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Local figure

James Strudwick Smith

James Strudwick Smith (1787–1852) was an Orange County-born physician who practiced in Hillsborough, represented its district in Congress from 1817 to 1821, and later served in the legislature and the 1835 constitutional convention. His granddaughter Cornelia was the grandmother of Pauli Murray.

Source: NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Smith, James Strudwick

Also found in catalogs as James S. (James Strudwick) Smith.

1787–1852 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

2 works about James Strudwick Smith are indexed here, as is one work by Smith. 1 held at OCPL →

Search these 2 works Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineEagle Lodge and the Hillsborough Masonic Hall, 1788–18231788–1823 · 10 events · Eagle Lodge, silent since 1799, was revived at Hillsborough in 1819 and paid for its Masonic Hall with a lottery. Under a new number, 71, the lodge voted money toward a male academy in 1820, and from 1821 it ran a lottery, held over eleven years, to pay for a hall. In July 1823 commissioners advertised for proposals to build a brick hall, and the cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1823 at what is now 142 West King Street. The Greek Revival hall was designed by the state architect William Nichols and is believed built by John Berry and Samuel Hancock. The Grand Lodge restored the lodge's original number, 19, in 1932. StorylineOrange County and the 1835 constitutional convention, 1822–18351822–1835 · 11 events · Reforming the state constitution threatened Hillsborough's borough seat, the town's own member in the House of Commons, yet Orange pressed for reform. Toasts at Hillsborough in 1822 and 1823 said the constitution needed mending, and in 1823 a county meeting named four delegates, Thomas Ruffin among them, to a reform meeting at Raleigh; voters elected all four. In April 1835 Orange voted 1,648 to 111 for a convention, and Hillsborough itself voted 228 to 23 in favor. Candidates were pressed on the 32nd article, the religious test for office. At Raleigh, James S. Smith moved to abolish borough seats entirely and lost 61 to 67, but Hillsborough lost its member. Orange voters approved the amendments that November. StorylineThe Log Cabin campaign in Orange County, 1840–18411840–1841 · 11 events · In 1840 Orange County's Whigs and Democratic Republicans contested both the presidential race and the county's seats in the legislature. In August Orange elected Willie P. Mangum, William A. Graham and two other Whigs, with the Democratic Republican Cadwallader Jones Jr. taking the fourth seat, and the Recorder declared Orange a Whig county. In September Mangum and Democratic Senator Bedford Brown debated for two days at Hillsborough's Masonic Hall, and Chapel Hill held a Whig log cabin festival, though the University faculty asked the candidates not to speak there. In November the county gave Harrison a majority of 191 over Van Buren, and William A. Graham went on to the U.S. Senate. StorylineWhigs, Democrats and Know Nothings in Orange County, 1841–18591841–1859 · 16 events · Orange County's elections from 1841 to 1859 were often close, as Whigs, Democrats and for a time the Know Nothings contested the county. In 1841 Orange narrowly backed the Whig James S. Smith for Congress, though the Democrat Romulus M. Saunders won the district. In 1844 the county elected its whole Whig ticket and gave its own William A. Graham a majority for governor. A tied 1848 state Senate race, broken by the sheriff's casting vote, ended in a new election. Orange backed Graham's 1852 run for vice president, voted for the Know Nothing, or American, candidate for Congress in 1855 and went Democratic in 1856. In December 1859 a Whig and Opposition meeting denounced John Brown's raid. StorylineBuilding the Orange County courthouse, 1842–18461842–1846 · 7 events · Orange County's new courthouse at Hillsborough was disputed from the start, because western voters saw it as a move to fix the county seat and block a division of Orange. In February 1844 the county court voted to build instead of repairing the old courthouse and laid a tax of $8,000. The building commissioners let the contract privately to John Berry of Hillsborough without public notice, and western critics attacked the bargain. Masons laid the cornerstone that September, and Berry's Greek Revival temple-form building was standing by May 1845. The old wooden courthouse became a church, and by mid-July 1846 the repaired town clock was striking the hours from the new cupola. StorylineHarriet, Cornelia and the Smith household, 1844–18521844–1852 · 5 events · According to UNC Libraries' account, Harriet, whom James Strudwick Smith had bought in 1834 as a maid for his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith, was raped by his son Sidney and gave birth to Cornelia in 1844. Cornelia's granddaughter Pauli Murray told the story in Proud Shoes. In 1845, shielding his property from creditors, Smith passed most of the family's holdings to Mary Ruffin Smith, selling her Harriet and her children Julius and Cornelia, and offered property in the Hillsborough Recorder to cover his debts; NCpedia says he went bankrupt that year. The family moved to Price Creek Plantation, southwest of Chapel Hill, and Harriet and her children moved with them. Smith died on December 7, 1852.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 43 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

