This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: rwwejw2004 Surnames: Smart Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.smart/1573.3.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Except for the marriage of a Mary Smart to an Edward Royer in 1745 there were no Smarts married at Winchcombe between 1587 and 1837. There were also no Smart baps there between 1740 and 1812, and the baps of your Wm & Mary Ann on 8 January 1815 were the only ones between 1813 and 1840. There was a smattering of Smart burials in Winchcombe:- Collis SMART widow 19 Aug 1772 65 yrs* Eleanor SMART Winchcomb16 Sep 1859 48 yrs John SMART 26 Jul 1759 Margaret SMART wife of _______ Smart of Winchcombe 27 Dec 1725 William SMART 15 Jan 1768 68 yrs* [*Ages taken from an MI survey, which shows Wm Smart as ' MD' - which presumably stands for 'surgeon' - and Collis as his wife] which suggests that there may have been a Smart family there comprising two generations in the 18th C. However, the 43 year gap between the last 18th C burial in 1772 and your two baps in 1815, plus the absence of Daniels baptism (in the 1780s or 1790s?) suggests that Daniels immediate family were not living in Winchcombe at the time of his birth. Together with the total lack of Smart baptisms there between 1740 and 1814 this would suggest that during the 18th C Daniels family may have lived (mainly) in one or more nearby parishes. So, you could do worse than check adjacent parishes for Daniel's marriage and baptism plus the marriage of his parents. Also, Gloucestershire Archives have a pre 1812 slip index of Gloucestershire marriage licences. And if you go to the following page of their website and search on 'Smart' you will find 27 pages of hits:- http://ww3.gloucestershire.gov.uk/genealogy/Search.aspx including the 1769 will of Wm Smart of Winchcombe 'doctor in physick'. The Gloucestershire Family History Society website (under Search Services) has members with the following 'Smart' interests:- Name Place County Period SMART Barnwood; Bristol GLS All SMART Bisley GLS 18-19c SMART Gloucester GLS 1870-1900 SMART Gloucester GLS 1750-1860 SMART Gloucester GLS Pre 1850 SMART Gloucester (Barnwood, Wotton)GLS pre 1840 SMART Horsley; Beverstone GLS 17-19c SMART Hucclecote GLS 1840-1880 SMART Stinchcombe GLS 1680-1800 SMART Witcombe GLS 1780-1840 SMART Islington MDX 19c SMART & KEN SRY pre 1865 SMART(E)Grittleton WIL pre 1720 although you would probably need to join the society in order to obtain their email addresses. NB If you google Daniels occupation as a 'soap boiler' one of the hits is "someone who combines fat from animal carcasses with lye water to make soap", plus a reference to this being one of the worst jobs in Victorian England that Tony Robinson tried his hand in on a Channel 4 programme last year! ROB Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.