Captain Thomas Smith

1767 - 1850  (82 years)

• Name	Thomas Smith
  Prefix	Captain
  Born	14 Nov 1767	, Massachusetts   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Historic Building	1596 Sawmill Rd., Woolwich Township, Ontario
  	squared timber log house, built by Captain Thomas Smith
  	The Smith family log house was located on the east side of the Grand River opposite the mouth of the Conestogo which here flows into the Grand from the west. The house was a half mile east of the town of Conestogo, and it stood less than a hundred feet from the present (1995) Stroh brick farm home. The pioneers hand-hewn log house (with fireplace) was built 28 feet long, 26 feet wide, and two stories high. The ceilings were 6 to 7 feet high, the kitchen was 12 by 24 feet with a large fireplace; a winding stairway led to the four rooms above. During the long winter evenings the warm cheery fireplace was the centre of family social life and comfort.... The Smiths turned their home open to travellers staying in the area. The family lost their title to the land and house due to irregularities in the land records and after thirty years, took up a new homestead 1/2 mile north of Winterbourne and was named "The Holmwood Farm".1a 1a"Captain Thomas Smith (born 1767, died 1850) and descendants " by Raymond W. Kalbfleisch, Petoskey, Michigan, 1995. 174 pgs, illustrated, with index. Located at the Grace Schmidt Room, Kitchener Public Library, 929.2 Smith-K 1995
  		Thomas Smith's log home in Woolwich Township abt 1911
  		Side view of Thomas Smith log house source unknown
  Interesting	life story, war, post, pioneer
  Military	War of 1812 -
  	Served in the Flank company of the 2nd York Militia Regiment under Captain Applegarth. Militia rolls names on him and petitions for compensation after the war listing their homes as being in Block 2 or Waterloo
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-48769
  Died	15 Apr 1850	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Buried	Winterbourne Pioneer Methodist Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Person ID	I48769	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

  Family	Mary Weaver,   b. 20 Aug 1778, of, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 5 Nov 1845, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 67 years)
  Children	1. Azubah "Ellen" Smith,   b. 1800, , New York State, USA ,   d. 21 Feb 1871, South Dumfries Twp., Brant Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 71 years)   2. Cushman "Cush" Smith,   b. 11 Nov 1800, Conestogo, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 28 Sep 1891, Hay Twp., Huron Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 90 years)   3. Alpheus Smith,   b. 1801, of, Ontario ,   d. 10 Jan 1842  (Age 41 years)   4. Alexander F. Smith,   b. 1801, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. 23 Jul 1865, Courtland Township, Kent, Michigan  (Age 64 years)   5. Priscilla Smith,   b. 3 Jan 1808, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 23 Sep 1890, Cascade, Kent, Michigan, USA  (Age 82 years)   6. Thomas Smith,   b. 1809, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 12 Apr 1843, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 34 years)   7. Mary Smith,   b. 21 Jan 1817, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 18 Mar 1887, Amabel Township, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 70 years)   8. Stephen Smith,   b. Abt 1818,   d. Yes, date unknown   9. William Smith,   b. Abt 1818,   d. Yes, date unknown   10. Peter Smith,   b. Abt 1818,   d. Yes, date unknown   11. Roxey Laney Smith,   b. 17 Sep 1821, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   12. Almon C. Smith,   b. 1822, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   13. Elisheba Smith,   b. 1822, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   14. Elisha Smith,   b. 3 Nov 1822, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   15. Samuel W. Or F. Smith,   b. 1823, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	7 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F12721	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Gravestone of Thomas Smith Winterbourne Pioneer Cemetery, Winterbourne, Ontario
  		Captain Thomas Smith Image from Marion Roes 2012
  		Captain Thomas Smith Image from Marion Roes 2012

  
  

