Smith-cemetery

SUBMITTED BY: Neil S. Smith ….. sieben@prodigy.net

Welcome friends and relatives. Smith Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Linn County, was named after Robert and Jane SMYTH/SMITH. Please feel free to stay as long as you like; you'll find it very tranquil here.

This cemetery is situated on private property owned by Dale Smith, grandson of Joseph R and Angeline Starr SMITH and g-grandson of Robert and Jane SMYTH. If you have time, stop by and thank Dale for allowing us access to his property. As you leave this farm his house is the first house to the east.

Robert SMYTH married Jane BELSHE/BELSHER on 3 Dec 1830 in Tazewell County, VA. They were both born in Virginia, probably Tazewell County, and their first four children were born in VA. According to Robert’s death record, he moved to Missouri in 1840 and his family is recorded in the 1840 Linn County census.

Not very much is known about the history of this cemetery. It is located in Jackson Township in S23 T60 R21 on 40 acres originally patented by Robert SMYTH on July 1, 1848. Robert and Jane both rest here. The first known burial is that of young Mary HIGGENBOTTOM who died August 6, 1847 and is buried next to the west fence. Her brown tombstone has been mostly destroyed, but part of it can still be read. The last known burial is that of Vivian W. SMITH in 1937. Her grave is the closest one to the gate. There are about 25 unmarked graves, or graves marked with native fieldstones.

The cemetery can be considered in two parts, what I call the old section and the new section. The old section is distinguished by the rows of graves on the west side which run in a NE-SW line, generally along the ridgeline. Many of the graves in the old section are unknown. The new section is distinguished by the rows on the east side that run in a north-south line. There don't appear to be many unmarked graves in the new section, probably due to the use of concrete burial vaults in modern times preventing sunken depressions that indicate a grave location.

As might be expected in a family cemetery, most of the people buried here are related or were friends and neighbors of the Smith family. As we learn more about their lives, we find that more are related rather than just friends and neighbors. Feel free to contribute any information you might have about the relationships and lives of these folks. My address is below.

----------------------------------------------------

My name is Neil Smith and I am a gggg-grandson of Richard and Mary YOUNG who are buried in this cemetery. Lowell Sayers, a descendant of Andrew Jackson YOUNG, and I started maintaining this cemetery in 1999 with the greatly appreciated assistance of other relatives. If you would like to assist, please contact me. Cash donations for ongoing maintenance and improvements are greatly appreciated as well. Please give them to Dale or send them to:

Neil S. Smith

227 Rose Park Dr.

Jefferson City, MO 65109

573 584-8668

sieben@prodigy.net

General information and known relationships of the people in Smith Cemetery, besides the obvious man and wife or other relationships inscribed on the tombstones:

The Smiths, Gillispies, and Youngs came to MO about 1840-1842 from Tazewell County, VA. Robert SMYTH and family were listed in the 1840 Linn County census, and the birthplaces of the children of Richard and Mary YOUNG indicate their family came to MO around 1842. William H. GILLISPIE reported in the 1876 Linn County Patron's Atlas that he first settled in Linn County in 1842.
Robert SMYTH and Mary E. YOUNG were brother and sister, children of Joseph and Tabitha Asbury SMYTH/SMITH. Joseph came to Missouri around 1840, probably after Tabitha died, and lived with his son John K. Joseph died after 1860 and is probably buried here in one of the unmarked graves.
Known brothers of Robert and Mary are William B., John K, and possibly Harvey. Robert, William, John, and father Joseph all used the Smyth form of their name at one time or another.
Jane SMYTH's parents were David and Elender "Eleanor" BELSHE/BELSHER who came to Missouri about the same time as Robert and Jane. Jane's father David died some time in 1848 and Eleanor died in 1851. David and Elender may be buried here as well.
James A. SMYTH and Joseph R. SMITH were sons of Robert and Jane.
Kenneth YOUNG moved the tombstones of Richard and MARY YOUNG to Haseville Cemetery in 1988, but their bodies remain here. Kenneth was the grandson of Andrew Jackson YOUNG, who was the son of Richard and Mary. Richard and Mary's footstones remains in Smith Cemetery.

Their tombstones are very nice, I recommend you stop by and see them. They are located closest to the road in the northwest corner of the Haseville Cemetery, about 2 miles from here. Richard and Mary YOUNG are my gggg-grandparents.

