seekertoo on Family Tree Circles

The origin of the Smock family is traced to the Netherlands, when in 1654 our earliest ancestor Hendrick Matthysen Smock came to the New World and settled in New Utrecht, which was located in what is now lower Brooklyn. Hendrick married Geertje Harmens Coerten, also from the Netherlands.
Hendrick and Geertje had eight children, their fifth born, Leendert Hendrickse Smock. Leendert was born about 1675 in New Utrecht. After his marriage to Sarah van Zandt he moved to Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey where he spent the rest of his life.
Our branch of the Smocks remained in New Jersey for the next four generations when Abraham Smock moved to Westmorland County, Pennsylvania. His son Peter was born there March 1, 1808. At some point Peter moved to Guernsey County, Ohio and married Ann Carnes. The Carnes family was among the earliest settlers of Guernsey County. Ann?s mother's maiden name was Sarah Stark and she was said to be the daughter of Colonel John Stark of Revolutionary War fame.
Peter and Ann Smock had seven children all born in Spencer Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. They were: Mary, Sadie, Anna R., John S. (born 1834 and died 1899), Abraham (born 1837 and died 1919), Philip Shepler, and Martha (born 1847 and died 1946).
Philip Shepler Smock was born 09 May 1840 and died 06 March 1910 in Cumberland, Ohio. Philip was a veteran of the Civil War, having served as a private in Company D, 15th. Battalion, Independent Ohio Calvary.
Philip Shepler Smock married Emily Francis Jordan on 11 October 1864 in Guernsey County. Emily was born 24 November 1848 in Spencer Township and died 04 November 1934 in Cumberland, Ohio. Emily was the daughter of Joshua Jordan and Evaline Phillips. Joshua, an early settler of Guernsey County, was born 1789 in Loudon County, Virginia. Evaline was born about 1805 in Virginia. Evaline and Joshua Jordan had three children: Robert (born 1844) , Margaret A. (born 1846), and Emily Francis.
Emily and Philip had twelve children, among them, Harry Blaine, born 23 December 1884 . Harry was a brakeman on the Pennsylvania Railroad and died in a train crash 31 July 1940 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Harry Smock married Sharilda Jane (Janie) Reeves 17 June 1911 in Guernsey County. Janie, born 16 February 1892 in Wellston, Ohio, was the daughter of Charles Allen Reeves and Ida Mae Rose.
If any of the persons in this journal are of interest to you, please let me know, I am always glad to share information.

Thompson/Crago

The first Thompson in our family to come to America was John Thompson. He and his wife were born and wed in Ireland and came to New Jersey with their three children. Soon after they moved to Bentlyville, Washington County, PA.
Their son, William John Thompson, was born August 19, 1778 in Ireland and later moved to Green County, PA where he was a harness and saddle maker, a general store merchant, owner of two farms,and a transportation businessman. He ran wagons and freight as far as Baltimore, Maryland. William John was married three times and had 24 children. Many of the Thompsons now living in Butler and Green Counties in Pennsylvania are distant relatives, as are his other descendants in Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Three of his sons left a successful coach building business to serve in the Civil War. All returned home safely and one, Harvey Downy Thompson, was elected sheriff of Butler County, Pennsylvania in 1870.
William John Thompson's third wife was Anne Wallace, mother of 13 of his children including our ancestor, Albert P. Thompson.
Albert P. Thompson was born August 8, 1827 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The family later moved to Green County, Pennsylvania where Albert met his future wife Rachel Malinda Crago b. November 23, 1831 in Green County.
Much has been published about the Crago family of Green County, Pennsylvania as they were among the earliest settlers of the Monongahalea River Valley.
Thomas Crago Sr. was born about 1738 and married Elizabeth Flenniken ( b. March 12, 1735/36 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania). Thomas purchased 263 acres of land along the Monongahalea River. While clearing this area for a home for his wife and two sons, was killed by Indians. His sons Thomas and Robert were 11 and 9 years old at the time. The land was later deeded to his son Thomas.
Thomas Crago II was born December 28, 1759 in Green County, Pennsylvania and married Priscilla Thurman (b.1763 in Green County). They had 15 children and lived on Monongahlea farm. Their son Thomas Crago III ,was born July 13, 1790 in Green County. He married Joanna Fordyce,( b. 1793 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania). They had nine children. Their daughter Rachel Malinda, (b. November 25, 1831 in Green County), was their eighth child.
Rachel Malinda Crago and Albert P. Thompson were married about 1849 in Green County. When Albert's father William John was 77 years old he moved to Ohio with four of his grown children and their families. They were Joseph, James, Albert P., and Eleanor (unmarried). On October 9, 1854 he purchased 155 acres of land in Franklin Township, Monroe County, Ohio. This land borders the Noble County line and is just east of Mount Tabor Church, which was once part of this parcel. William John Thompson died April 11, 1857 and is buried in Mount Tabor Cemetery as are many family members.
His son James Thompson and his daughter Eleanor who married John Harley, later moved to Jackson County, West Virginia. Many Thompson relatives now live in Jackson, Wirt, and Wood Counties in West Virginia .
After the death of William John, his son Albert P.,who also owned land in Noble County, purchased his father's land. He kept this land until he sold it to Benjamin Penn in 1895.
Both Malinda Rachel and Albert P. are buried in Mount Tabor, but their graves are unmarked.
Their son Herman S. Thompson was born April 21, 1874 in Monroe County, Ohio. Herman married Carrie Belle Peppers, (b. June 11, 1882 in Noble County). They moved to Cambridge, Ohio sometime before 1920 so Herman could be employed in the pottery works then thriving in Cambridge. The actual number of children they had is unknown since several of them did died in childhood.
Herman and Carrie's son William S. Thompson was born in Cambridge November 17, 1919 William married Mae Lucille Boyd, (b. July 10, 1922 in Cambridge, Ohio). Mae was the daughter of Esstella Leslie (b. February 22, 1903 in Guernsey County ,Ohio) and Ralph Clay Boyd, (b. October 6, 1895 in Kimbolton, Ohio).
If any of the persons in this journal are of interest to you, please let me know, I am always glad to share information.

