In a message dated 3/8/01 10:45:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, dfulton@hmcltd.net writes: << Subj: [OHHURON-L] Marriage Question Date: 3/8/01 10:45:54 PM Eastern Standard Time From: dfulton@hmcltd.net (Dianne L. Fulton) Reply-to: dfulton@hmcltd.net (Dianne L. Fulton) To: OHHURON-L@rootsweb.com Can someone help me straighten out a problem? According to Huron County Marriages, Clark Austin SMITH m. Eliza CRAYON on 1 Sept 1823. Problem, Eliza's tombstone reads that she d. 20 Nov 1820 aged 21y. Any suggestions? Thanks, Dianne >> Hi Dianne, Here are some bits and pieces which may or may not be of help in trying to resolve the cemetery inscription date of death of Eliza SMITH (1820) with her marriage date of 1823. >From our Marriage Book it appears that Clark A. SMITH married twice: first to Eliza CRAYON on 1Sep 1823, then to Rachel LEWIS on 29 Dec 1825. If this is your Clark A. SMITH each time, it would suggest that Eliza died 1823-1825 vs. 1820, unless there was a divorce. HOWEVER, in a biography on Sherman SMITH, brother to Clark Austin, found in our History of the Firelands, it mentions his brother C. Austin was born in CT August, 1797 and died in New London Twp August 1827. It goes on to say: "His widow (interpreted to mean the widow of C. Austin vs that of Sherman), now a widow of Squire BARRETT, lives in Huron Ohio." Which suggests that Eliza CRAYON SMITH was living at the time of this book's publication in 1879. Also, in the History of the Firelands, we see that three SMITH brothers (Sherman, Clark A., and Major) came to Huron County in the fall of 1815. Their parents were Elisha and Margaret MATHEWS SMITH. This family relocated from Bristol, CT to Springfield, Clarke County, OH in 1810, but three years later the parents had died. The brothers had a sister named Betsey who stayed behind in Springfield until she was brought from Springfield later to Huron County. All three brothers were buried in Butterfield Cemetery, New London Twp according to the Huron County, Ohio Cemetery Inscriptions book: Page 403, Row 6. 10 Clark A. SMITH d. 26 Sept 1827 aged 29y. 11 Eliza SMITH w/o Austin SMITH, d. 20 Nov 1820 aged 21y. Page 406, Row 22. 11 Major SMITH 1809-1885. Eliza 1813-1905. John W. 1828-1863. Page 406, Row 26. 11 Sherman SMITH, d. 23 Aug 1889 aged 94y. Caroline, his wife, d. 28 June 1892 aged 82 y 10m 18d. Betsey SMITH, sister of the above brothers, married Zelotus BARRETT 11 Mar 1821. Betsey died May 25, 1839. (Note in the above that the widow of C. Austin was (in 1879) the widow of "Squire BARRETT" and living in Huron County. In the History of the Firelands there are: a. Information on the three Smith brothers on page 277, b. A lengthy biograpical sketch on Mr. and Mrs. Sherman SMITH, with pictures, on page 280, and c. A biographical sketch on Mr. and Mrs. Zelotus BARETT, with pictures, on page 366 facing. Additionally, in Just Like Old Times by Henry Timman, Book 3, Page 37 there is found an article which, in part, describes the family of the three SMITH brothers, and describes the role played by Sherman in the War of 1812. Perhaps it would be worth your while to request copies of the two marriage licenses for Clark A. SMITH to see if it would furnish any additional leads. On the other hand, maybe there's a possibility that the inscription date of death (1820) for Eliza SMITH was in error. We can only hope that under all the above there's a pony. Regards, Ken Shute

Thank you to everyone for your help with my problem. Sincerely, Dianne L. Springer-Fulton Proud member of NGS, OGS, Huron County Chapter of OGS > Can someone help me straighten out a problem? According to Huron County > Marriages, Clark Austin SMITH m. Eliza CRAYON on 1 Sept 1823. Problem, > Eliza's tombstone reads that she d. 20 Nov 1820 aged 21y. Any suggestions? > Thanks, Dianne >>