophia (née Smith) Ventour – Daughter. Mentioned in ggg-grandfather James Smith’s 1842 Last Will and Testament.
• Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele – Daughter. Mentioned in ggg-grandfather James Smith’s 1842 Last Will and Testament.

GGG-Grandparents James Smith and Mary Ann (née Doret) were married at Good Hope in Grenada 11 December 1832. (See Part 62s for my discussion of the 1825 Ventour, 1832 Smith, and 1832 Steele marriages.)

(The inserted map is of the island of Grenada with a marker at the location of Good Hope Estate.)

It is based on the order of bequests in ggg-grandfather James’ 1842 LWT, the dates of the above-mentioned marriages, and the birth and baptism dates that I have placed the children of ggg-grandparents James’ and Mary Ann’s in the following order.

1. GG-Grandaunt Eley Smith;
2. GG-Granduncle George Smith;
3. GG-Grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) Ventour;
4. GG-Grandaunt Mary Ann (née Smith) Steele;
5. GG-Grandfather James Smith;
6. GG-Granduncle Henry Smith; and
7. GG-Granduncle Thomas Smith

Please note as I discover more and more data and documentation I will adjust my records and my logic accordingly.

I do have the documentation for the above-mentioned events and occasions. I have also touched on them in previous discussions on A Genealogy Hunt. You can use the “Search This Blog” function in the right hand column to view previous Postings.

If you have any comments, questions, information, and data please feel free to contact me. You can also comment directly to this posting on A Genealogy Hunt.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 90s – Smith Records – 1820 GG-Granduncle Thomas Smith

Evening,

I continue to keep digging into the Smith family data that I have amassed over the past while… and in turn; I am attempting to provide you with the genealogical information that may you be interested in keeping in your files, electronic or paper. And I'm just thoroughly enjoying sitting here at my working PC as the ripped muscle heals in my left leg.

Of ggg-great-grandparents James Smith and Mary Ann Doret, the next child, number seven, and fourth son is gg-granduncle Thomas Smith. Per the St. George Parish Register entry, he was born 5 November 1820 and baptised on the 1^st January 1822.

Again this entry is on record as a transcription of the original Parish Register. I found it on the microfilm FHL[1523656] in Item 4.






Sources: Parish of St. George, Anglican Church, Grenada  and Family History Library

My transcription –

172

A.D. 1822.

925

Thomas, son of James Smith and of Mary Anne Dorette born on the 5^th day of November 1820 and baptised on the 1^st day of January 1822

Sponsors:- Mary Ferguson
Thomas Cunningham, Alexander Munroe, Eliz^bth Aerstein.

Sgd. Francis McMahon

Check the Early Smith Baptisms Chart in the left-hand blue column.

That's it for this one.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 89s - Smith Records - 1818 GG-Granduncle Henry Smith

Morning Again,

I'm trying something new. Again. This time WordPress through Dreamweaver, and I haven't got a clue of what I'm doing. The problem is that I have been procrastinating learning both. And now I've decided to bite the proverbial bullet and see if the grey matter between my ears may have a couple of good synapses and neurotransmitters left.

And I thought I would play it a wee bit simple.

I am introducing a transcription of the 1819 Baptism Entry to the St. George Parish Register for great-great-granduncle Henry Smith. He was born on the 3rd of March 1818 and baptised the 1st of January 1819. This entry was discovered on the microfilm FHL[1523656] in Item 4. (Please note - Items in the FHL microfilms are the equivalent of chapters.

From my understanding this portion of the Register was damaged and it was transcribed in the early 1900s. So I'll follow with my transcription of the transcription of the orginal entry number 418.

Sources: Parish of St. George, Anglican Church, Grenada 

and Family History Library

73

A.D. 1819

418

Henry, son of James Smith and Mary Ann Dorette born the 3rd of March 1818 and baptised 1st January 1819.

Sponsors:- Ambrose Hayling

Catherine Alderidge, Rose Herbert, John Chapman

sgd. Francis McMahon

Based on the information I have been able to gather at this point, gg-granduncle Henry was ggg-grandparents James Smith and Mary Ann Doret's sixth child and third son. Please note the way as discussed in Part 88s ggg-grandmother Mary Ann's surname is now spelled a third way - Dorette. I have found Doret, Doral, and now Dorette.

And I just realized that there is one hell of a lot to learn in both WordPress and Dreamweaver... but I'll continue.

Please feel to email me or comment to any of my postings.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 88s – Smith Records – 1815 GG-Grandfather James Smith

Morning again,

And following on the heels of his older sister, gg-grandaunt Eley Smith, I was to locate in the same Parish Register of St. George the baptism entry for great-great-grandfather James Smith. From the microfilm FHL[1523656], Anglican Church Parish Records, 1784-1971.