  1. The court orders a new bridge across the Eno at Hillsborough and levies a tax for it The court ordered a bridge built across the Eno at or near Hillsborough, named Dr. James Webb, James S. Smith, Thomas Clancy, Samuel Child and John Young a committee to contract for building it and keeping it in repair for seven years, with bond from the builder, and levied a tax of ninepence on each poll, each 100 pounds of town property and each 300 acres to pay for it. People: James Webb, James Strudwick Smith, Samuel Child Place: Eno River at Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas Clancy, John YoungSearch the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1814
  2. Hillsborough physician James S. Smith serves in Congress James Strudwick Smith, an Orange County-born physician who had studied medicine with Dr. James Webb of Hillsborough, represented the Hillsborough district in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1821. He was defeated when he sought a third term. People: James Webb Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Smith, James Strudwick
  3. Eagle Lodge runs a lottery to pay for its Masonic Hall Eagle Lodge held a lottery over eleven years and used the proceeds to build the Masonic Hall in Hillsborough, still in use in 1953. People: James Strudwick Smith Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Eagle LodgeSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 319
  4. Hillsborough elects Dr. James S. Smith its member of the House of Commons The borough of Hillsborough returned Dr. James S. Smith, the town physician and former congressman, as its member of the House of Commons. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 22, 1821, p. 2
  5. James Mebane of Orange is elected Speaker of the House of Commons On the fifth ballot, after Alfred Moore of Brunswick withdrew, the House of Commons chose James Mebane of Orange as its Speaker over James S. Smith of Hillsborough. People: James Mebane, James Strudwick Smith, Alfred Moore Place: State House, RaleighSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, November 28, 1821, p. 2
  6. The Orange County Agricultural Society is organized at Hillsborough A meeting at Hillsborough during superior court week organized an agricultural society for Orange County, with William Kirkland in the chair and John Taylor Jr. as secretary, adopted a constitution and offered premiums for the largest yields of corn, cotton, turnips and potatoes on reclaimed land; Duncan Cameron, James Mebane, William Norwood and Dr. James S. Smith formed its corresponding committee. People: William Kirkland, Duncan Cameron, James Mebane, William Norwood, James Strudwick Smith Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John Taylor Jr.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, March 27, 1822, p. 3
  7. An Orange County meeting declares the state constitution defective and names four delegates for the reform convention Delegates from the county's militia captains' districts met at the Hillsborough court house, resolved that the state constitution was defective and ought to be amended, and endorsed the Raleigh convention movement. They recommended Thomas Ruffin, Willie P. Mangum, James S. Smith and Michael Holt as Orange's delegates to the November meeting at Raleigh and asked the sheriff to open a poll for delegates at the next election. People: Thomas Ruffin, Willie P. Mangum, James Strudwick Smith, Duncan Cameron Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Michael HoltSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, June 11, 1823, p. 3
  8. James S. Smith's building commission starts Hillsborough's brick Masonic Hall In July 1823 commissioners James S. Smith, Thomas Clancy and J. P. Sneed advertised in the Hillsborough Recorder for proposals to build a brick Masonic Hall in the town. The cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1823, for the Greek Revival hall designed by William Nichols and built by local brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock. People: John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: Hillsborough, Masonic Hall (Eagle Lodge) · Also named: Thomas Clancy, J. P. SneedSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, July 23, 1823, p. 3 (To Bricklayers and Carpenters)
  9. Orange County voters elect Ruffin, Holt, Mangum and Smith delegates to the reform convention At the August election Orange County voters chose Thomas Ruffin, Michael Holt, Willie P. Mangum and James S. Smith as the county's delegates to the November convention meeting at Raleigh on amending the state constitution. The sheriff also took a separate vote for and against a convention. People: Thomas Ruffin, Willie P. Mangum, James Strudwick Smith Place: Orange County · Also named: Michael HoltSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 10, 1823, p. 3
