The Montgomery county family of Smith here considered are of German descent and originally were Schmidt. They have been residents of the county since prior to the revolution. The emigrant ancestor came to America and Montgomery county at an early date, which cannot be given nor can his name. The family history begins with his son Jeremiah, see forward.
(II) Jeremiah Smith, son of the emigrant, was born near St. Johnsville, Montgomery county, New York, 1774, died in 1859. He learned the trade of a cooper, which he followed all his days. He was twice married, but there is no record of the names of his wives. Children:
- Eleanor, married Nicholas Kretser, a harnessmaker of Amsterdam, New York, where their son, Eli Kretser, has succeeded him in business.
- Jane, married Peter Allen, a farmer of Ephratah, Fulton county, New York; they had sons: Jeremiah, Emanuel, Ambrose, Hiram, Archibald and Clark; Archibald and Hiram are deceased (1909).
- Jeremiah, lived many years at Rockwood, New York, where he died, an old man, leaving a family.
- John, was a successful farmer of Fulton county, New York, where he died at the age of eighty; he married and reared a family.
- Emanuel, enlisted for three years in the Thirteenth Regiment, Heavy New York Artillery; served his term and was honorably discharged; married Susiana Campbell, who survives him with an only son, Peter, in Fairfield, Herkimer county, New York.
- Peter, a successful farmer of western New York; married and has sons: Asa, Cornwallis and John E.; Asa, the eldest son, served for over three years in the Union army during the civil war; was three times wounded and died two years after his return from the war; unmarried.
- David, see forward.
(III) David, son of Jeremiah Smith, was born in Montgomery county, New York, January 1, 1821. He followed farming until 1863, when he enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment, New York Heavy Artillery, Colonel Walsh's regiment; remained in service two years; received serious injuries for which later he was granted a pension. He returned to Fulton county, New York, where he was a farmer and also carried on a mason business until his death in 1907. He married in Ephratah, Fulton county, New York, Nancy Coole, born there in 1823, died March 19, 1907, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Baum) Coole, lifelong residents in the Mohawk Valley. She was a granddaughter of Philip Cool, a native of Holland, an early settler in the vicinity of Fonda, Montgomery county, where he was killed by the Indians, with part of his family, in 1804. Nancy (Coole) Smith had a sister Mary, widow of Jacob Welrath, who still survives, resident of Ephratah. She also had a brother and three other sisters of whom there is no record. Children of David and Nancy (Coole) Smith:
- Adam K., living (1909);
- Anna, deceased;
- Alice, deceased;
- Mary E., living;
- Aaron, deceased;
- Stephen, deceased;
- Ambrose, living;
- David J., see forward;
- Oscar, living;
- Magdalene and
- Worth, deceased, dying on the same day from scarlet fever;
of these children, Mary E. Smith married (1) Daniel D. Nellis; children:
- Leah, married Avery Smith, of Montgomery county, and has Ethelyn, aged twelve, and Alberta, aged seven.
- Raymond D., married Jessie Flanders, and lives on his farm at Palatine Church.
Mary E. (Smith) Nellis married (2) Alonzo Duesler; child: Effiner A.
(IV) David J., son of David and Nancy (Coole) Smith, was born in Ephratah, New York, July 31, 1864. He was reared a farmer and has always followed that business. He owns and cultivates a fine farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres in Minden that is being rapidly brought to a high state of cultivation. His native mechanical genius is turned to good account in his business, where so much machinery is now used. He is a member of the Universalist church, and supports the principles and candidates of the Democratic party. He married, in St. Johnsville, New York, Jennie M. Duesler, born in Oppenheim, Fulton county, New York, October 27, 1870, daughter of Menzo and Emma (Nellis) Duesler, both natives of Fulton county, parents of Jennie M., married David J. Smith; Frasier, died in infancy; Eva, born in 1880, married Howard Snell, a farmer of Oppenheim; Chauncey, born April 3, 1883, now of St. Johnsville; married Perly Failing. The Dueslers were of Dutch descent, their forbears being early settlers in the Mohawk Valley. Menzo Duesler died in 1897, aged fifty years; his widow, Emma (Nellis) Duesler, is still living (1909) on the old farm settled by her grandfather, Isaac Duesler, in the town of Oppenheim, where he died aged seventy-two. Children of David J. and Jennie M. (Duesler) Smith:
- Floyd, born September 13, 1890;
- Minnie M., March 8, 1892;
- Leah E., November 14 1893;
- Frieda E., October 6, 1895.