Mary Josephine Smyth1

b. 1853, d. 28 August 1928
FatherWilliam "Buck" Smyth1 b. 20 Dec 1820, d. 15 Aug 1891
MotherEliza T. Logan1,2 b. 27 Dec 1825, d. 11 May 1857
Birth1853 Mary Josephine Smyth was born on either August 14th, 1853 (death record) or Oct. 14th, 1853 (Smyth manuscript). Her exact place of birth is also not clear: Washington County, Virginia (marriage record) or Tennessee (census, death record).3,4,1,5 
  Mary was just a young child when her mother died. With the outbreak of the Civil War Mary's father joined Company D of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, leaving Mary and her two younger brothers with various family members. 
Cens-187026 Sep 1870  In 1870 Mary was enumerated living in the home of her mother's sister, Rebecca (Logan) Clark and her husband James A. Clark. They resided in the Glade Spring District of Washington County.6 
Marriage10 Jun 1873 She married Thomas Chalmers Clark, son of John S. Clark and Isabella Breckenridge Clark, on 10 Jun 1873 in Washington County, Virginia.4 
  Thomas was the second cousin of James A. Clark in whose home Mary had been living. 
  Mary and Thomas were the parents of 12 children (The family bible included an entry for an unnamed child who was born and died in 1886 and whose parents were not clarified but who appears to be the 12th child). The couple's firstborn son died in 1874 at a little over 2 weeks of age and a daughter born in 1881 died in 1883. The family also included twin daughters named Mary and Martha who were born in 1885.7 
  In 1880 Mary and Thomas were enumerated farming land in the Holston District of the county. The census indicated that they could not read or write. Twenty years later, with 7 of their 9 surviving children still at home, they were recorded in the Abingdon District, residing in the same dwelling as James and Rebecca Clark. Thomas and Mary had been married 27 years.8,9 
Death28 Aug 1928 Mary died on 28 Aug 1928.1 
Burial She was buried at Old Glade Spring Cemetery in Washington County, Virginia.10 
  Mary, who appears to have been known in the family by her middle name of Josephine, was remembered as someone who was quiet and hard-working but who had a wonderful sense of humor and an infectious laugh. She was kind and pleasant, and family and friends loved to be in her company.11 

Related Links and Images:

Other interments in Old Glade Spring Cemetery

Family

Thomas Chalmers Clark b. 18 Apr 1848, d. 10 Sep 1927
Children
  • William Beattie Clark12 (28 Sep 1874 - 15 Oct 1874)
  • Sandy Dunn Clark+12 (10 Aug 1876 - 12 Jan 1927)
  • Charles Alpheus Clark12 (16 Apr 1878 - 12 Mar 1921)
  • John Wallace Clark12 (24 Aug 1879 - 17 Dec 1960)
  • Emma Eliza Clark12,13 (Aug 1881 - 14 Feb 1883)
  • Roy Duncan Clark12 (23 Jul 1883 or 25 Jul 1883 - 23 Sep 1965)
  • Mary Smyth Clark12 (26 Apr 1885 - 12 May 1969)
  • Martha McKee Clark12 (26 Apr 1885 - 30 Sep 1972)
  • Robert Stuart Clark12 (10 Oct 1887 - 5 Aug 1949)
  • James Gordon Clark12 (30 Sep 1889 - 16 Nov 1967)
  • Fornie Tucker Clark12 (14 Jun 1892 - 17 Jun 1950)
Last Edited21 Nov 2013