The birthplace and birth date of Charles Leslie, Charles Arthur Leslie's father, is unknown. We know however, that most Leslies in this country trace their beginnings to Pennsylvania and the name Leslie is of Scotch/Irish origins.
Charles Leslie married Sarah Catherine Howell (b. May 28, 1849 in Toledo, Ohio). Sarah was the daughter of John Howell and Eliza Mount. John Howell served during the Civil War as Private in Company B of the 15th Ohio Veteran Infantry. This unit saw extensive action and was involved in many famous battles. John was wounded in the leg on the field of Shiloh. He recovered sufficiently to return to his unit and was discharged at war's end.
After the war, he and his family resided in Chicago for several years. It was at this time that Sarah Howell married Charles Leslie.
If any of the persons in this journal are of interest to you, please let me know, I am always glad to share information.

The name Clary is of Irish origin, evolving from the Gaelic word "cleriach," meaning clerk or cleric. It is spelled variously as Cleary, Clery, and Clary.
Some of the information given here is derived from the "Clary Genealogy" written by Ralph S. and Star W. Rowland. Their book was awarded first prize in 1980 in the Maryland Historical Society's genealogical book contest. Other contributions were made by generous Clary family researchers.
Our first Clary ancestor in America was Thomas, estimated to have come to Virginia October 19, 1653 as an indentured servant of John Day. By 1660 he had his freedom and a wife named Judith. In September, 1660 he bought 300 acres of land in Surry County, Virginia. His occupation was listed as cooper, making and repairing barrels and casks.
John Clary the son of Thomas and Judith was probably born in Virginia about 1660. He moved to Maryland and was married about 1681. Little is known of John in Maryland.
John Clary Jr., presumed son of John Clary was born in1684 in Maryland and died after 1728. He married Eliazabeth Haly of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Elizabeth was the daughter of a wealthy land owner, Clement Haly, and she inherited much of his holdings.
Benjamin Clary, the son of John and Elizabeth, was born in 1772 in Maryland and died 1783 in Baltimore, Maryland. Around 1745 he married Eleanor Gerrard. He was a prosperous planter and owned a great deal of land in several counties and was among the early settlers of Frederick County, Maryland.
Eleanor, who had survived her husband, was left a prosperous plantation but did not approve of slavery. She was unable to prosper with her land and lost the plantation as a result of her views on slavery. Her son William Clary was born in 1752 in Baltimore County, Maryland and married Rachel Hall around 1778. There is strong evidence to suggest he served as a private in the 8th. Company, Maryland Line. After his father's death he inherited 150 acres of land. After his death his wife Rachel returned this land to the children of his deceased father, Benjamin Clary. Soon after Rachel, who was a great- grandmother at the time, and several of her children left Maryland and settled in the Belmont/Noble/Guernsey Counties area. In the 1840 census the Clary family was living in Millwood Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. Our ancestor, Washington Clary, (b. 1806 in Maryland) was one of her children.
Washington Clary married Mary Harvey (b. 1812 in New Hampshire) and his cousin Enoch married Mary's sister Asceneth Harvey. Washington and Mary's son Robert (b. 1846 in Ohio) married Rebecca Warehime (b. 1851 in Ohio).
Aby Clary, daughter of Robert and Rebecca was born June 13, 1883. She married Charles Arthur Leslie (b. March 23, 1878 in Coshocton, Ohio).
If any of the persons in this journal are of interest to you, please let me know, I am always glad to share information.

Ralph Clay Boyd was the son of Joseph Boyd who was the first of our line to immigrate to America.
Joseph Boyd was born in 1810 in County Armagh, Ulster, Ireland. Joseph's mother Mary was born in Scotland in 1762. She married Moses Boyd, (b.1758 in County Armagh, Ulster, Ireland). They had seven children, Joseph being the sixth born. Upon the birth of their seventh child, Annie, in 1812 Mary Boyd died. In 1816 Joseph and his two older brothers, Moses (b. 1786), and Samuel (b. 1799) came from County Down, Ireland to America. Their original destination in America is unknown, but we do know the family and descendants of Moses Boyd reside in Pennsylvania and those of Samuel are in Kansas. Nothing is known of the family that remained in Ireland.
Joseph Boyd married Mary Sunnafrank, (b.1812 in Guernsey County, Ohio). Mary was the daughter of John Sunnafrank. John was born on the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel and was among the earliest settlers of Guernsey County, Ohio.

The youngest child of Joseph and Mary Boyd was Joseph A. Boyd, (b.1854 in Guernsey County). He married Ara Belle McFee (b.April 14, 1861 in Ohio). Ara Belle was the daughter of Cinderella Mathews and Jacob McFee. Joseph and Ara Belle had seven children.
Joseph A. and Ara Belle had several business interests in Cambridge, Ohio and owned and operated the Cambridge Hotel, across from the railroad station on Wheeling Avenue.
Ralph Clay Boyd was the youngest of their children. He served with American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I and later married Esstella Leslie, (b. February 22, 1903 in Guernsey County, Ohio). Esstella was the daughter of Charles Leslie (b. March 23, 1878 in Coshocton, Ohio) and Aby Clary (b. June 13, 1883 in Noble County, Ohio).
If any of the persons in this journal are of interest to you, please let me know, I am always glad to share information.