John Smilie
Death and Burial
When did John die? There are a number of sources but after you
have all of them it becomes clear which are correct. In my initial post I mentioned the Genealogical
Proof Standard, here is a simplified explanation of how I am going to be using
it.
Back in 1964? I started
looking for death information on John.
His will is recorded in the Fayette County, PA courthouse in Uniontown
where I lived. The Register of Wills
record does not provided a death date but the will was registered on January 14,
1813. John had to die prior to this for
registration to take place.
Madge McKellar (1895-1992)
sent me a black and white photo of the grave of John Smilie in the
Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D. C.
Aha! December 30, 1812.
I started to look for an
obituary and the first one that I found was while looking at newspapers in the
Carnegie Library in Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA.
It was from The Commonwealth, a newspaper published in Pittsburgh, from
Vol IX, No 2, Wednesday, January 13, 1813.
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DIED In this city,
at two o’clock yesterday afternoon, the venerable JOHN SMILIE, a
representative in congress from Pennsylvania, aged about 71 years. He was a native of Ireland, but arriving
in this country at an early age, was engaged in the war of revolution both
in civil and military capacities.
Since that period he has never been out of public service, in
conventions in the legislature of Pennsylvania and of the United States, in
which several capacities he has distinguished himself as the firm and undeviating
supporter of republican government and of his country’s rights. At the commencement of the present session,
the estimation in which he was held was evinced by his appointment to the
important station of chairman of the committee of foreign relations. He has descended to the tomb of his fathers,
crowned with years and honor, carry with him the profound regrets of his
intimate acquaintances, and respect of all mankind.
From Nat. Int.
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My transcription [E.B.]
There was no indication of
when he died or what date the obituary had originated in the National
Intelligencier. But I eventually found
the Washington Reporter from Washington, PA (the next county seat west of
Uniontown) and it identified the date of the obituary appearing in the National
Intelligencier.
%2BReporter%2B(miss%2Bidentified%2Bdate%2Bof%2BNat%2BIntel.).jpg)
Washington (PA) Reporter ‘Nat. Intel. of Dec 30, 1812’
The Historical Society of
Pennsylvania published a book in 1888 about the framing and ratification of the
Constitution of the United States. John
had been a member of Pennsylvania’s ratifying convention and a short
biographical article was included which said:
Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution,
1787-1788. page 753
Now
I had four pieces of information:
1.
Grave - December 30, 1812 But the cenotaphs in the Congressional
Cemetery were not erected when the first congressional burials occurred. The government cemetery site now says, “The
date of the first cenotaph installation in Congressional Cemetery is unknown.
Latrobe's earliest sketch dates to 1812, but it is unclear if any cenotaphs
were extant at this time.”[i]
When I first began to investigate when
they were placed on graves I was finding dates 1816 – 1830’s.
2. Will Registration – Did not give a death date, but occurred prior to January 14, 1813
3. Obituary – Washington Reporter, Washington,
PA reprint of National Intelligencier, Washington, D.C. obituary which was
dated December 30, 1812, says ‘yesterday’ = December 29, 1812
4. Dr. Egle’s statement in Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution, 1787-1788 of John’s death
as December 29, 1813.[ii]
I know that 1813 is wrong
because of the registration of the will.
I can’t be sure the grave marker is correct as it was not erected at the
time of death. The obituary seems to be
the most contemporary and although Dr. Egle’s date in Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution is off by a year it would
seem that his specific date of December 29 would bolster the choice of the 29th. That reasoning for a number of years led me
to believe that John’s death date was December 29, 1812.
If and when
additional information is found, start the process again.
5. (No. 3 above Obituary) – well … The Washington (PA) Reporter incorrectly reported the date that the obituary was published in the
National Intelligencier. It was
published on December 31, 1812, therefore ‘yesterday’ was December 30, 1812.
6. The Congressional Record, House of
Representatives, December 30, 1812.
7. Congressional Record, Senate, December 31,
1812
8. Congressional Cemetery, Blue Book, 30th
Range
The Interment record in the Blue Book does not give
the date, only Dec ‘12[iii]
9. Robert Porter Smilie Family Bible
The family Bible of Robert
Porter Smilie gives the death of John Smilie as 31 December 1813. It appears that all the entries through 1816
were entered at one time. John died in
Washington, District of Columbia, not Tyrone Township, Fayette County, PA so
the information of the death was not first hand. Robert would have received word by rider,
there was not telegraph or phone system in 1812. We don’t know when word was received. The date is incorrect.[iv]
Conclusion
John died on 30 December
1812 and was buried 31 December 1812.
He is buried in the
Congressional Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia.
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| 1986 |
.JPG) |
| 2013 |
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The 1986 photo[v]
had a broken headstone next to John.
When the 2013 photo[vi]
was taken two stone benches had been installed and a new headstone for the
adjoining lot was in place.
The photo on the right
side of the masthead at the top of the blog is of the engraved panel in John Smilie’s
cenotaph taken by Robert Keller in 1986.
If you would want to visit
his grave the map below[vii]
is marked with a red square indicating John’s grave and the green square marks
the memorial of Vice President Elbridge Gerry.
Here are several websites
about the Congressional Cemetery that you may enjoy:
at about 18:45 in this
video you can see John Smilie’s grave behind Vice-President Gerry’s monument.
History of the
Congressional Cemetery
If you are interested, the Congressional Cemetery would appreciate contributions to help maintain the property. I found this information in their publications.
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The Association for the Preservation of
Historic Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E Street,
Southeast
Washington, DC 20003, is a
nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. All
donations are deductible to the extent permitted
by federal tax laws.
You can contribute to the endowment or pick a project
$25
Clean a headstone $250 Purchase military flags
$50
Plant a flowerbed $500 Restore the 1850 logbook
$75
Upright a headstone $750 Repair a fence
$100
Repair a monument $1000
Main Gate restoration w/acknowledgement
$200
Plant a tree $1500 Contribute to ground radar
project
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[i] http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/lots/congressional.asp
[ii] Egle, W. M.. “Chapter IX Sketches of the Members of
the Federal Convention”. McMaster, John Bach, and Frederick Dawson Stone,
editors, Pennsylvania and the Federal Constitution, 1787-1788. Philadelphia: Historical Society of
Pennsylvania, 1888. Smilie, John pp 752 – 753
[iii] Congressional Cemetery Office (Washington, District
of Columbia), Blue Book, citing John Smiley [Smilie], Range 30, lots 9 &
10, Internment Dec ’12, used with permission
[iv] Smilie,
Robert Porter Family Bible, The Holy
Bible, unknown publisher, privately held, photo by Charles M. Grier, Jr,
taken 1986, used with permission. [Dates 1767 through 1816 appear to be entered
at one time, last entry 1822]
[v] Congressional Cemetery, (Washington, District of
Columbia), John Smilie marker (38.882614, -76.977686), photo by Robert Keller, taken
1986, used with permission, held by Edward Black.
[vi] Congressional Cemetery, (Washington, District of
Columbia), John Smilie marker (38.882614, -76.977686), photo by Nancy McGarvey,
taken 2013, used with permission.
[vii] Congressional Cemetery, (Washington, District of
Columbia), cemetery map, north section, ©2014 used with permission.
Great, will follow your research and correct some things. I did not have the information of the obituary and changed the death date. Thank you
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