Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Jeremiah SMITH
JEREMIAH SMITH, CAPTAIN (FRENCH & INDIAN WAR):
Sometime in the early history of Frederick County, Virginia, about 1730 or so, three white men from New Jersey entered an area of current day western Frederick County we now know as the Back Creek Valley. These three men were Isaac and Owen Thomas and Jeremiah Smith. Tradition says that Jeremiah marked off a area of land for a farm and then returned to New Jersey where it is believed he married for the first time, possibly to a Miss Thomas. He had one son Thomas by his first wife. The legend concerning the fate of Thomas divides. One tale is that he was captured by Catawba Indians and spent his life with them somewhere in North Carolina. At some point, Jeremiah was led to believe Thomas was alive and contacted Thomas by messenger. Thomas refused to return home and rebuked his father for being an Indian fighter and robber of their lands. The other story indicates that after after his mother died, Thomas went south with her people to South Carolina and served in the Revolutionary War during which time he was killed. Jeremiah mentions Thomas in his will and indicates that he does not know if Thomas is alive or dead, but if he should be, then he is to receive "five pounds current money in lue (sic) of all legacies from me." (A copy of Jeremiah's will is included in my Book on Jeremiah) Captain Jeremiah Smith was also well known for his brave battles against the Indians. A roadside marker in Lost City, WV provides historical information on a famous battle Jeremiah fought with a band of 20 men in the Spring of 1756 near Lost City in current Hardy County, WV. Smith and his milita surprised a group of French and Indians and during fierce hand to hand combat, Captain Smith killed the French captain and found in his pocket detailed instructions commanding the Frenchman to meet a band of 50 Indians who were to assist him in blowing up Fort Frederick. Captain Smith is not considered by some to be the first white settler in the Back Creek Valley. Wilmer Kerns believes it to be Owen and Sarah Thomas with Jeremiah remaining in the area as a squatter. If this is so, it would still be an extrordinary feat to settle beyond the limits of current civilization and carve out a place in history without any other protection than what he could provide for himself and his family.
Much more can be learned about this man in the book by Mr. Kerns, who has dedicated an entire chapter to Captain Smith and his exploits.
"Frederick Co., Virginia: Settlement and Some First Families of Back Creek Valley 1730-1830", Wilmer L. Kerns, Ph.D., Gateway Press, Balt. MD, 1995
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