  10. Orange citizens resolve to stop candidates from treating voters with liquor A meeting of Orange County citizens at the court house, with Dr. James S. Smith in the chair, declared that candidates' custom of treating voters with liquor was injurious to morality. It asked each militia captain to call his company together to choose two delegates to a convention at Hillsborough during the next county court to devise a plan against the practice. A first meeting on May 24 under Gen. Jehu Byrd had called it. People: James Strudwick Smith, John Wall Norwood Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Jehu ByrdSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 25, 1825, p. 3 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, June 15, 1825, p. 3
  11. The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina holds its convention in Hillsborough for the first time Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft, eight clergy and lay delegates from ten parishes met in Hillsborough in May 1826, gathering in the newly finished St. Matthew's Church, which was consecrated on the Sunday of the session. St. Matthew's sent Thomas Ruffin, William Norwood, Francis L. Hawks and James S. Smith as its delegates. People: John Stark Ravenscroft, William Mercer Green, Thomas Ruffin, William Norwood, Francis L. Hawks, James Strudwick Smith Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 25
  12. An Orange County meeting at the court house condemns nullification A county meeting that filled the Hillsborough court room, by one estimate three to four hundred people, adopted with one dissenting voice a resolution against nullification and for the Union. A second resolution calling the tariff unjust set off a debate among Patrick H. Winston, Willie P. Mangum, Dr. James S. Smith and Congressman Daniel L. Barringer that ended in a disputed count. People: Patrick Henry Winston, Willie P. Mangum, James Strudwick Smith Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Daniel L. BarringerSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 26, 1832, p. 3
Show all 42 dated events
  1. Hillsborough elects John Scott magistrate of police and seven town commissioners Hillsborough's annual town election chose John Scott magistrate of police and James S. Smith, John U. Kirkland, William H. Phillips, Hugh Waddell, William Nelson, George M. Johnston and Samuel Child commissioners for the year. People: James Strudwick Smith, John U. Kirkland, Hugh Waddell, William Nelson, George Johnston, Samuel Child Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John Scott, William H. PhillipsSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 8, 1833, p. 3
  2. Commissioners open a subscription book for the Bank of North Carolina in Hillsborough Commissioners named by the governor under the act establishing the Bank of North Carolina opened a book for stock subscriptions at William F. Strudwick & Co.'s store in Hillsborough, to stay open sixty days. The commissioners were James S. Smith, Frederick Nash, Alfred Moore, James Webb and William A. Graham. People: James Strudwick Smith, Frederick Nash, James Webb, William A. Graham Place: William F. Strudwick & Co.'s store, Hillsborough · Also named: Alfred Moore, William F. StrudwickSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 8, 1833, p. 3
  3. James Strudwick Smith buys Harriet, aged fifteen, as Mary Ruffin Smith's maid James Strudwick Smith bought Harriet, fifteen years old by the deed, from William Kell of Orange County to be his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith's maid. The family then lived in Hillsborough and enslaved about thirty people at a time. People: Mary Ruffin Smith, James Strudwick Smith Place: Hillsborough · Also named: William Kell, HarrietSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Pauli Murray and UNC, Smith family and early UNC connections
  4. Fire destroys Dr. James S. Smith's stable in Hillsborough Early on the morning of November 5, 1834, fire destroyed Dr. James S. Smith's stable in Hillsborough and some hay; a wind blowing the other way saved his house. The paper judged it the work of an arsonist and noted that George Laws's stable in town had burned in the same way one or two weeks before while his family was away. People: George Laws Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, November 5, 1834, p. 3
  5. A Hawfields muster meeting nominates convention candidates and demands their views on the religious test After a militia muster at David Mebane's in the Hawfields, a meeting chaired by Dr. James A. Craig nominated William Montgomery, James S. Smith and James Mebane for the constitutional convention, added Joseph Allison, and resolved to support no candidate who would not state his views on the 32nd article (the religious test for office) and on judges' salaries. People: William Montgomery, James Strudwick Smith, James Mebane, Joseph Allison, James A. Craig Place: David Mebane's, Hawfields, Orange County (now Alamance County) · Also named: David MebaneSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 15, 1835, p. 3
  6. Convention candidates James S. Smith and William Montgomery publish their platforms Dr. James S. Smith published an address to Orange voters favoring the end of borough representation, election of the governor by the people and biennial sessions, while opposing any change to the 32nd article; Dr. William Montgomery published his own opposition to striking out the 32nd article and to protecting judges' salaries. Both were elected delegates on May 21. People: James Strudwick Smith, William Montgomery Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 15, 1835, p. 3
