William A and Anna Maria Smith

By Peter Stines - [email protected]

 

 

Wm. SMITH - Came from New York with his wife MARY (Born in Boston in 1798) and daughter ANNA MARIA SMITH (Born in New York Sept. 1830) They arrived in Liberty County (Anahuac) in 1831. He was a pharmacist by trade. William left Mary in 1832. No divorce that we know of.

 MARY SMITH applied for a headright through the Liberty County Land Board in Feb. of 1838. Her certificate number was 169. She received a league and a
labor. Mary Smith is listed along with her daughter Anna in the 1834 census of Anahuac.

 Wm. A. Smith came to Anahuac in 1831. He is listed in the 1834 census. He would marry Mary Smith sometime between 1834 and 1849.  Smith applied for a grant through the Liberty Land Board in 1838 and received 1/3 league. The land was on East Bay Bayou, which is part of the modern day Anahuac Wildlife Refuge. Wm. A. Smith was a sailor by trade.  His family were paying taxes on this land long after his death.

 Wm. Smith may have taken part in the Battle of Fort Velasco in 1832. This name appears in a muster roll in the LAMAR PAPERS. I can't prove if this is
my man yet, still researching. He may have also been present at the Seige of  Bexar. Kemp's biography indicates that he was.

 Both Wm. Smith and Wm. A. Smith were members of Logan's Company at San Jacinto. Wm. A. Smith remained with the rear guard at Harrisburg while Wm.
Smith took part in the battle. Both men received a share of the spoils and both received bounty grants.

Wm. Smith was murdered in 1838. We don't know where this happened. As Mary's husband, she got stuck with his back taxes. At one time, Wm. & Mary
had 24 cows. Mary would sell some of them to the Tx. army in 1836.

 Wm. A. Smith received bounty grants for his service. Part of his land was in Taylor County. Another grant is in Clay County. He never used this land
that I know of. Wm. A. Smith was a corporal in the Liberty County Militia. He appears in the muster rolls from 1841-1845. (Hardin Papers)

 Sometime between 1845 and 1849, Wm. A. Smith, Mary and Anna moved to Galveston. Wm. A. Smith died of a fever in 1849 on the way to California
gold rush. His widow, Mary never married again. No children by her second husband.

 Mary owned quite a bit of property in Hardin, Liberty, Hill and Navarro County. She would sell most of it by 1858 to Rufus K. and Oliver C. Hartley.
She never used this land that we know of.