Ezekiel Smith (1751-1828) moved to Sterling, New York in 1770 before relocating to Waterloo, New Jersey (previously Andover Forge) in 1790. From this point, the family developed along two main branches: the Waterloo Smiths and the Mountain Smiths who left to settle in the Schooley's Mountain area of Mount Olive, also known as 'Smithtown' where they became successful farmers.
Ezekiel married Amey Johannah Mowry (1751-1819), and among their children was John P. Smith (1775-1859) who was married to Rachael Wallen (1770-1842). John and Rachael Smith had nine children: James, Samuel, Joseph, Anna, John and an unnamed stillborn twin, William, Nathan, and Peter. Joseph Smith (1800-1876) married Margaret Abel (1804-1884), and among their children was George A. Smith (1828-1903) who married Catherine Linabury (1830-1918). Catherine gave birth to eleven children during her lifetime: Sarah, Shaver, Joseph, Mary, John, Elizabeth, Barbra, George, Peter, Amzi, and an unnamed infant who died very young; in fact, of their eleven children only four lived past age four.
Ezekiel's great grandson, Amzi George Smith, hailed from the 'Mountain Smiths' and was born on May 28, 1877. Amzi farmed land that he owned in Mount Olive that was passed down through the family, and he married Emma Linabury Ort on December 14, 1899. Emma and Amzi had eight children together: Mabel, Frederick Peter, Russel Stanley, Howard William, Alice Maude, Leslie Amzi, Alden Harold, and Caroline Amanda.
Among Amzi and Emma Smith's children represented in these records is Howard William Smith (1907-1987), who was born in 1907. Howard found a career as a successful drilling rig operator, primarily locating well water for homeowners and businesses in the Hopatcong area. He grew up on Smithtown Road in Mount Olive in a house built by his grandfather, George Abel Smith. Howard developed a unique talent for locating water when he began his apprenticeship at age twenty, and started his own business in 1933 which he ran until retiring in the early 1980s. He met his future wife Hazel May Frutchy (1913-1983) while she was working at a restaurant near East Stroudsburg, and after their marriage they bought a home in Budd Lake. Howard and Hazel were community-oriented and frequently assisted local charities and organizations, in addition to Howard's contributions as Fire Chief for the volunteer fire company.
Although the paper records comprise twelve of the fourteen series, the bulk of the material consists of photographs, both individual prints and photo albums. The paper records were created by several generations of Smiths and include property deeds and mortgages, account books and receipts, correspondence, and ephemera. The collection also includes a number of educational, religious, and legal publications.
Photographs and scrapbooks cover several generations of family members and most include the names of individuals pictured, as well as dates. In addition to formal portraits, many images depict the Smith Family farm, and special events, such as a scrapbook assembled in honor of Amzi and Emma Smith's 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries.
The records are arranged into fourteen series: Property Records, Financial Records, Business Records, Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, Amzi Smith papers, George A. Smith papers, John Smith papers, Joseph Smith papers, Sylvanus L. Coleman papers, Elizabeth and William Ort papers, John N. Sharp papers, Publications, and Photographs. Publications are further divided into four sub-series: Children's Books, School Books, Legal Publications, and Religious Books.
The Photographs series is divided into two additional sub-series: Scrapbooks and Photographs by Family Members. When known, the container list notes the individuals pictured in each folder in alphabetical order (an itemized listing is also included in each respective container). Two folders labelled "Miscellaneous Photographs" require additional processing in order to identify the individuals pictured.
This collection is open for research under the conditions set forth in the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. All archival material should be handled with care and kept in its original order; notes may only be taken in pencil or with a computer, and food and drink are prohibited in the Reading Room. Records may be copied for scholarly or personal research using the edge scanner or a digital camera without flash; however, researchers must obtain copyright permission prior to publishing material from the collection.
The papers were donated by Caroline A. Smith in July 1997.
Smith Family Papers, 1834 - 1985, North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Processed by John J. Helle, SCILS Student Intern, and S. Christine Jochem, Archivist, 1999. Revised and encoded by Jeffrey V. Moy, Archivist, January 2023.