The book Indiana Place Names by Baker and Carmony, which lists old communities, lists only Dearborn County for "Dearborn." Dearborn County is west and slightly north of Cincinnatti and thus just west of some of the land William Smith was otherwise buying in OH. It was not unusual for Ohio residents to buy land in Indiana through the Cincinnatti (and maybe other) land office(s) during that time period, though it may have been more frequently land that had just opened up, farther north. Sharon Mills ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne Webb" <SpiWebb@aol.com> To: brethren@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2013 9:43:51 AM Subject: [BRE] Elder William Smith of Virginia, Ohio(?) and Indiana Morning List, Some years ago I was involved in a discussion regarding this early minister and elder who eventually was an elder at the Ladoga group of churches in Indiana. Many have stated that his middle name was "Rose" with no documentary evidence offered. Here is what we do in basis. According to Brethren historical reference he is purported to have been born in England and raised to the ministry while residing in the greater area of Franklin county, Virginia. This was while Elder Jacob Miller, later the eminent minister and elder of the Lower Miami congregation of southwestern Ohio. This morning while checking my estate records of Montgomery county, Ohio, I found something interesting. In one of them a William M. Smith was a witness to an administration bond for which Elder Daniel Miller (1755-1822) was one of the administrators. This was in the early 1810s and the deceased's name shall remain nameless. Needless to say, all the people within the estate, as well as to whom the decedent had sold large plats of land to, were almost entirely Brethren. And the community was Brethren as well. Interestingly I find in the same estate a reference to a Peter Smith whom memory seems to indicate was the hedge doctor who eventually would move to the Champaign and Clarke counties region of Ohio. There is also a Jacob Smith mentioned. So, seeing as we have a William Smith involved in a member of the Lower Miami congregation with Elder Daniel Smith, and the congregation early on having members as many as ten miles or more removed from the physical meeting house of later years, I decided to do some further digging. For people researching in Montgomery county, Ohio, or for that matter for the whole of the southwestern regions of Ohio, a must have is the book "Early Ohio Settlers: Purchasers of Land in Southwestern Ohio, 1800-1840," (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986) by Ellen T. Berry and David A. Berry. In looking at the referenced work it is found that a William M. Smith, a William P. Smith and numerous William Smiths are recorded as having been in Montgomery and Preble counties of Ohio, and in Indiana as well. The aforementioned estate clearly shows the signature of William M. Smith and if this is the same William M. Smith as referenced in the Beery work, then he eventually, after June of 1811, would obtain land in Butler, Wayne, Mad River townships, Montgomery county, Ohio. A William P. Smith on the other hand, as a resident of Montgomery county in 1809, was obtaining land of the government for what would become Preble county. This same William P. Smith, but listed as William Smith, was also obtaining land other land in Preble county. Some of these "William Smith" records are definitely for Indiana as they state he was a resident of Dearborn, Indiana. This Dearborn is more a geographical reference than an actual place. Others can probably explain the Dearborn item better than I. The point is that we have no documentation that Elder William Smith of the German Baptist Brethren church had a middle initial. However, and taking into account his long-held affiliation with Elder Jacob Miller of the Lower Miami congregation, could it be that Elder Smith was in Montgomery county, Ohio? Just because a deed is recorded in one state (1823) does not necessarily mean that the individual was living there. This has been proven to be the case when discussing Elder Miller and his land in Virginia. Agreed this disagrees with the thought that Elder Smith did not move to Indiana until the mid-1820s. I'm just throwing this out there. <grin> Cordially, A. Wayne Webb Historian: German Baptist Brethren Church Past Editor: Brethren Roots Site developer: German Baptist Brethren Books <http://books.brethrenarchives.com> Site developer: German Baptist Brethren Ministers <http://mincon.brethrenarchives.com/> & Congregations Site developer: German Baptist Brethren Almanacs, <http://books1.brethrenarchives.com/> Annuals & Yearbooks Site developer: German Baptist Brethren Offerings <http://offering.brethrenarchives.com/> In other words: Chief Bottle Washer and Cook ------------------------ Search the Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN ------------------------ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message