* Name: Alpheus B. Smith [1–6]
* Sex: Male
* Father: Aaron Smith (1765-1841)
* Mother: Mercy Plimpton (1772-1850)
* Alternate Name: Alpheus Smith [7]
2) INDIVIDUAL FACTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Birth: 19 May 1802, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [1]
* Deed: 14 August 1826 (age 24), Alpheus B. Smith to Lois Smith; Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [2]
* Census: 1 June 1830 (age 28), Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [7]
* Deed: 21 June 1834 (age 32), Alpheus B. Smith to Simeon Richardson; Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [3]
* Death: 13 January 1840 (age 37), Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [4]
* Burial: after 13 January 1840 (after age 37), Vine Lake Cemetery, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [5]
* Administration: 4 February 1840 (age 37), Administration of estate filed; Hinsdale Fisher appointed administrator; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [6]
* Inventory: 15 February 1840 (age 37), Inventory filed; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [8]
* Guardianship: 2 June 1840 (age 38), Guardianship for children filed; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [9]
* Petition: 4 August 1840 (age 38), Sale of real estate to James H. Dill, Esq.; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [10]
* Deed: 16 August 1841 (age 39), Hinsdale Fisher (administrator) to Lucy Butterfield; Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [11]
* Distribution: 8 February 1842 (age 39), Court order to distribute estate; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [12]
3) MARRIAGES AND CHILDREN (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Spouse 1: Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869)
* Marriage Intentions: 5 November 1826 (age 24), Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [13-14]
* Marriage: 30 November 1826 (age 24), Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States [15-16]
* Child 1: Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884)
* Child 2: James Alpheus Smith (1833- )
4) NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets) - revised July 2025:
Alpheus
B. Smith was born in Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts on 19
May 1802[1], the first son and fourth child (of eight) of
Aaron and Mercy (Plimpton) Smith. His siblings were: Susanna Smith
(1795-1813), Patience Smith (1799-1842), Mary Plimpton Smith
(1800-1890), Lucy Smith (1804-1884), Elizabeth P. Smith (1806-1876),
Nancy Smith (1808-1879), and Aaron Smith (1815-1851).
William
S. Tilden edited the book History of the Town of Medfield,
Massachusetts, 1650-1886, published by Geo. H. Ellis, Boston,
Mass., 1887. The family genealogy section of the book provides
this summary:
"Alpheus
B. Smith married in 1826 Eliza Dill of Eastham, and the same year he
bought the place on High Street near the South School-house. He
died in 1840, his wife in 1869."
On
14 August 1826, Alpheus B. Smith, yeoman of Medfield, sold land to
Lois Smith in Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts for 25
dollars.[2] The
land was in the southerly part of Medfield containing one acre
bounded southeasterly on Walpole and Wrentham road and on all other
parts on land of Charles Hammond it being the place formerly occupied
by George Turner.
Alpheus
B. Smith of Medfield married Elizabeth Horton Dill of Dedham on 30
November 1826. She She was born 9 May 1791 in Eastham, Barnstasble
County, Massachusetts and was a schoolteacher in Dedham. The record
in the Dedham town records says:[14-17]
"Nov.
30 [1826] Alpheus B. Smith of Medfield & Elizabeth Dill of
Dedham."
Alpheus
and Elizabeth (Dill) Smith had two children:
Lucretia
Townsend Smith, baptized 6 September 1828 in Medfield,
Massachusetts, who married Isaac Seaver on 9 September 1851 in
Walpole Massachusetts, and died 24 March 1884 in Leominster,
Massachusetts.
James
Alpheus Smith, baptized 6 June 1833 in Medfield, Massachusetts, and
married Annie Eliza Stewart in 1864 in Boston, Massachusetts, and
died on 5 April 1902 in Detroit, Michigan.
In
the 1830 US Census, the Alpheus Smith family resided in Medfield,
Norfolk County, Massachusetts.[7] The
household included:
- one male aged 20 to 29, (certainly Alpheus)
- one female under age 5 (certainly daughter Lucretia)
- one female aged 20 to 29 (certainly wife Elizabeth)
- one female aged 80 to 89 (probably his mother, Mercy (Plimpton) Smith
On
21 June 1834, Alpheus B. Smith, yeoman of Medfield, sold land to
Simeon Richardson, cooper of Medfield, in Medfield, Norfolk County,
Massachusetts.[3] The land was in the southerly
part of Medfield containing twenty acres with a dwelling house, barn
and other buildings, bounded westerly on the road leading to Walpole
southerly on land of Asa Hamant, easterly on land of David Smith, and
northerly in part on land of the heirs of Eliakim Morse deceased, and
in part on land of the heirs of Elias Mann deceased, and in part on
land of Elisha Clark, being the homestead of the said Smith.
Alpheus
B. Smith died on 13 January 1840 in Medfield, leaving a widow
(Elizabeth Horton (Dill) Smith) and two minor children (Lucretia
Townsend Smith and James Alpheus Smith). The death record in
the Medfield vital records book says:[4]
"SMITH,
Alpheus B., Jan. 13, 1840, a. 36"
The
probate file of Alpheus B. Smith (1798-1840) of Medfield, Norfolk
County, Massachusetts. The papers are in Probate Packet No.