  7. Orange County sends physicians William Montgomery and James S. Smith to the 1835 convention Ten men were put forward at meetings around the county, and the voters chose two physicians, William Montgomery and James S. Smith. Each sided with the majority that abolished borough seats, which cost Hillsborough its own member in the House of Commons. People: Thomas Ruffin, Frederick Nash, William Montgomery Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 86 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, May 29, 1835, p. 3
  8. James S. Smith of Orange moves to abolish borough seats at the 1835 convention At the state constitutional convention in Raleigh, James S. Smith, one of Orange County's two delegates with William Montgomery, moved on June 11, 1835, to abolish borough representation entirely; the motion failed 61 to 67. The convention's committee later recommended taking the House seat from Hillsborough, Halifax and Salisbury while keeping it for four other towns. People: William Montgomery Place: RaleighSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Journal of the Convention ... Which Assembled in the City of Raleigh, on the 4th of June, 1835
  9. Orange County supporters of Hugh L. White meet at the court house More than a hundred Orange County opponents of Martin Van Buren met at the Hillsborough court house during county court week, endorsed Hugh L. White for president, John Tyler for vice president and Edward B. Dudley for governor, and named James Mebane, Dr. Edmund Strudwick and Harrison Parker to meet Granville and Person delegates and choose a district elector. James S. Smith, Hugh Waddell and James Mebane spoke, and the meeting adjourned to the Wednesday of superior court week to name candidates for the legislature. People: James Strudwick Smith, Hugh Waddell, James Mebane, Edmund Strudwick, Dennis Heartt, Harrison Parker Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Edward B. DudleySearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 26, 1836, p. 3
  10. Commissioners call for bids to build a stone jail at Hillsborough James S. Smith, Cadwallader Jones and James Webb, acting as commissioners, asked builders for proposals for a two-story stone jail 45 feet long, showing the plan and specifications on request and taking bids until mid-March. People: James Strudwick Smith, Cadwallader Jones, James Webb Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 26, 1836, p. 3
  11. Maria L. Spear heads the Hillsborough Female Seminary When the Hillsborough Female Academy's session opened on January 14, 1839, it was under its principal, Miss Maria L. Spear, whose work over several years past, the trustees said, had met their highest expectations. Her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, taught music, drawing and painting. William M. Green's last announcement for the school had run in 1838. People: James Strudwick Smith, Cadwallader Jones, Hugh Waddell, William Mercer Green Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Maria L. SpearLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 136 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, February 14, 1839, p. 3
  12. Hillsborough counts about 787 people, 333 of them enslaved Reading the 1840 census against William Bailey's sketch map of the town in 1839, the Task Force counted about 787 people in the mapped households: 434 white, 333 enslaved and 20 free people of color. Dr. James Webb's household was the largest, and Dr. James S. Smith held the most people, 41. People: James Webb, James Strudwick Smith Place: HillsboroughBurwell School Historic Site Task Force: Antebellum Hillsborough, Slavery, and Enslaved and Free People of Color who Worked at the Burwell School, 1837-1857 (2019), p. 43
  13. Whig district convention at Red Mountain nominates Dr. James S. Smith as Harrison elector Whig delegates from Orange, Person and Granville met at Red Mountain and nominated Dr. James S. Smith of Hillsborough, who had served in Congress with Harrison and Tyler, as the district's elector for Harrison and Tyler, and asked him to canvass the whole district. Harrison Parker and Willie P. Mangum represented Orange; Dr. James L. Wortham of Granville chaired. People: James Strudwick Smith, Willie P. Mangum, Harrison Parker Place: Red Mountain, Orange County (later Rougemont, now Durham County) · Also named: James L. WorthamSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 14, 1840, p. 3
  14. Orange Whig convention nominates Willie P. Mangum and William A. Graham for the legislature Delegates from every captain's district met at the Masonic Hall in Hillsborough and nominated Willie P. Mangum for the state Senate and William A. Graham, Nathaniel I. King, Col. James Graham and Dr. Michael W. Holt for the House of Commons. The nominating committee also named Sheriff James C. Turrentine, but withdrew him after Hugh Waddell argued that ministerial officers should not depend on party politics. People: Willie P. Mangum, William A. Graham, Hugh Waddell, James Strudwick Smith, James C. Turrentine Place: Masonic Hall, Hillsborough · Also named: Nathaniel I. King, James Graham, Michael W. HoltSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 28, 1840, p. 3