• Notes

  Captain Thomas SMITH (Thomas, Jonathan) was born 14 Nov 1765/1767 in Surrey, Vermont. He died 15 Apr 1850 in Woolwich Township, Waterloo Co., Ontario and was buried in Old Methodist Cemetery, Woolwich Township, Waterloo co., Ontario. Thomas was one of the pioneers of Woolwich Township, arriving there about 1806 or 1807, with his wife and children. he is described as well built, stout, five feet ten inches tall, an interesting character who had had many wonderful experiences, and who like to tell stories. He was the first squatter on the Crooks estates. He had entered Ontario in 1798 and settled in Jerseyville. The Smith family log house was located on the east side of the Grand River opposite the mouth of the Conestogo which here flows into the Grand from the west. The house was a half mile east of the town of Conestogo, and it stood less than a hundred feet from the present (1995) Stroh brick farm home. The pioneers hand-hewn log house (with fireplace) was built 28 feet long, 26 feet wide, and two stories high. The ceilings were 6 to 7 feet high, the kitchen was 12 by 24 feet with a large fireplace; a winding stairway led to the four rooms above. During the long winter evenings the warm cheery fireplace was the centre of family social life and comfort.... It was here near Conestogo that the Smith's fourth child - Priscilla - was born on 3 January 1808. She is reported as having the distinction of being the first white child to be born in Woolwich Township however, the records are in disagreement for it is also reported that a son - Cushman - was born at Conestogo on 11 November 1806. Thomas Smith fought in the War of 1812. His horse shot out from underneath him, he also shot and afterwards mustered out as a Captain. Thomas Smith's injury as Lundy's Lane brought him an annual disability pension of 22 pounds 2 shillings, 8 pence and 1 farthing about $65 per year. The Smiths turned their home open to travellers staying in the area. The family lost their title to the land and house due to irregularities in the land records and after thirty years, took up a new homestead 1/2 mile north of Winterbourne and was named "The Holmwood Farm". In 1835 Thomas Smith inaugurated a stage coach service from Winterbourne through Kitchener to Cambridge (Preston) which he operated until his death in 1850 "Captain Thomas Smith (born 1767, died 1850) and descendants " by Raymond W. Kalbfleisch, Petoskey, Michigan, 1995. 174 pgs, illustrated, with index. Located at the Grace Schmidt Room, Kitchener Public Library, 929.2 Smith-K 1995 __________________________________ THE STAGE COACH In grandsire's day trade flowed southward to Preston and Dundas. Over muddy corduroy roads or through pitch-holes he rode to the poll or to court. For such errands there was not a public conveyance available until 1835. A Vermonter, Captain Thomas Smith of Winterbourne, then began a service to Preston, via Waterloo and Berlin. Other men followed his lead. The arrival of the stage-coach hastened the construction of a better highway. In 1837 the Dundas road was macadamized up to Preston, or possibly to Berlin. It was said of the coachman, "his only point of interest on the road is to save time and see whether the coach keeps the hour." DAILY COACH In 1848 the Deutsches Canadier carried Mr. Smith's advertisement, which reads, Will go down every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and will return the day after: viz., every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Leaves home, Woolwich Post-Office (Winterbourne) always at 12 o'clock noon, the village of Waterloo at 2, and Berlin at 21/2 o'clock; and again, on the return, leaves Preston at 7 o'clock in the morning, Berlin at 9, and Waterloo at 91/2. The prices for carrying passengers, down or up, from Waterloo to Preston, 2 shillings and sixpence, and from Berlin 2 shillings York, and vice versa. He will arrive in Preston in time for the night coach to Hamilton, where travellers will find ample accommodation early in the morning for all parts of the world, and likewise find a coach ready to convey them farther westward. Thomas Smith In 1845, as the appended notice shows, Captain Smith had met with opposition, Mail Coach. A daily mail coach leaves the hotel of the under-signed (Preston) at 3 o'clock, p.m., for Berlin and Waterloo. Travellers are taken up and left off at suitable places. At five o'clock in the morning it leaves the hotel of W. Rebscher, Waterloo, calls at the hotels along the route and reaches Preston in time for the south-going mails. The coach is covered and rests on springs for the comfort of the passengers. George Roos, proprietor. At cockcrow Waterloo passengers seated themselves in the coach, while the whip stored the mail-pouch and carpet bags in the boot. With a blare of his horn he was then off for Berlin, where he picked up additional mail and passengers. His next stop was at Jost Stengel's tavern, between Centreville and Freeport. The stage crossed over the Grand River at Freeport on a toll-bridge. The coach was taxed sixpence and every passenger a half-penny. Then it wheeled directly to Preston. A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937, pg 74-77 ____________________ Captain Thomas Smith was born in the state of Vermont in the year 1767. He was among those who came to Canada a few years before the close of the eighteenth century. Capt. Smith married Mary Weaver, whose parents had come, along with many others, from the State of New Jersey, and lived in a small place called Jerseyville, near Ancaster. They first lived in the township of Beverly ; moved to the township of Waterloo, and as early as 1807, were in the township of Woolwich. The site of Capt. Smith's house was on the east side of the Grand River and opposite the mouth of the Conestogo, which here flows into the Grand from the west. Mr. George