SLIG 2012: I Have a Smith Family!!

2012: The goal was to determine the maiden name of "Anny," the wife of Jacob Crousore and where the couple lived before settling in Indiana. [consultants: George Ott & Paul Graham]: "Anny's" surname has appeared as Ice is numerous family trees. No Anny/Annie Ice could be found for the early 1800s. Who was this gal?

The plan for the first day of the Institute was simple. I had not been able to locate Jacob Crousore in the 1820 online census indexes for Ohio. I was convinced the family had moved there and he probably married there. The Crousore surname also suffered the spelling variation disease. The FHL had the 1820 Ohio census index in book form.

In Clinton Co. under Crouser I located John, Jacob and Christian. Father, son, brother.

Next, check Clinton Co. marriages. Success! Jacob Crouser married Jemima Smith in 1822. [There was a note that the county archives records had more information, but the FHL did not have those records.]

Step 3: Dig into land records. Voila! A Delaware CO., IN deed named Jacob 'Crowsaw' and his wife, Ama Jemima. Wait a minute! Ama Jemima? My great-grandmother was Ama Jemima Simmons. Now I knew who she was named for!

The rest of the week was spent tracking the Crousore/Smith family and trying to piece together the Crousores back in Pennsylvania.

By Wednesday that note about the Clinton Co. Archives got to me. I called to ask about the marriage record. The wonderful lady on staff pulled the book and read the info to me. The record confirmed that Jacob was John's son. Jemima's brother was also named - John Smith. [A copy of the entry was mailed to me.]

A reexamination of the 1850-1870 censuses explained how Ama became Anna, etc. The 'm' had been written so that it was mistaken for a double 'n.' Ama became Annie, Anny, and Annie I.

That opened up new avenues of research. Ama had more brothers and the families traveled together.

The main question left unanswered was "when and where did Jacob and Amy die?" Only two of their children survived into the 1870s. Edith and William. Edith died in Indiana, William went west.

William took his parents along when he moved to McPherson Co. Kansas. They died there during the late 1870s.

Note: Follow-up research included contacting McPherson Co., KS to get local records on Jacob and Amy. I also went to Clinton Co., OH to dig more into the families there. Amy's brother John had married Jacob's sister Elizabeth. John's parents were William and Elizabeth [Reel] Smith. The Crousores, Smiths, Reels and Reeders [also marrying Crousores in PA] traveled to Indiana together. Revolutionary War records identified William's father as Henry Smith.