ramsei

Nathan Smiley (1797–1872)

16 Apr 1797 – 9 Mar 1872, born at Ireland

Christopher’s 4th great-grandfather · ancestor no. 100 · generation 7
Evidence: identity family compilation

Family

Life and evidence

The Irish orphan raised by the Amish. See Nathan Smiley - the Irish orphan.

  • Luthy (1973): born in Ireland 1797 to a British mother; came at four with his mother; “for reasons unexplained” placed in an Amish foster home in Somerset County, Pa.; joined the Amish; married twice; moved to Elkhart County 1841.
  • The Schrock Ramseyer Story (1986), p. 51: “a red headed Irish orphan deserted by his mother after immigrating from Ireland and coming to Philadelphia. An Amish family by the name of Troyer took him into their home and accepted him as a son. Nathan married first Anna Stutzman and second Margaret ?”
  • 2nd wife: Rebecca Margaret Miller (1810–1884), m. 1831 — Rebecca Smiley was probably named for her.
  • Buried at Elkhart Prairie Cemetery, Goshen — the same cemetery as D. D. and Maggie Miller a century later (coincidence of place).

Two independent accounts (Luthy 1973; family 1986) agree; no contemporary record yet.

This is not the Miller-side English-ancestor story — see English ancestor recollection (Miller side).

Where they lived

In their lifetime

Conflicts

  • 1986 tree names his wife (John’s mother) ‘Margaretha Miller’ — John’s obituary says Anna; Margaret/Rebecca Margaret Miller was his 2nd wife (m. 1831)

New records and accounts (2026-11-01)

  • 1823, first contemporary record: “Nathan Smiley” is on the list of taxable inhabitants of Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, alongside Stutzman, Nisly, Yoder, Hostetler, Lehman, Mishler, Weaver and Kauffman households and a John Conrad. See History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties (1884).
  • Foster family named: “Reared in the home of John Troyer”; his mother “an Englishwoman who had immigrated to Pennsylvania with her four year old son” (Mennonite Historical Bulletin, 2006; Mennonite Historical Bulletin 67 (2006) - cover note on John Smiley and Mary Conrad). It names his wife as Anna Miller, not Anna Stutzman: a conflict to resolve.
  • The 1841 scouting trip: Nathan was one of four men (with Preacher Joseph Miller, Daniel S. Miller and Joseph Speicher) who took a boat from Pittsburgh down the Ohio to Cairo and up the Mississippi to Burlington, Iowa, then walked through the country and chose “the Land of Goshen” (Forks Mennonite Church history, 1957; MHB 1968). The families moved in 1841.
  • In Elkhart County: “Nathan Smiley, of Elkhart prairie” was the first man known to grow clover there (about 1845) and the first treasurer of the county agricultural society (Twentieth Century History of Elkhart County, 1905).
  • A Scots-Irish Smiley family in Somerset County since 1780: Robert Smiley and his wife Rhoda Boyd (a former Indian captive) settled in Jenner Township; children Agnes, George, Sarah, John, James, Robert (1884 county history). Nothing ties Nathan to them, but they show Irish Smileys were already in the county. Worth testing against the orphan story.

Ship and Irish origin: no record found. There are no federal passenger lists before 1820; the Philadelphia 1800–1819 customs lists (published by Tepper, 1986) are lending-only online. An arrival around 1801 at age four with his mother would be in those if anywhere. Nothing yet names his Irish county or his mother.

Death notice, Herald of Truth (1872)

“On the 9th of May, on Elkhart Prairie, Elkhart Co., Ind., Nathan Smeiley, aged 74 years, 10 months, and 22 days. Sermon by Benjamin Schrock and Jacob Burkey.” So he died in May, not March, and was born about 17 June 1797. No birthplace given.

Research tasks

  • FamilySearch (free login): 1850 and 1860 census, Elkhart County, for Nathan Smiley’s stated birthplace; 1800 and 1810 census, Somerset County, for Smiley households and John Troyer task/human

  • Look for Troyer households in Somerset County 1800–1820 that took in a boy Nathan task/ai

  • Check 1850/1860/1870 censuses for birthplace Ireland task/ai

  • Obtain Luthy’s original 1973 article and his source task/human

Sources

Narratives and research

Open questions

  • Death: 9 May 1872 (Herald of Truth 1872 death notice) vs 9 Mar 1872 (vault); age 74 y 10 m 22 d implies birth c. 17 Jun 1797, not 16 Apr 1797
  • First wife: Anna Stutzman (family 1986, vault) vs Anna Miller (Mennonite Historical Bulletin 2006)
  • 1986 tree names his wife (John’s mother) ‘Margaretha Miller’ — John’s obituary says Anna; Margaret/Rebecca Margaret Miller was his 2nd wife (m. 1831)

Research log

  • undated: Two independent accounts (Luthy 1973; family 1986) agree; no contemporary record yet.:
  • 2026-11-01: History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton (1884): ‘Nathan Smiley’ in the 1823 taxable inhabitants of Conemaugh Twp., Somerset Co. (first contemporary record). Mennonite Historical Bulletin 2006: mother an Englishwoman who came to Pennsylvania with him aged four; reared by John Troyer; wife ‘Anna Miller’; sons John and Samuel. Forks Mennonite Church (1957) and MHB 1968: one of four scouts (with Joseph and Daniel S. Miller and Joseph Speicher) who went down the Ohio from Pittsburgh in 1841 seeking land, choosing Goshen. Twentieth Century History of Elkhart County (1905): of Elkhart Prairie, first known clover grower c.1845; first treasurer of the county agricultural society. Ship: no passenger list found; there are no federal arrival lists before 1820 and the published Philadelphia 1800–1819 lists (Tepper) are lending-only online
  • 2026-11-01: tested the Robert Smiley (1732–1810) × Rhoda Boyd (1748–1827) family of Jenner Twp., Somerset (1884 and 1906 county histories; Somerset Herald 17 Jul 1895; OGS 1991 library list): children Agnes, George, Sarah, John (1787–1839), James, Robert; no Nathan named. Jenner borders Conemaugh (Nathan, 1823). Verdict: unproven, unlikely as parent, possible as wider kin; tests listed in the Irish-orphan story note
  • 2026-11-01: Herald of Truth 1872 (archive.org heraldoftruth09unse): ‘On the 9th of May, on Elkhart Prairie, Elkhart Co., Ind., Nathan Smeiley, aged 74 years, 10 months, and 22 days. Sermon by Benjamin Schrock and Jacob Burkey.’ No birthplace or parents
  • 2026-11-01: Standard History of Elkhart County (1916) p. 85: first treasurer of the Elkhart County Agricultural Society (organized 1851). 1850/1860 census and Somerset 1800/1810 census are not in free full text online (FamilySearch, free login, needed)

Record compiled 31 October 2026.

About this research

Supporting documentation is linked throughout. This project is an exercise in AI-assisted research and development, and I haven’t manually verified every link or conclusion. All transcriptions and translations of Swiss parish records were made with AI, and their accuracy should be treated accordingly.

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