16,776 in the Norfolk County [Mass.] Probate Court records. The
Probate Docket Book (on FHL Microfilm 1,509,414) for this particular
packet lists the following records in the probate packet (with volume
and page numbers from the Probate Court Clerk's registers):
- 1840
Feb. 4: Petition for appt. of Admor filed
- 1840
Feb. 4: Letter etc. (Hinsdale Fisher appointed); 73:239
- 1840
Feb. 4: Bond filed; 73:240
- 1840
Feb. 4: Allowance to widow; 73:739
- 1840
Feb 15: Inventory filed; 73:766
- 1840
June 2: Petition for Dower Order; 73:712
- 1840
June 2: Special Guardianship; 73:931
- 1840
Aug 4: List of claims filed; 73:794
- 1840
Aug 4: Petition for sale of real estate filed
- 1840
Aug 4: Sale of real estate, Order and oath; 73:671
- 1841
May 4: Insolvency represented, Commr; 74:1154
- 1841
May 4: List of claims filed; 74:998
- 1841
May 4: Sale of Real Estate, Return; 74:1163
- 1841
Aug 21: Dower to Widow, Return; 74:1207
- 1841
Nov. 2: Account of Admor. Filed, last.ret. Dec.4; 74:1006
- 1841
Dec 4: Account of Admor. Allowed; 74:550
- 1842
Jan 4: Report of Commr filed; 74:550
- 1842
Feb 8: Report of Commr accepted; 75:1145
- 1842
Feb 8: Order to Distribute; 75:1145
The
estate was intestate. Hinsdale Fisher was appointed
administrator of the estate.[6] The widow's dower,
no more than $115, was set off of, and Stephen Turner was appointed
guardian of the two minor children.[10] The
inventory showed $720 in real property and $119 in personal
property.[8] After taking the inventory and
itemizing the just debts and administrator's charges, the court
ordered the sale of the real estate on 4 August 1840.[10] This
was done in April 1841, and reported to the Court on 4 May 1841.
16
acres of land in Medfield was purchased by James H. Dill, Esquire
(Eliza's brother), for a total of $358. It was subsequently
sold by the administrator to Lucy Butterfield of Dedham for
$358.[11] The estate was distributed to the heirs
on 8 February 1842.[12]
The
gravestone of Alpheus B. Smith is in Vine Lake Cemetery in Medfield,
Massachusetts.[5] The inscription reads:
"In memory of
ALPHEUS B. SMITH
who died
Jan. 12, 1840:
aged 37 years.
Farewell my wife & Children too,
I can no longer stay with you;
My portion in heaven I wish to share,
Prepare for death and meet me there."
5) SOURCES
1. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1903), Births, page 90, Alpheus B. Smith entry.
2. Norfolk County (Massachusetts) Register of Deeds, "Land Records - Deeds, 1793-1890," on 373 microfilm reels, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, Volumes 81-82, on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 841804, Volume 81, Page 164, Deed, Alpheus B. Smith to Lois Smith, dated 14 August 1826.
3. Norfolk County (Massachusetts) Register of Deeds, "Land Records - Deeds, 1793-1890", Volume 104, Page 165 (accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 841815), Deed, Alpheus B. Smith to Simeon Richardson, dated 21 June 1834.
4. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Deaths, page 234, Alpheus B. Smith entry.
5. Jim Tipton, indexed database, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com), Vine Lake Cemetery (Medfield, Mass.), entry for Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840).
6. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881," manuscript, on FHL US/CAN Microfilms, Volume 73, Page 239 (accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 842817), Administration, Estate of Alpheus B. Smith, dated 4 February 1840.
7. 1830 United States Federal Census, Population Schedule, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Medfield town; Page 273; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M19, Roll 273.
8. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881", Volume 73, Page 766 (accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 0,842,817), Alpheus B. Smith, Inventory Filed, dated 15 Feb 1840.
9. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881", Volume 73, Pages 931-932 (accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 842817), Guardianship, Estate of Alpheus B. Smith, dated 2 June 1840.
10. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881", Volume 74, Page 1163, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,842,818, recorded on 4 May 1841.
11. Norfolk County (Massachusetts) Register of Deeds, "Land Records - Deeds, 1793-1890", Volume 139, Page 109-110 (accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 841833), Deed, Hinsdale Fisher to Lucy Butterfield, dated 16 August 1841, recorded 2 January 1843.
12. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881", Volume 75, Page 1145, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,842,818, recorded on 8 Feb 1842.
13. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Marriages, page 135, Alpheus Smith and Elizabeth Dill entry.
14. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Dedham Births, Marriages and Deaths, image 255, Alpheus Smith and Elizabeth Dill intention of marriage entry.
15. Massachusetts, Town Records, 1620-1988, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Dedham Births, Marriages and Deaths, image 260, Alpheus B. Smith and Elizabeth Dill marriage entry.
16. Don Gleason Hill (editor), The Record of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the Town of Dedham,1635-1845 (Dedham, Mass. : Town of Dedham, 1886), Marriages, page 221, Alpheus B. Smith and Elizabeth Dill entry.
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