You know this genealogy thing at times can be really strange. I know my name is Jim, James Smith, and before I started this lifetime project I never knew that I had two grandfathers also named James; ggg- and gg-grandfathers James. But my name James is not of a family tradition, that is, of naming the eldest son of the eldest son. I was named for my uncle James Robertson, my mother's Brother Jimmy. (See my posting on May 25, 2009.) The discovery of my two grandfathers, with the same name, albeit the most common name in the English language, ties me to both lines of my ancestry; Smith and Robertson.

Sources: Parish of St. George, Anglican Church, Grenada 

and Family History Library

Examining the baptismal entry for gg-grandfather James and with today's PC software tools available, I have been able to clean the page up somewhat.

As you can see from the age of the original document, from 1815, 194 years ago, the page which was microfilmed is in good condition. From the newer softwares, and using a gamma function, allows me to reduce the amount of visible bleeding from the back page which was a part of the actual filmed copy. A contrast function then helps me to highlight the part of the document that I want to read and transcribe.

My transcription of the last entry on the page is as follows –

222?

A.D 1815

1282

James son of James Smith and of Mary Anne Doral born 20^th of March 1815 and Baptised 23^d of April 1815

Sponsors

Louis Grenade
Elizabeth Grenade
Martha _____

Francis McMahon

If you compare this baptism entry to the one made in 1814 for gg-grandaunt Eley Smith, you'll notice that gg-grandmother Mary Ann's name is entered somewhat differently. ( See Part 87s.) In 1814, it is Mary Ann Doret, and in the above one of 1815 it is what appears to be Mary Anne Doral. In both cases the person who made the entries appears to be the same, Francis McMahon.

A new question comes to mind regarding the two of the names of the sponsors: Louis Grenade and Elizabeth Grenade. Based on the discovery of the name of "my Sister Betsey La Grenade" as written in ggg-grandfather James' Last Will and Testament, entered 21 February 1843, (see Part 61s), and the possibility that "Betsey" could be a diminutive form of Elizabeth, could this Elizabeth Grenade be gg-grandfather James' aunt and his father's sister? And then the next question… Is the sponsor Louis Grenade her husband? Something to think about…

Enjoy,

Jim

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Morning, May 14, 2009 - Early Smith Baptism/Birth Study

Morning,

Tampa is wet this morning. Hope you're enjoying that morning coffee. Does anyone know where I can get Jamaican Blue Mountain beans without paying through the roof?

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... research the name Jim SMITH. Did you know that the name SMITH is the most common surname, at least in the English language? (Check out About.com:Genealogy.) James alone, on the other hand is relative, but take a gander at the at the Long-Term Trends in Personal Given Name Frequencies in the UK paper at the Given Name Frequency Project. But coupled together, I'm looking for at least two ancestors with the same name as I have, Jim/James SMITH! A research nightmare... maybe?

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm working on a review of SMITH baptism images that I was able to capture from the microfilm FHL1523656 - Parish registers, 1784-1971. Based on this information, which I must reiterate is only from microfilm FHL1523656, I have been able to construct a three-generation descendency chart that begins with my three-times (ggg) great-grandparents James and Mary Ann (nee DORET) SMITH. Included is a part of my blood line from my ggg-grandfather James, my gg-grandfather James, Jr. and my great-grandfather William James.

Please understand that the information presented here in the included descendent chart is my reading and transcriptions of the baptismal registrations as presented in the registers. I have constructed these connections many times in different models in the hope that I may 1. see something that I may have missed previously, and 2. hopefully find some clue that would open a door that would lead to more historical information of ggg-grandfather James SMITH and the Smith family.

The information in the image, created with the software GenoPro, presented here is solely based on the baptismal registrations. The following are points, abbreviations and representations that I take into account when referring only to this chart. These points are:

1. A square represents a male and a circle represents a female.

2. The year above a square or a circle is the year of the individual's baptism and/or birth, exact or approximated based on the information provided by the baptism registration entry.

3. The number within the square or circle represents the age of the person would be today calculated based on the information and dates provided in the baptism registers.

4. A blank square or circle simply means that the reviewed baptism registrations do not provide a date, either at all or legible.

5. I use a question mark, "?", to indicate that the baptism register at this point does not include a specific name(s) or surname. An example is that of gg-grandmother Cecilia Jane ?. I do know that her maiden name was THOMAS.

6. A solid link between parents does not indicate at this point that the couple are married or not married. It simply means that these are the identified parents of a person.

7. A double dashed red link is my assumption that the two persons depicted are the same person.

I would certainly appreciate hearing from anyone who may have any SMITH information and or questions. And today is my volunteer day at the Family History Center.

Enjoy your coffee,

Jim

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