Nancy H. GILLISPIE, Margaret J. GILLISPIE, and Maria LESLEY were daughters of Richard and Mary YOUNG.
Mariah J. SMITH was the wife of William B, brother of Robert SMYTH. It is not known if William B is buried here, but he most likely is.
William F. SMITH, Calvin G. SMITH, and J.Y. (John) SMITH were sons of William B and Mariah J. John Y was a constable of Jackson Township around 1885.
William H. GILLISPIE and Thomas B. GILLISPIE were brothers who married sisters, daughters of Richard and Mary YOUNG. William and Nancy GILLISPIE are my ggg-grandparents.
Margaret E. RENTFROW (wife of James) was the daughter of William H. and Nancy H. GILLISPIE.
Maria C. GILLISPIE was the daughter of Robert and M. C. GILLISPIE and granddaughter of Thomas B. and Margaret J.
William H. SMITH and Edward B. SMITH were sons of John Y.
Anne J. SMITH was the daughter of Simon C, son of William B.
Infant SMITH was a child of Fred SMITH, son of William F.
Eliza SMITH and Margaret A. SMITH were daughters of David C., son of Robert and Jane.
Vivian Woodrow SMITH and Edith Kathleen SMITH were daughters of Edgar C. SMITH. Edith died at age 2 about a year after her father.
Fred "Fredda" A. NORVELL was the son, and Henryetta was the daughter, of James S. and Emmazella B. NORVELL. Emmazella was a daughter of William H. and Nancy H. GILLISPIE and was my gg-grandmother. Fred died in the flu epidemic of 1902, and his wife Sarah Ann Marcum NORVELL died shortly thereafter.
Hattie O. NORVELL was the daughter of John T. NORVELL, brother of James S. She died about 16 days after her mother, Mary S.
Mary S. NORVELL (wife of John T.) was the daughter of William Asbury MOLLOY and Eleanor YOUNG, and granddaughter of Richard and Mary YOUNG. She was accidentally shot in the abdomen when she grabbed her husband's hand while he was firing a pistol at some pigs in the yard. She lingered about two weeks but was beyond medical help of the time.
Infant NORVELL was the child of John T. and his second wife, Mary E. Canada.
Hugo and Christina BUERK, both from Germany, were neighbors of Robert and Jane SMYTH and owned the property immediately adjacent to the south of Dale Smith's farm. Their daughter, Amelia, married first Harvey BROOKS. Their infant son is buried in Smith. Amelia also married James W. SMITH, son of John Kyler SMITH.
The BROOKS, BRUCE, HORNBECK, and CHALFANT families were also neighbors as shown on the 1876 Atlas. Thomas P. CHALFANT was the husband of Martha A. SMITH, daughter of William B. and Mariah SMITH.
Osker P. BRUCE was the son of Quincy R. BRUCE and Mary Jane SMITH, daughter of William b. and Mariah SMITH.
Andrew J. GILLISPIE, son of William and Nancy, married Sarah Ausborn, daughter of Mrs. H. [Harriet] E. HORNBECK at the home of Isaac HORNBECK. Harriet was the third wife of Isaac. Eliza J. HORNBECK, first wife of Isaac, and her son are buried here, and it is possible that Isaac is here also since there is a partial broken tombstone next to Eliza's.