  15. Willie P. Mangum and Bedford Brown debate for two days at the Masonic Hall in Hillsborough A Whig meeting at the Masonic Hall in Hillsborough turned into a two-day political debate when Senator Bedford Brown, a Democrat, asked to address the crowd. After Dr. James S. Smith opened, Brown and Willie P. Mangum spoke until dark on Tuesday and again through Wednesday, with Mangum closing a little before sundown. People: Willie P. Mangum, James Strudwick Smith Place: Masonic Hall, Hillsborough · Also named: Bedford BrownSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 17, 1840, p. 3
  16. Whigs hold a log cabin festival at Chapel Hill A large crowd of all parties gathered at the Whigs' log cabin in Chapel Hill to hear Dr. James S. Smith, the Harrison elector, speak for nearly two hours, then sat down to a dinner given by Whigs of the neighborhood, among them the Rev. William H. Merritt and William Barbee. Speaking resumed after dinner and went on until night, with former Governor Owen, Hugh McQueen, Maurice Waddell and William Albright. People: James Strudwick Smith, William Barbee Place: Whig log cabin, Chapel Hill · Also named: William H. Merritt, Hugh McQueen, Maurice Waddell, William AlbrightSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 24, 1840, p. 3
  17. Whig district convention at Hillsborough nominates Dr. James S. Smith for Congress, then waits for Wake Whig delegates from Orange and Person met in Hillsborough on March 12, 1841, with Michael Holt in the chair and Edwin A. Heartt as secretary, and nominated Dr. James S. Smith for Congress. Because Wake County had sent no delegates, Smith asked them to hold off, and the convention adjourned to March 27 and named a committee from Orange and Person to bring Wake in. People: James A. Craig Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Michael Holt, Edwin A. HearttSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, March 11, 1841, p. 3
  18. Congressional candidates Romulus M. Saunders and James S. Smith debate at Hillsborough The two candidates for Congress, Democrat Romulus M. Saunders and Whig James S. Smith, met at Hillsborough and addressed the voters. Saunders defended the subtreasury, attacked the banks and opposed dividing the public-land money among the states. People: Romulus M. (Romulus Mitchell) Saunders, James Strudwick Smith Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, April 22, 1841, p. 3
  19. Romulus M. Saunders wins the district's seat in Congress though Orange County favors James S. Smith In the special election for the Twenty-seventh Congress, Orange County gave the Whig James S. Smith 1,210 votes to 1,180 for the Democrat Romulus M. Saunders, with Smith carrying Hillsborough about 300 to 121 and Chapel Hill 130 to 60. Saunders won the Orange, Wake and Person district by 402 votes. People: Romulus M. (Romulus Mitchell) Saunders, James Strudwick Smith Place: Election precincts, Orange CountySearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 20, 1841, p. 2
  20. Hillsborough's female seminary engages Moses Ashley Curtis as superintendent The trustees of the Hillsborough female seminary, among them James S. Smith, Cadwallader Jones, William Cain, Hugh Waddell, Stephen Moore, Nathan Hooker and P. H. Mangum, engaged the Rev. M. A. Curtis as superintendent, kept the same women teachers, and set the next session to open on July 15. People: Moses Ashley Curtis, James Strudwick Smith, Cadwallader Jones, Hugh Waddell, Stephen Moore Place: Hillsborough · Also named: William Cain, Nathan Hooker, P. H. MangumHillsborough Recorder, June 24, 1841, p. 3
  21. Orange County Whigs meet at the Masonic Hall and nominate Henry Clay for president A Whig meeting at the Masonic Hall in Hillsborough, chaired by Dr. James S. Smith and addressed by Senators Willie P. Mangum and William A. Graham, nominated Henry Clay for president and Governor John M. Morehead for re-election. It refused to recognize President Tyler as a Whig and called for delegates from every captain's district to meet at Hillsborough at the May court to name the party's ticket for the General Assembly. People: James Strudwick Smith, Edmund Strudwick, Giles Mebane, Willie P. Mangum, William A. Graham, Henry Kollock Nash, Harrison Parker Place: Masonic Hall, Hillsborough · Also named: John M. MoreheadSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, November 25, 1841, p. 3
  22. Hillsborough Literary Association forms with Dennis Heartt as secretary A Literary Association was formed at a meeting in the Presbyterian session house in Hillsborough on the evening of January 20, 1842, after a preliminary meeting the night before, with Frederick Nash as president; James S. Smith, Cadwallader Jones and Robert Burwell as vice presidents; Dennis Heartt as secretary; and Walter A. Norwood as treasurer. Heartt, a charter member, had helped organize it. People: Dennis Heartt, Frederick Nash, Cadwallader Jones, Robert Armistead Burwell, James Strudwick Smith, Walter A. Norwood Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Robert Burwell · Also mentions: Presbyterian session houseSearch the index · DigitalNC: Wilmington Chronicle, February 9, 1842, page 2 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, January 27, 1842, p. 3
