Eliza Smith
ID # 1317, (1824-1909)
| Birth | Eliza Smith was born on 30 June 1824. |
| Marriage | She married James Vrooman, son of Arents Schuyler Depeyster Vrooman and Mary Douglas, in 1840. The 1861 census shows James and Eliza in Garafraxa Township. The form tells that they were married in 1840. Considering that their so far known first born came along in approximately 1842, this is probably correct. They were almost certainly married in the Gore District, but the known and available Gore District Marriage Register begins in 1843. (It is believed a previous one existed, but that it is lost to us.) |
| Death | She died on 2 January 1909 at Excelsior Twp., Kalkaska County, Michigan, at age 84. |
| Burial | She was buried on 5 January 1909. |
| Note | Eliza Smith Vrooman was the daughter of Samuel Wilson Cowden Smith of Beverly Township. Her name, Eliza Vrooman, shown as his daughter, is stated in the will of S.W.C. Smith, dated 26 July, 1870. The preamble to the will as it appears in the M register, Wentworth County, (see page 188, microfilm GS2, reel 227) states that Samuel died on or about 30 July, 1870. This agrees with Samuel's death registration in Beverly. Samuel was said to have been born in Vermont. The informant was Christ. M. Smith. The will refers to Christopher Milo Smith. He was the main beneficiary of Samuel's property. (Samuel's will also names his wife Jane. She will be his second wife - possibly his third.) We also find a statement of Eliza's maiden name in the marriage registration in 1902 in Kalkaska County, Michigan, of son Stephen Vrooman. He shows his father's name as James Vrooman and his mother's name as Eliza Smith. Interestingly, we find Stephen with his mother Eliza, age 75, in Ensley, Newaygo County, in the 1900 census. The 1861 census in Beverly shows Samuel Smith and his wife with son Christopher. A separate listing in Beverly shows a Milo Smith. It is evident from the will that Samuel's son Christopher had the middle name of Milo and the 1861 census in Garafraxa shows James and Eliza with a son Mylo Christopher Vrooman. The Milo Smith in Beverly, with wife Leny, must surely be the Milo Smith who married Leny Main in 1838 at First Presbyterian Church in Galt. George Main was a witness and, likely, he, George, was Leny's brother. It seems reasonable that there is a connection between Milo Smith and Christopher Milo Smith, but the exact nature of it is unknown to us. Finding evidence that Samuel W.C. Smith was the father of Eliza Smith Vrooman wasn't difficult. From entirely third hand information, it appears that Samuel's first wife was Elizabeth Bamberger, or Bomberger. (Information that Samuel Wilson Cowden Smith was at some point married to Amelia, or Adelia, Benedict is incorrect. Adelia appears elswhere in this tree. She was married to a Samuel Smith who died in 1838. Adelia and Samuel are buried in St. George Cemetery in South Dumfries Township.) Eliza Smith Vrooman is with her husband James in the 1851 census in Garafraxa Township in Wellington County. Their oldest son is shown as 'Erent', age 10. This would place their marriage to approximately 1840 or 41 and would predate the move of the Vroomans from Beverly to Garafraxa in 1842. In 1861, they are still in Garafraxa Township. Their oldest son is shown as Shyler instead of Erent. Both are likely correct, spelling variation excepted. James died in 1868. Eliza is still present in Garafraxa in the 1871 census, but is shown as a widow. Beginning in the late 1850s, some of Arent Schuyler Depeyster Vrooman's family began a migration to Newaygo County in Michigan. At least some of James and Eliza's children went as well, though probably not until rather later. There is a marriage registration for James Pettit, son of Isaac Pettit and Mercy Vrooman, in Newaygo County and dated 1877. One of the witnesses is Eliza Vrooman. This may not be Eliza Smith, the wife of James Vrooman, but another candidate of the same name has not been found and so this person is likely her. Certainly, at some point in this era Eliza was present in Newaygo County, for she met John Probasco, a widower who had been residing in Newaygo, and whom she married in Nebraska in 1879. A transcription of a marriage record (familysearch.org) has been found and