William David Smith

Notes:

Richard Leur emailed on 8 Dec 2012, that William David Smith was born 18 Jan 1790 Mecklenburg, VA and died 30 May 1881 Gonzales, TX. He is buried in the Gonzalez Masonic Cemetery.

(Research):

Census Listings:

1850 Census
Texas, Sabine County
82-82
William D. Smith 55 m Va Farmer (widower of Elizabeth Roberts, son of John & Mary Smith)
Mary Smith 77 f Va (widow of John Smith)
John R. Smith 23 m Tx Physician
Margaret Smith 21 f Tx
Elisha Hamilton Smith 17 m Tx Medical Student
Matilda Smith 15 f Tx
Felix C Smith 12 m Tx

(as transcribed by Schluter and Toole in their annotated 1850 Sabine County, Texas census)

William married Elizabeth Roberts before 1827. Elizabeth was born on 3 Dec 1803; died on 2 May 1845. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. John R. Smith was born on 3 Apr 1827 in Texas; died on 3 Jun 1891.
2. Margaret Smith was born about 1829 in Texas; died on 10 Nov 1887.
3. Elisha Hamilton Smith was born about 1833 in Texas; and died.
4. Matilda Smith was born on 20 Feb 1835 in Texas; died on 25 Apr 1921.
5. Felix C. Smith was born on 7 Oct 1837 in Texas; died on 25 Mar 1883.

Notes:

The Sabine County Reporter
October 22, 2014
Pages 1 and 2

"Milam Cemetery receives marker"

The Texas Historic Cemetery Dedication Ceremony for Milam Cemetery took place on Saturday, October 11, following the annual Nethery reunion...local historian Weldon McDaniel....gave a presentation outlining some of the significant historical events that took place in Milam and the importance of preserving the history of Milam Cemetery. He said as many as 85 percent of all early settlers coming into Texas put their boots in red dirt. Although San Augustine and Nacogdoches counties have a friendly battle over which is older, Milam is just as old as either of them....

Dorothy Nethery Spain had the honor of reading the script engraved on the marker:

"Milam, the first County Seat of Sabine County, has a history of travelers and visitors stretching back centuries. Native Americans and Spanish exploreres, soldiers and missionaries passed through and often camped on Las Boregas Creek. Texian settlers encountering the natural abundance echoed the words of Stephen F. Austin, who recorded in his diary entry of July 16, 1821: "We then suddenly came to an open rolling country thinly timbered soil about the color of Spanish browne, and in some places redder. This Red Land is very productive and is covered with the most luxuriant growth of grass I ever beheld in any country." The settlment first called Red Mound (Red Mount) was the seat of Government for the Sabine District since 1822, and was surveyed as a town site in 1828.

Milam Cemetery is on a high hill overlooking the historic community. The exact dated of the first burial will never be known Spanish Explorers were passing through present-day Milam as early as 1539 and camped on Las Boregas Creek a few hundred yards west of the cemetery. Local hisorians believed Anglo burials occurred here probably as early as 1775, since travelers used the campsite down the hill on the Las Boregas. The land on which the cemetery is located was granted to JOHN SMITH on Feb. 26, 1835. The first marked burial is dated 1864, although more than 100 unmarked graves are suspected. The numerous military Veterans dating back to the Creek War are interred here, as well as prominent early citizens from the CAUSEY, WEATHERRED. McGREW, and NETHERY families. Milam Cemetery may be the oldest organized cemetery in Sabine County, and cherished chronicle of generations of visitors and residents."

John married Mary ???. Mary was born about 1773 in Virginia; died before 1851; was buried in John Smith Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]