Henry Conkling Smith and Julia Vail Family, Precinct of Goshen, Orange County, New York

Henry Conkling Smith married Julia Vail May 9, 1783, at the First Presbyterian Church in Goshen, Orange County, New York. Caleb and Abigail Smith were Henry's parents and both living when he wed Julia Vail, daughter of Gilbert T. Vail and Hannah Arnot. 

Caleb Smith was a resident of Goshen Precinct, Orange County, New York. In his will probated June 18, 1784, Caleb named his eldest son Henry Conkling Smith to serve as an executor for his estate along with three others. He bequeathed land in Goshen to Henry Conkling Smith that he had purchased from Samuel Gale’s estate. He also stipulated that he wanted Henry to inherit building timber that had been cut and hewed from his pine and oak boards, so he would be able to build a house. Henry’s father also wanted him to get one third of the apples in his orchard too.

September 7, 1785, marked the birth of a son, Gilbert Smith, in Goshen, Orange County, New York. He married Penelope Caton, daughter of Elder John Caton and Deborah Barton in Romulus, Seneca County, New York.

Henry and Julia’s eldest daughter and my ancestor, Fanny Smith, born sometime between 1783 and 1790, married David Penny on November 14, 1805, in Orange County, New York. David Penny died September 15, 1860, at the Cortland County New York Poor House and was a widower at that date. The last date I could find Fanny (Smith) Penny in any document was a May 20, 1834, mortgage agreement with her husband and Samuel S. Seward of Florida, all of Orange County, New York [Mortgage Book 34, pages 289-292]. About 1839, the Penny family relocated to Virgil, Cortland County, New York.

A daughter, Christian Smith, also known as Christiana, was born about 1795 per the 1850 federal census for the town of Mount Hope, Orange County, New York.

Another daughter, Dolly Smith, was born about 1797. Dolly never married but she was well thought of in her community and had been a 50-year resident of Mount Hope, Orange County, New York.

A son, Caleb Smith, was born about 1799 in New York and died in 1870 at Vernon, Clinton County, Ohio. A Clinton County, Ohio Death Register recorded Caleb’s death date as June 10, 1870, and named his parents Henry C. Smith and Julia Smith.

Gilbert, Fannie, Christiana, Dolly, and Caleb Smith probably were all born in Goshen.

Henry Conkling Smith relocated the family to the Town of Deer Park, Orange County, New York by the time the 1800 federal census and 1800 New York State Tax Assessments were taken.

Elsa Smith was born about 1802 in Orange County, New York. The few facts I know about Elsey are based on the Mount Hope, Orange County, New York 1850 federal and 1855 New York State census. She was identified as Dolly Smith’s sister in the 1850 census.

Henry and Julia’s youngest daughter Harriet was born Dec. 28, 1804. She married Coe Conkling in 1828 and lived in Mount Hope, Orange County, New York.