Hello felow Smith-a-philes

I'm researching my grandmother, Annie (nee Smith) Leigh b.1902 in Preston, Lancashire. She emigrated to Yonkers, NY in 1922 to be with her husband Alex Leigh. I created a family tree on Ancestry.com labeled "Leigh & Smith Tree, Branches, Leaves, and Twigs".

Her father was Joseph Francis Smith, and her grandfather was Bernard Smith, all of Preston. Her mother was Mary Ellen McKearney, daughter of Owen McKearney. She had 4 brothers: Bernard, Joseph, John, and Edward; 2 sisters: Mary and Walburga, and a step-brother Francis Joseph after her father re-married to Isabella (nee Billington) Rigby. Bernard's father, Thomas Smith emigrated to England from Dublin, Ireland.

All of my Smith's were born in Preston, Lancashire.

Related families include: Smith, Leigh, Billington, Cosgrove, McKearney, Shaw, Bonney, and McGovern.

Annie's sister Mary Smith, married Alex's brother William John Leigh.

Through the Billington line, a another separate line of Smith's married into the Billington family tree, possibly from East Lancs/WRY. I have not looked that far into that lineage yet.

Tom Leigh

Talk about a needle in a haystack.

My Smith family was born in Preston Lancashire and had been there for at least 3 generations. The family started in Preston with my great-grandfather Bernard coming from Dublin in the 1850's with his wife Mary. THe 1961 census shows him living on Clarence Street with his father Thomas (a retired labourer and his mother Mary, and his wife Mary. His census records show him consistently working as a striker in a blacksmith foundry for almost 40 years.

Between 1855 and 1873 he had 8 children in the following order: Mary (1856), Edward (1857), Ann (1859), Aloysius (1863), Joseph Francis (my great-grandfather) (1869-1921), Thomas (1870), Francis Thomas (1872) , and Bernard Ignatius (1873).

Mary (no information),

Edward married a Margaret and had 3 children, Edward, Mary and Joseph.

Ann Smith married John Bonney and lived on Dunderdale Street; Ann and John had Edward and Bernard Bonney. John's father was Edward Bonney and Jane Cottam. In 1891, Ann's brothers Joseph and Francis were boarders at her house, prior to Joseph's marriage date. Ann's son Bernard later marries Walburga Smith, the daughter of Ann's brother Joseph. They hae a son named John "Jack" Bonney.

Aloysius Smith may have married Elizabeth Croft. He is not associated with Trader Horn Smith.

Joseph Francis Smith 1st married Mary Ellen McKearney in 1896. Mary Ellen's father was Owen McKearny of Ireland. Joseph and Mary Ellen had 7 children in the following order: Bernard (1888), Mary "May" (1893 - 1960), Walburga (1894), Joseph (1895 - 1954), John (1897), Edward (1900), and my grandmother Annie (1902 - 1997). Joseph was a sacristan/church caretaker of the St. Walburge Church for years according to marriage certificates I have for his children.....

Son Bernard marries and has a son named Joseph (no other information) ....

Daughter Mary "May" marries William John Leigh (see my Leigh family posting on this forum) and has a daughter Shiela. Shiela (1933) marries George Cookson. William John is my father's godfather....

Daughter Walburga (Aunt Wally) marries Bernard Bonney, the son of Joseph's sister Ann (nee Smith) Bonney. Walburga and Bernard have a son named John "Jack" Bonney. Jack was reportedly married twice, the second marriage was reportedly to Ellen "Nellie" Leigh (see my Leigh family posting on this forum). Walburga is my father's godmother....

Son Joseph marries Veronica Rawsthorn and have a son named Joseph who marries "a Portsmouth girl named Pamela" and they have a daughter Patricia Smith whoe last known address was 17 Frenchwood Avenue. Joseph Sr. worked for Inalnd Revenue in the 1950's. Patricia if your out there, contact me....

Son John Smith marries Florence Rigby in 1920, the daughter of Fredrick George Rigby and Ann Farnsworth and step-daughter of Isabella Walburga Billington and Frederick George Rigby. John and Florrie have a daughter Margaret "Madge" and and son Austin. Madge married into the Bickertons of Longton. I have no information on Austin. Madge and her husband invited my grandmother Annie (her Aunt) back to Preston for the 1989 Guild Fair events, 52 years later after leaving Preston in 1937 for the US. I have been in touch with Madge's husband who lives in Barton, she has a son and daughter-in-law nearby and a grandson attending college....

Son Edward (no infomation)....

Daughter Annie Smith married Alexander Leigh (my grandfather) in 1923 in Yonkers, NY. She had a son Patrick, a daughter Victoria, 3 grandchildren (me), and 5 great-grandchildren (see my Leigh family posting on this forum). Alexander is the brother of William John Leigh who married Mary Smith, Annie's sister...

After the death of Mary Ellen Smith in 1912, Joseph Smith remarries a 2nd time to Isabella Walburga (nee Billington) Rigby in 1916, a widow with 4 children: Florence, Agnes, William, and Wilfred. In 1903, Isabella's 1st husband was Frederick George Rigby, a widower with a daughter named Florence from a previous marriage with Ann Farnsworth. Isabella's father was Benjamin Shaw Billington. Joseph and Isabella had a son Francis Smith (1916) who later died in Rangoon during WW2....

After the death of Joseph, Isabella marries another widower, Edward Wilson in 1925 with 3 children from a previous marriage. By this time, her Rigby children and Smith step-children have grown up and moved on. It was reported that Agnes Rigby had a daughter named Winnie. Winnie's family may have moved to Scotland, last name Drysdale....

Thomas (No information).

Francis Thomas Smith may have married Emma Stanley and had 8 children: Emma, Mary, Bernard Aloysius, Amelia, Joseph, Edward, and Ada Marie.

Bernard Ignatius Smith may have married Mary Keenan.

If any Smith, Bonney, Farnsworth, McKearney, Rawsthorn, Billington, Flanagan, Keenan, Cookson family relations recognize any of the mnames above, please contact me. Families related to my McKearney branch include McGovern and Cosgrove.

All of my Smith family relations reportedly lived in an around Central Preston, some of the properties may have been taken over by the University.

Hi Helixlinks,

Thank you for sharing this information, that's really interesting. I'll be coming back to this over the weekend to study it again, and your other related surnames.

Yes the location of the University in Central Preston is where a lot of the old streets named in the 19th Century Censuses were located. And Dunderdale Street does ring some bells with me - that it was in that area - but must check the old map. Interesting about the girl's name Walburga - and they had connections with St Walburge church (beautiful church).

I can't find your Topic about the Leigh family - so probably you haven't got around to posting that yet. When you do so - I'll add a hyperlink connecting the 2 topics if you like.

We'll talk again soon.

Carole

The Leigh and Smith stories were posted on the Lancashire Evening Press blog under Family History Genealogy, and on my family tree I created on Ancestry.com called Leigh and Smith Tree, Branches, Twigs, and Leaves.

Two Leigh brothers married two Smith Sisters.

Hi Helixlinks,

I've split this thread so that the very interesting info about your LEIGH family is now at a separate topic on this board........
>> LEIGH of Dublin - to Preston Lancs c1900 >>

I explored your web-pages "Leigh and Smith Tree, Branches, Twigs, and Leaves" several times - in fact I had found those pages at ancestry before you told us about it - and hadn't previously realised it was yours

Hope all is going well for you.

Carole