Stroh has lived on this farm fur many years, and Capt. Smith's old house stood within a hundred feet of Mr Stroh's residence. The old house was well built of hewn logs, 26x28 feet, and was two stories high. The ceilings were 6 feet 7 inches high. The kitchen was 12x24, with a large fire place and just inside of the front door, in the corner between it and the fire-place, was a winding stair which led to the four rooms above. It was here, on January the third, 1808, that their daughter Priscilla was born. She was their fourth child, but the eldest daughter, and the first white child born in the township of Woolwich. Capt. Smith was a Lieutenant in the Canadian Forces during the war of 1812. At the battle of Lundy's Lane a musket ball struck his knee and the same shot killed the horse upon which he rode. In an old newspaper published at St. David's in the year 1816, there is a list of those who were entitled to receive pensions because of injuries received during the war of 1812-14. In this list is the name of Lieut Thomas Smith, late of the 2nd York. He was wounded at Lundy's Lane on the 25th July, 1814, and was entitled to receive a pension from and after the 23rd November, 1813. The pension amounted to twenty two pounds, two shillings, eight pence, one farthing yearly. Many of the settlers up the river were much indebted to Capt. Smith and his family for many kind services. His home was always open to them whenever they were led that way, and for years this was the only outlet. It was here that Roswell Matthews stopped on his way up the Grand River in the fall of 1817. Here he left his wife and younger children for three months, during the winter, while he and the older sons went on up the river to cut the first tree and build the first house in Elora. High up on the hill, on the east side of the road and north of Cox's Creek at Winterbourne, there is a log house on the same site as a former one. It was here, at the home of Alpheus Smith, that the prayer meeting was being held, on a Sunday evening, during which Alpheus Smith's father, the old captain fell to the floor unconscious and remained in that state until the following Sunday when he died. Alpheus Smith married Ann Weaver, from Ancaster, and it was their daughter Mary, or Polly, a life long resident of Winterbourne, who told me the story of Captain Smith, which she alone could tell, and that but three weeks before her death With that large hearted kindness so characteristic of Captain and Mrs. Smith, they, in 1832, adopted Catherine Kennedy, who, like Mary Asia Wilbee, had been left motherless when a child. Catherine Kennedy grew up with the younger ones in the family until she married the late William Stork and is at present living in Winterbourne. Like many other pioneers, Capt. Smith had neglected to secure a proper title to his property and was ejected by the Hon. James Crooks' estate. He then took up another farm half a mile north of Winterbourne; made another move and tried hotel keeping on the roadside south of Winterbourne and, giving that up, he returned to the Holmwood farm. For many years he carried the mail from Preston. Capt. Smith was described as "stout, well built, about 5 ft. 10 in., limped from the wound in his knee, and was a great one to tell stories." Mrs. Smith died on November 5th, 1845, at the age of 67 years. In later years the Captain lived with his younger son. During a religious meeting which was being held in the house he fell from his chair, stricken with paralysis, and died a few days later, on the 15th of April, 1850, at the age of 82 years and 5 months. Both are interred in the Methodist Cemetery at Winterbourne. The sons were: Alpheus, who married Ann Weaver. Alexander, who married Louisa Moss. They lived at West Montrose and died in Michigan. Cushman, who married Mary Asia Wilbee. Thomas married Sarah Heartwell. Stephen married Betsy Smith. William and Peter died young. Samuel married Jane Hanna. Their first home was a little north of Winterbourne, now known as the Holmwood farm. Here the old Captain died. Later they moved to the vicinity of Mt. Forest. The daughters were: Priscilla, married to Williams Sexton. Azubah, married to Willard Clemons ; they lived at St. George. Mary, married to Emanuel Gaukel. Roxy, married to Milton Woodward, and Elisheba, unmarried. Mary Smith, who died at Winterbourne in March, 1901, at the age of seventy-one years and six months, was a daughter of Alpheus Smith, and to her we are especially indebted for much of the family history here given. When coming up the road, on the east side of the Grand river, past the village of Bloomingdale, we soon reach the townline between the townships of Waterloo and Woolwich. Here the road forks like the letter "Y." The left fork is the road past the old home of Captain Smith to the bridge which crosses the Grand river and thence on to the village of Conestogo. The right fork turns to the north, passing through the village of Winterbourne and on through the townships of Woolwich and Pilkington to Elora and Fergus. This is commonly called the "river road" because it follows the general course of the river. At this corner, where the road divides, several of the earliest settlers made: their homes.. The Early History of Elora, Ontario, and Vicinity by John R. Connon

  
  

• Sources

  [S429] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Woolwich - Winterbourne Pioneer Methodist CC#4587 Internet Link. Thomas Smith/ died/ April 15, 1850/ aged 82 Y'rs 5 Mo's/ & 1 Day

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 14 Nov 1767 - , Massachusetts Historic Building - squared timber log house, built by Captain Thomas Smith - - 1596 Sawmill Rd., Woolwich Township, Ontario Died - 15 Apr 1850 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Winterbourne Pioneer Methodist Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth