On the whole, I have been pretty successful in tracking down my ancestors and filling out my family tree. However, one of my brick walls is the identity of my 4-X great grandmother, the first wife of Henry Boswell.
Henry Boswell, whom I believe to be the oldest son of Matthew Boswell of Charles County MD, was born about 1761. His mother or step-mother was named Jane.
Henry probably married about 1783, when he was in his early 20’s, and may have had a daughter Jane born about 1784. He had at least two daughters and a son in this marriage. The first daughter, Jane, I'm a little uncertain about. The other three I'm certain are Henry's children:
(?) Jane M. Boswell about 1784
Ann Smith Boswell 24 August 1791
William Henry Smith Boswell 1794
Eliza Smith Boswell 1798 (my 3-X great grandmother, who married John Scrivener in 1817, and had twelve children with him, but that's another story).
So, there's Henry, age 26 to 45 (born 1756-1774),
1 male under 10 (born 1790-1800) William?,
2 males 16-25 (born 1775-1784) Don't know who these are
3 females under 10 Ann and Eliza and ?
2 females 10-15 Jane and ?
and 2 females 26-45 one is probably his wife; don't know who the other is.
He also had 23 slaves.
I'm not sure who the extra people are in his household. They could be relatives, in-laws, or servants. Anyway, this household does account for Henry, his wife and at least four children, consistent with the list above.
In the 1810 Census of Prince George's County, both Henry and his presumed wife are over the age of 45 (born before 1765). Henry marries for the second time in 1811, so his first wife probably died around that time.
Now, I'm sure you can spot the big clue there about the name of the mother of these children--that's right, Smith! It just screams right at you.
If only their middle name was Kleinfluffer or something a little more unusual, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out the name of Henry Boswell's wife. But Smith, well...
The good news and the bad news is that there is a very prominent family of Smiths in the area where Henry lived. But none of them were named William Henry or William or Henry, so the easy option is ruled out. When I see the names of the three daughters, I assume that at least one of them was named for her mother. That would mean I'm probably looking for an Ann, Jane, or Eliza Smith of an age to be married by about 1783, so born by about 1765 or earlier, consistent with the Census data above.
Henry Boswell married for a second time in 1811 to Eleanor Pickrell and had two more daughters with her: Elizabeth Ellen in 1814 and Priscilla Jane in 1819. That means Ms. Smith, the first wife, died sometime around 1811. Unfortunately, I haven't found a nice long obituary spelling out her family background. Drat!
The village of Nottingham, by the way, no longer exists, just vanished. All that remains is a sign on an obscure back road. I wonder if the British soldiers might have raided Henry Boswell's tavern while they were camped in the area?
So, who lived in Smithville? One clue about who lived there is who died there, and there is a Smith Family Cemetery in Smithville, with about 18 burials. The earliest one is Fielder Bowie Smith, born 1775, died 1844. Fielder was the son of Mordecai Smith and Phoebe Finch (who, by the way, went on to marry yet another Smith--George Smith--after her husband Mordecai's death). Fielder Bowie Smith married twice, first to Sarah Smith Plummer and second to Lucy Middleton Smith. (You are noticing the pattern here, right?)
As it turns out, Henry's son, William Henry Smith Boswell, married two of the daughters of Fielder Bowie Smith: Elizabeth Ann Smith and Phoebe Finch Smith. Marrying one's cousins was certainly not unheard of in this time period. William and both of his wives are also buried in the Smithville cemetery.
Fielder Bowie Smith had a younger brother, Mordecai Finch Smith, born 1777, died 1834. He also married twice: first in 1810 to Jane M. Boswell, Henry's possible daughter, and second to Ann Wheeler Kent in 1821.
As far as I can find out, Fielder Bowie Smith and Mordecai Finch Smith did not have a sister, and even if they did, it is very unlikely that Mordecai would have married his own niece. Looking further back in the Smith family, Fielder and Mordecai did have an uncle Daniel Smith, but I have not found any information about his possible family. And there is always the mysterious cousin George Smith who was the step-father of Fielder and Mordecai. I don't know anything about him either. But maybe Daniel or George had daughters who could have married Henry Boswell.
More bad news: Calvert County is one of those places that has suffered multiple courthouse fires, so no chance of finding a probate file that conveniently names all the Smith children and their spouses. )-:
As for the rest of Henry's children with Ms. Smith:
Jane M. Boswell, as noted above, married Mordecai Finch Smith and had a daughter, Ann Stockett Smith. She died about 1821, predeceasing Henry.
Ann Smith Boswell married twice: first to Samuel Wood, with whom she had three children--William Henry, Mary Jane and Susan Jane; second to Joseph Chaney, with whom she also had three children--Joseph, Samuel, and Selima. She died in Anne Arundel County MD in 1874.
William Henry Smith Boswell, as noted above, married Smith sisters and had eleven children with his second wife: Eliza Virginia, Mordecai Finch , William Henry Smith, Fielder Bowie Smith, Susan, Ann, John Emory, George, Francis Asbury McCallum, Mary Elizabeth, and Bernard Boswell. He died in Calvert County MD in 1865.
Eliza Smith Boswell (my 3-X great grandmother) married John Scrivener at Nottingham (probably at her father's tavern) in 1817, and had twelve children with him: John Henry, Sarah Jane, Samuel Wesley, Elizabeth Ann, William Boswell (my 2-X great grandfather), Elizabeth Sydney, Francis George, James Edward, Mary Priscilla, twins Maria Louisa and Emily Augusta, and Rose Matilda Scrivener. She died in Baltimore MD in 1874.
So, there are definitely some family connections between the Smiths of Calvert County and the Boswells of Prince George's County. I keep prowling around the existing land and probate records, hoping there is a further clue out there somewhere, like someone giving property to their dear daughter who married Henry Boswell or naming their esteemed son-in-law Henry Boswell. But so far, no luck.
Or, it could be a completely different Smith family. Or Henry was just good friends with some Smiths, but didn’t actually marry into the family. Sigh!
One final trick I have tried in the past: look at the grandchildren's names, in this case focusing on the girls. Surely one of Henry's children would have named a daughter after their own mother? Here's what we have among Henry's granddaughters:
Ann Stockett Smith (Why Stockett? Is this a clue or just a red herring designed to confuse future family historians?)
Mary Jane Wood
Susan Jane Wood
Selima Ann Chaney
Eliza Virginia Boswell
Susan P. Boswell
Anne R. Boswell
Mary Eliza Boswell
Sarah Jane Scrivener
Eliza Ann Scrivener
Elizabeth Sydney Scrivener
Mary Priscilla Scrivener
Maria Louisa Scrivener
Emily Augusta Scrivener
Rose Matilda Scrivener
Unfortunately, I don't see a strong pattern here. A couple of Ann's, a couple of Eliza's, a couple of Susans and some Janes in the middle. I'm sure that at least one of these girls is named for her Grandmother Boswell. But which one?
Henry Boswell died in Prince George's County MD 10 November 1821 at about the age of 60.
Henry did leave a will, written in August 1821. He leaves his property in Nottingham to his wife Eleanor and names his two unmarried daughters: Elizabeth Ellen and Priscilla Jane. His wife and his son William H.S. Boswell are his executors. He does not mention any of his grandchildren.
As an aside, both Mordecai F. Smith and Joseph Chaney show up in the settlement of Henry's estate, so they did at least have some acquaintance with him, although they are not specifically identified as his sons-in-law.
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