  23. Hillsborough citizens adopt an address urging voters to reject a central division of Orange County A meeting of Hillsborough citizens chaired by Thomas Clancy adopted an address 'To the Voters of Orange County' written by a committee of six Democrats and seven Whigs. It argued that a central division would still leave western voters across the Haw River from a court house, would double county taxes and require new court houses, jails, poorhouses, bridges and roads, and would cost the eastern half a senator. People: James Webb, James Strudwick Smith, Edmund Strudwick, John Wall Norwood Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas ClancyHillsborough Recorder, July 28, 1842, p. 3
  24. Harriet, enslaved by the Smith family in Hillsborough, gives birth to Cornelia after Sidney Smith rapes her Harriet, bought by James Strudwick Smith in 1834 as a maid for his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith, was raped by his son Sidney and gave birth to Cornelia in 1844, while the family's home was in Hillsborough. Cornelia's granddaughter Pauli Murray told the story in Proud Shoes. People: James Sidney Smith, James Strudwick Smith, Mary Ruffin Smith, Pauli Murray, Cornelia Smith Fitzgerald Place: Hillsborough · Also named: HarrietSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Pauli Murray and UNC, Smith family and early UNC connections
  25. Courthouse commissioners let the contract to John Berry The commissioners named by the county court to build the new courthouse, James S. Smith, Cadwallader Jones sen., Osmond F. Long, John U. Kirkland, Harrison Parker, William Murray, Edwin M. Holt and Michael W. Holt, let the contract privately to John Berry of Hillsborough without public notice. Western critics attacked the bargain in the paper through the spring. People: John Berry, James Strudwick Smith, Cadwallader Jones, John U. Kirkland, Harrison Parker Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Osmond F. Long, William Murray, Edwin M. Holt, Michael W. HoltSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 30, 1844, p. 3
  26. Eagle Lodge Masons lay the cornerstone of the new Orange County courthouse Masons of Eagle Lodge, with brethren from University Lodge, laid the cornerstone of the new courthouse in Hillsborough, with Dr. James S. Smith acting as deputy grand master. The Rev. William M. Green gave the oration in the old courthouse nearby. People: James Strudwick Smith, William Mercer Green Place: Orange County Courthouse, 104 East King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Eagle Lodge, University LodgeSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 12, 1844, p. 3 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, July 3, 1953, p. 3
  27. James Strudwick Smith sells Harriet, Julius and Cornelia to Mary Ruffin Smith Shielding his property from creditors, James Strudwick Smith passed most of the family's holdings to his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith, including Harriet and her children Julius and Cornelia, whom he sold to her in 1845. Cornelia had been born in 1844 after Sidney Smith raped Harriet. People: Mary Ruffin Smith, James Strudwick Smith, Cornelia Smith Fitzgerald Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Sidney Smith, Harriet, JuliusSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Pauli Murray and UNC, Smith family and early UNC connections
  28. The Smiths leave Hillsborough for Price Creek Plantation near Chapel Hill After Cornelia's birth the Smiths sold their Hillsborough house and moved to the more remote Price Creek Plantation, about 1,500 acres southwest of Chapel Hill, where building of the main house, Oakland, began in 1845. Harriet and her children moved with them. People: Mary Ruffin Smith, James Strudwick Smith Place: Price Creek Plantation · Also named: HarrietSearch the index · UNC Libraries: Pauli Murray and UNC, Smith family and early UNC connections
  29. James S. Smith offers his estate for sale to pay his debts In a notice dated August 19, 1845, in the Hillsborough Recorder, James S. Smith offered property he valued at not less than $35,000 to cover debts of $15,000 or $16,000, saying he would act as his own trustee and salesman. NCpedia says he went bankrupt that year and probably then moved from Hillsborough to a house on Smith Level Road outside Chapel Hill. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 21, 1845, p. 3
  30. James Strudwick Smith dies James Strudwick Smith died on December 7, 1852. His family lived out their lives at the Smith Level Road house outside Chapel Hill, and his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith later gave land to the University of North Carolina. People: Mary Ruffin Smith Place: Orange County · Also mentions: Smith Level RoadSearch the index · NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Smith, James Strudwick