Citations

  1. [S13] Aleta Spicer, Smyth, p. 92. Desc. chart for William (Buck) Smyth and Eliza Logan; author unclear.
  2. [S827] Caleb Logan settlement (1884), Washington Co., Virginia Will Book 21: 349. Settlement covers time frame from Nov. 1861 to Oct. 1882. Thomas C. Clark was paid a distributive share of Caleb's estate in right of his wife who was stated to be the daughter of Eliza Smith, nee Logan, deceased.
  3. [S2169] Donald Helton, compiler, "Washington County Virginia Abstracted Death Records 1912-1939" (manuscript shared by author), p. 66; Mrs. Josephine (Smyth) Clark entry (b. Aug. 14, 1853 TN).
  4. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 62. Thomas C. Clark, 25y, sgl, b & res Wash. Co. VA, farmer, s/o John & Isabella Clark and Mary Joseph. Smyth, 19y, sgl, b. & resid WCV, d/o William Smyth; 10 Jun 1873.
  5. [S634] Thomas C. Clark household, 1900 U.S. cens., Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., Abingdon district, ED 105, sheet 10B, dwelling 185, family 186, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Nov. 6, 2008, image 20 of 42. Household includes: (same dwelling as James A. Clark) Thomas C. Clark, 52, b. Apr 1848, marr 27 yrs, farmer, b. VA, father b. Scotland, mother b. VA; Mary J., wife, 46, b. Oct. 1853, marr 27 yrs, mother 12 children, 9 living, b. TN, parents b. VA; Charles A., son, 22, b. Apr 1878; Ray D., son, 16, b. Jul 1883; Mattie M., dau, 15, b. Apr 1885; Mary S., dau, 15, b. Apr 1885; Mary S., dau, 15, Apr 1885; Robert S., son, 12, b. Oct. 1887; James G., son, 10, b. Sept. 1889; Fornie T., son, 7, b. June 1892; all b. VA; children's father b. VA, mother b. TN.
  6. [S635] J.A. Clark household, 1870 U.S. cens, Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., Glade Spring Township, p. 66 (stamped), dwelling 173, family 180, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Nov. 2008, image 25 of 49. Household includes: J.A. Clark, 43, farmer, land valued at $2,000, pers. prop. $800, b. VA; Rebecca J., 42, b. VA; Mary J. Smith, 16, b. TN; Clemmonds, W., 12, farmer, cannot read or write, b. VA.
  7. [S30] Audrey Honegger, "Smyth Questions," e-mail to Diana Powell, 11 Jan 2001. Audrey notes an entry for an unnamed child born 24 July 1886 in the bible of her grandparents, Thomas and Mary Josephine (Smyth) Clark. There is also a death entry for an unnamed child on 31 Dec. 186.
  8. [S163] Thos C. Clark household, 1880 U.S. Cens., Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Holston District, ED 100, p. 20D, dwelling 167, family 167. Dec. 2008, image 20 of 54. Household includes: Thos C. Clark, 32, farmer, b. VA, father b. Scotland, mother b.VA; Mary J., 26, wife; Thos and Mary cannot read or write; Sandy A., 3, son; Charles A., 2, son; Jno, 9/12, b. Aug; Wm Hutchinson, 13, servant; all b.VA.
  9. [S634] Thomas C. Clark household, 1900 U.S. cens., Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., Abingdon district, ED 105, sheet 10B, dwelling 185, family 186, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Nov. 6, 2008, image 20 of 42. Household includes: (same dwelling as James A. Clark) Thomas C. Clark, 52, b. Apr 1848, marr 27 yrs, farmer, b. VA, father b. Scotland, mother b. VA; Mary J., wife, 46, b. Oct. 1853, marr 27 yrs, mother 12 children, 9 living, b. TN, parents b. VA; Charles A., son, 22, b. Apr 1878; Ray D., son, 16, b. Jul 1883; Mattie M., dau, 15, b. Apr 1885; Mary S., dau, 15, b. Apr 1885; Robert S., son, 12, b. Oct. 1887; James G., son, 10, b. Sept. 1889; Fornie T., son, 7, b. June 1892; all b. VA; children's father b. VA, mother b. TN.
  10. [S54] Virginia Historicial Society of Washington County, High On A Windy Hill Vol II, p. 43, New Section. Mary J. Clark, 1853-1928.
  11. [S13] Aleta Spicer, Smyth, p. 26.
  12. [S13] Aleta Spicer, Smyth, p. 94. Desc. chart for Thomas Chalmers Clark and Mary Josephine Smyth; author unclear.
  13. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 177. Stone reads d/o T.C. & M.J. Clark, 10 Aug 1881-14 Feb 1883.