reads as follows: John Probasco, born New Jersey, parents Jacob Probasco and Mary Shay, married on 11 June, 1879, in Buffalo County, Eliza Vroman, born 1826 in Canada. The bride's age is shown as 53. Her parents' names are not shown. Then in the 1880 census in Upper Loup Precinct, Sherman County (adjacent to Buffalo County), Nebraska, we find enumerated: John Probasco, age 56, blacksmith, born New Jersey and both parents born New Jersey; Eliza Probasco, age 56, wife, born Canada and both parents shown as born Canada; Stephen 'Browman', age 14, step-son, born Canada and both parents born Canada. As noted above, John Probasco was resident in Newaygo County, Michigan. He appears in the US censuses of 1860 and 1870. His wife was Rosanah. According to an inscription on a gravestone in Christian Plains Cemetery in Newaygo, Rosanah, wife of John Probasco, born June 22, 1814, died on June 6, 1873. Where or when John Probasco died is unknown. One thing we may say with certainty, Eliza's son Emmerson Vrooman was in Ensley, Newaygo County, with his paternal aunt, Lucinda Vrooman and her husband Peter Drake. Emmerson was not the only child of Eliza to remove to Newaygo County, but his presence there was likely of at least a few years duration. It is evident from the 1900 census at Ensley, Newaygo Co., Michigan, that Eliza was with Stephen and apparently remained so. She is not shown as Probasco in the 1900 census, but as Vrooman. The 1880 information that both Eliza's parents were born in Canada is not correct. Of further note, when son Stephen Vrooman died in Ionia County, Michigan, in 1916, the informant was Jacob Bechold. We find a marriage for Jacob Bechold and Mary Vroman in 1890 in Ionia, Michigan. Again, parentage is not provided, but it seems likely that Mary Vroman Bechold was the sister of Stephen Vrooman. Her date of arrival in the United States is shown as 1878. It appears that not long after the 1900 census at Ensley, Eliza and son Stephen went to Kalkaska County and settled in or near Excelsior Township. Stephen married in Kalkaska in 1902 to Minnie Cottrell. Minnie died in 1905. Stephen survived until 1916. Meanwhile, in Kalkaska County, we find the following death certificate (image from familysearch.com): Death certificate nbr. 1 Kalkaska County, Excelsior Township. Eliza Vrooman died January 2, 1909, date of birth June 30, 1824, age 84 yrs., 6 mos., 2 dys. Widowed. Parent of 10 children of which 9 (or 7 - writing difficult) are living. Born Canada. Father 'Milo' Smith, born Canada. Mother unknown. Informant Fred Vrooman, Kalkaska. Buried Jan. 5, 1909. Place of burial (writing faded) Mosley (or Morley). (This cemetery has not been found.) Who Fred Vrooman may be has not been sorted out. Some evidence has been found that there was a John Vrooman living in Kalkaska, Exelsior Township, between 1900 and 1910, but no Vrooman has been found there in either the 1900 or 1910 censuses. It seems reasonable that this was Eliza's son John, but no definitive evidence has so far been found. That Eliza Vrooman of this death registration was the daughter of Samuel Wilson Cowden Smith is reasonable. The year of birth is approximately correct. Ten children have been found for Eliza and her husband James Vrooman. Eliza had a brother Milo and this would appear to account for the confusion on her death registration. An argument might be made that Eliza was the daughter of Milo Smith of Beverly, the husband of Ellen (or Leny) Main, sister of George Main Sr. Looking at her father's will, however, not to mention the names of her children, some of which are obviously named after her siblings, we must believe that Fred Vrooman in Kalkaska in 1909 made a mistake when he named Eliza's father as Milo. A further note: James and Eliza named a son Albert, and for some time it was thought by your researcher that the child was named after Albert Kellogg Smith, apparent brother to Eliza. This, it may now be said, is almost certainly not the case. Albert Kellogg Smith was the son of Samuel Smith who died in 1838 and is buried in St. George Cemetery. The argument for this is to be found under Albert's name. |
Children of Eliza Smith and James Vrooman |
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| Last Edited | 21 May 2020 |