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Below is a family biography included in the Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania published in 1904 by T. S. Benham & Company and The Lewis Publishing Company; Elwood Roberts, Editor. These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary. Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more. There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.
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NEWBERRY ALLEN SMITH, who for many years was a highly respected citizen of Abington township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, was a native of the city of Philadelphia, born April 24, 1807. His paternal ancestors were English, and his maternal ancestors, the Keysers, were of an old German family which located in Germantown during the time of William Penn. The earlier generations of the Keyser family were prominently identified with the Society of Dunkards. His parents were Newberry and Sarah (Keyser) Smith, who were married in 1804, the former named having been a native of Burlington, New Jersey, and the latter of Germantown, Pennsylvania.
Newberry A. Smith obtained an excellent education in the schools of his native city, and the knowledge thus acquired thoroughly qualified him for a life of usefulness and activity. He was a prominent and successful wholesale merchant of Philadelphia, but retired from active business pursuits in 1864. From about 1853 until his death, October 25, 1877, a period of almost a quarter of a century, he was a resident of Abington township, and during those years he faithfully and conscientiously performed all the duties pertaining to good citizenship.
On March 8, 1832, Mr. Smith married Ann A. Gorgas, who was born May 30, 1813, a daughter of George and Rachel (Clemens) Gorgas, and three children were the issue of this marriage: 1. Sarah K., born November 29, 1832; she was united in marriage, June 11, 1862, to Edward Augustus Turpin, who was born in Powhattan county, Virginia, January 8, 1804, a son of Horatio and Mary Ann (Bancroft) Turpin, and a descendant of an old and prominent family who were connected in marriage relationship with some of the leading families of Virginia and the south. Mr. Turpin was a graduate of Translyania University, at Lexington, Kentucky, and read law in the office of his cousin, John J. Crittenden, who was secretary of state, at Washington, D. C. Mr. Turpin, however, did not practice law. During the administration of James Buchanan as president of the United States, he was appointed United States minister at Caracas, Venezuela, and served in that capacity during the administration of President Buchanan and part of that of President Lincoln. After a long and useful career Mr. Turpin died June 22, 1880. By his marriage with Sarah K. Smith he had born to him one daughter, Emma Smith Turpin, the date of the birth being December 17, 1864. His widow married, secondly, George Cockburn Harvey, who was born in 1815, in Bermuda, and for a number of years was a prominent merchant in Halifax, Nova Scotia. To this union there has no issue. 2. Emma Wayne, born June 13, 1837; she was united in marriage in 1856 to Edward C. Stockton, who died in 1863. They were the parents of two children: Newberry Allen Stockton, born October 22, 1859, who married Christine S. Hare, daughter of Charles W. and Mary Hare, in June, 1887, and their children are: Mary H., born September 3, 1888; Newberry Allen, born December 31, 1890; and Christine H., born June 3, 1897. The second child of Edward C. and Emma W. Stockton was Constance W., born in 1862, and died in 1864. 3. Anna W., born in 1840, died in infancy.
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This family biography is one of more than 1,000 biographies included in the Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania published in 1904 by T. S. Benham & Company and The Lewis Publishing Company. For the complete description, click here: Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
View additional Montgomery County, Pennsylvania family biographies here: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Biographies
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