When looking for James W Smith, it seems most presume his land was in Virginia (eventually West Virginia). It was said his “plantation” was near Harper’s Ferry, land given to him by his father’s family. However, the location of Harper’s Ferry is at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, is within sight of four states. Below is a summary of county searches in West Virginia, Virginia and finally, Maryland. James Smith was, and is a very common name, you even find several James W Smiths in the search area in the same era.
Mary officially met James after singing at St Mary’s Catholic Church on Endicott Street in Boston. Mary stated that the man who introduced them was Father McRoy, the pastor at St Mary’s. This information strongly suggests that James W Smith was Catholic, which in itself is a telling clue. Prior to 1852, in Virginia there were Catholic Churches only in the following Virginia towns- Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Petersburg, Lynchburg, Staunton, Winchester, and three in Richmond. The closest Catholic Church to Harper’s Ferry in Virginia was in Winchester, 34 miles southwest of Harper’s Ferry. However, to the east of Harper’s Ferry in Maryland, and specifically, is Frederick County, which had more than one Catholic community.
Maryland, founded by Lord Baltimore, brought Catholicism the the Colonies in the mid 17th century. Frederick County in addition to a small Catholic church had a Catholic girls school-St John Female Benevolent & Frederick Free School and for boys, the St John’s Literary Association. These two schools were created due to the advocacy of the local Jesuit priest, Father John McElroy. Father McElroy also led the effort to rebuild the local Catholic Church in Frederick-town, St John the Immaculate Catholic Church, which is still active. He was in Frederick, Maryland 1822-1845. He was moved to Georgetown in August 1845 and in May 1846 began a 10-month stint in the Mexican-American War. He moved to Boston and St Mary’s on Endicott Street in October 1847, where he was instrumental in founding Boston College. He would return to Frederick, Maryland in 1868 to retire at the Jesuit novitiate. Given the passage of time when Mary recounted the story, nearly fifty years later, exactly when and under what circumstances Mary met Father McElroy is not as important as the general likelihood that they they did meet, and his presence in Frederick County, Maryland, again suggests the potential location of James Smith’s property was Maryland not Virginia or today’s West Virginia.
This list of locations summarizes areas of inquiry. James did have a first wife, mother of his daughter Emma. He likely married her in Massachusetts but information on this marriage is yet unconfirmed.
