Consider Eliza Beebe: bearer of children, granddaughter of the American shipbuilder George Claghorn, born in Salem, and holder of a quintessential 19th-century American name—Eliza Beebe. Awesome. Hmm, maybe her mom was friends with Felicity Merriman….
At 17 Eliza married Channing Smith in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where Channing worked as a woolen dyer. Two years later, they lived in the vicinity of Blackstone, Massachusetts, and they stayed there until Eliza and Channing both died in 1878. That gives her over 50 years in one place—not bad.
Eliza started having babies at 18 and kept at it until she was 43. She seems to have had in the neighborhood of 13 children, including twins Henry and Hiram in 1846, though it’s hard to get an exact count at this distance in time, especially if you consider the possibility of infant mortality and miscarriages. However you look at it, she spent a lot of time pregnant.
Eliza’s fourth child was my 2nd great-grandfather James Arnold Smith.
Eliza Beebe (1805-1878)
. James Arnold Smith (1830-1894)
. . Bert Laraway Smith (1863-1922)
. . . Bert Laraway Smith Jr.
Eliza was the granddaughter of George Claghorn, master shipbuilder of the U.S.S. Constitution. Eliza pops up as a hastily typed aside in some applications for membership in the American Sons of the Revolution; for example, the photo above shows the application of Oscar Smith (my 2nd great-uncle), applying for membership by way of his father’s mother’s mother’s father, the aforementioned George Claghorn. Eliza is named in passing.
George Claghorn is one of my 5th great-grandfathers. (In theory I have 64 of these, but that far back in the past there might be some repeats, which would mean I have fewer than 64 of them.) Lots of George Claghorn’s papers are preserved in the National Archives; here’s a sample of his handwriting and signature.
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