Census taken July 3, 1999

	Last Name	First Name	Birth	Death	Additional Engraving / Comments
1	BROOKS	Infant	26 Sep 1880	23 Nov 1880	"son of H.E. and Amelia"
2	BRUCE	Osker P.		17 Nov 1873	"aged 5y 4m 28d; son of Q.R. & M.J."
3	BUERK	Hugo	13 Nov 1822	09 Oct 1910	"husband of Christina"
4	BUERK	Christina	12 Mar 1832	09 Jun 1899	"wife" of Hugo
5	CHALFANT	Thomas P.		08 May 1891	"aged 34y 11m 5d"
6	GILLISPIE	H. T.			"Baby"
7	GILLISPIE	Maria C.		14 Sep 1876	"aged 1y 10m 14d, dau of R. & M.C.; granddau of T. & M.J."
8	GILLISPIE	Mary E.		10 Apr 1853	"aged 1y 3m 27d; dau of W. & N.H."
9	GILLISPIE	Mary J.	1863	1913	"wife of M.W."
10	GILLISPIE	M.W.	1842	1921	"husband of Mary J."
11	GILLESPIE	Thomas B.	10 Jun 1835	27 Jul 1867	Husband of Margaret J; brother to William H. [two tombstones, an old and a modern twin stone with his wife]
12	GILLISPIE	Margaret J.	14 Feb 1838	12 Feb 1915	Wife of Thomas B.
13	GILLESPIE	Sarah E.		01 Jul 1873	"aged 54y; wife of J.G."
14	GILLESPIE	T.R.	16 Mar 1853	12 Oct 1880	"aged 27y 6m 26d, Farewell friends"
15	GILLISPIE	Thomas F.		05 Feb 1863	"aged 10m 20d; son of W. & N.H."
16	GILLISPIE	William	04 May 1831	12 Oct 1878	"husband of Nancy H."; Brother to Thomas
17	GILLISPIE	Nancy H.	01 Sep 1834	17 Feb 1902	"wife of Wm."; sister to Margaret J. Young GILLISPIE and Maria Young LESLEY
18	HIGGENBOTTOM	Mary J.		06 Aug 1847	"aged 8y 2m"; (nice old broken stone)
19	HORNBECK	Eliza J.		16 Sep 1880	"aged ?y 5m ?d; wife of Isaac" (stone broken)
20	HORNBECK	James W.		31 Jul 1880	"aged 18y 2m 5d; son of I. & L.J."
21	LANGDON	Donald W. Smith	1925	1926
22	LESLEY	George A.	18 Dec 1849	29 Aug 1919	husband of Maria (Mariah B. YOUNG)
23	LESLEY	Maria	31 Jan 1852		"wife" of George A; sister to Nancy Young GILLISPIE and Margaret J. Young GILLISPIE [Maria’s obituary shows she died 9 Nov 1938]
24	LESLEY	Infant			child of Harry & Ruth; metal marker destroyed
25	NORVELL	Fredda A.	11 Oct 1877	14 Mar 1902	son of J.S. & E.B.
26	NORVELL	Hattie O.	5 Feb 1881	26 Jul 1881	"aged 6m 27d, child of John T. and Mary S."
27	NORVELL	Henryetta		09 Jan 1877	"aged 5y 9m 8d, dau of J.S. and E.B."
28	NORVELL	Infant		11 May 1893	"child of John T. & M.E."
29	NORVELL	Mary S.		16 Jul 1881	"aged 21y 4m 2d"; accidentally shot 3 Jun 1881 by husband John T.
30	RENTFROW	Margaret E.		27 Feb 1877	"aged 19y 8m 13d; wife of James"
31	SMITH	Anne J.		22 Sep 1868	"aged 11m 4d, dau of S.C. and A."
32	SMITH	Calvin G.		20 Nov 1887	"aged 32y 8m 18d"; brother to William F and J.Y.
33	SMITH	Edith Kathleen	1921	1923
34	SMITH	Edward B.	1866	1940	"Brother" to William H.
35	SMITH	Edgar C.	1898	1922
36	SMITH	Eliza J.		15 Jun 1869	"aged 1y 6m 1d, dau of D.C. and D."
37	SMITH	Infant			child of Albert & Lula; metal marker destroyed
38	SMITH	Infant			child of Mr. & Mrs. Fred
39	SMITH	Joseph R.	17 Jul 1840	11 Mar 1923	"Co G 18th MO Vol. Inf."; husband of Angeline
40	SMITH	Angeline	03 Dec 1840	18 May 1926	"wife" of Joseph R.
41	SMITH	J.Y.	06 Jan 1841	06 May 1925	"husband of Mary A."; John was brother to William F and Calvin G.
42	SMITH	Mary A.	27 Oct 1841	24 Jan 1917	"wife" of J.Y.
43	SMITH	Margaret A.		01 May 1863	"aged 16d; dau of D.C.& D"
44	SMITH	Mariah J.		09 Dec 1898	"aged 78y 11m 11d; wife" of W.B.
45	SMITH	W.F.	1851	1885	husband of M. J.
46	SMITH	M.J.	1853	1923	wife of W. F.
47	SMITH	Vivian W.	1914	1937
48	SMITH	William F.		26 May 1849	"aged 39y 9d"
49	SMITH	William H.	1863	1934	"Brother" to Edward B.
50	SMYTH	James	13 Jul 1849	10 Nov 1866	"son of Robert & Jane"
51	SMYTH	Robert	3 Jul 1808	07 Mar 1887	"aged 78y 8m 4d"; husband of Jane
52	SMYTH	Jane	27 Jun 1811	15 Oct 1867	"wife" of Robert
53	YOUNG	Mary	07 Dec 1812	22 Feb 1899	from Tazewell Co, VA; Wife of Richard. Tombstone moved to Haseville Cemetery in 1988 by Kenneth YOUNG, g-grandson. Footstone remains;
54	YOUNG	Richard	15 Jan 1811	19 Nov 1860	"aged 49y 10m 4d; from Tazewell County, VA"; Husband of Mary. Tombstone moved to Haseville Cemetery in 1988. Footstone remains;