After their death in 1852

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

  1. Mary Ruffin Smith dies and leaves the university a Chatham County plantation Smith, daughter of the Orange County doctor and congressman James S. Smith, left about 1,500 acres in Chatham County to the university to educate poor students, the Francis Jones Smith Fund. She left small bequests to people formerly enslaved in her household and most of her estate to the Episcopal Church, with Kemp Battle as executor. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Mary Ruffin Smith Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 344 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 21, 1885, p. 3

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as James Strudwick Smith, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Indexed works

Works about or by James Strudwick Smith. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

By James Strudwick Smith

James S. Smith account books, 1822-1839.

Smith, James S. (James Strudwick), 1787-1852 · 1822

Five account books kept by the physician James Strudwick Smith, 1787 to 1852, between 1822 and 1839, in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 2930-z. Topics include medical practice and its accounting in nineteenth century North Carolina, along with Hillsborough history and social life, so the volumes track a Hillsborough doctor's charges over nearly two decades.

UNC

About James Strudwick Smith

Miss Mary's Money

Jones, H. G. · 2014 · McFarland & Co.

H. G. Jones follows the fortune of Mary Ruffin Smith (1814-1885), the unmarried heiress whose Orange and Chatham County lands passed at her death to the University of North Carolina and the Episcopal Church. Chapters profile her grandfather Francis Jones, then trace the bequest through a quarrel among Episcopalians over Price Creek, the Chapel of the Cross and the university's buildings. A December 1885 New York Times report called the gift money; Jones shows it was land. Published by McFarland in 2014, 231 pages.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

✓ Held at OCPL NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State NCCU Durham Library of Congress Wake Forest Davidson Methodist CH Historical Society

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Records of enslaved people

8 records, 1830 to 1845, name James Strudwick Smith as a party to the sale, gift, trust or other transfer of enslaved people. Each record lists the people named in it, with their ages and family ties.

Search all records of enslaved people in Orange County →

Deeds

55 deeds, 1812 to 1849, in the county’s deed books name James Strudwick Smith as a party, from Mark Chilton’s published abstracts. Each links to the deed-book page at the Register of Deeds.

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Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

Records of the time

Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for James Strudwick Smith Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

Local help

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Search other catalogs and collections for this name. Results may include other people with the same name and have not been reviewed by the Friends.

Books about James Strudwick Smith

Books by James Strudwick Smith

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Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

Catalog searches use the Library of Congress name heading: Smith, James S. (James Strudwick), 1787-1852. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

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Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026