| Name |
Jacob Jake Smith [1] |
| Birth |
|
| Born |
Abt 1810
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA  [ 3]
|
| Gender |
Male |
| Harrisburg Band Plays |
8 Jun 1819
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA [ 4]
– Harrisburg Band Plays at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the 1st Capitol Building |
- This would make Jake Smith older than his approximate 1810 birthdate.
|
| Lincoln Cemetery Map |
Block C. Section 14. Plot #355 [5] |
| Residence |
1840
North Ward, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 3]
– 6 Free Colored Persons: Males - Under 10: 2; Males - 24 thru 35: 1; Females - 10 thru 23: 2. |
- Research People of Color in the neighborhood of Jacob Smith in Harrisburg in 1840 (according to the census):
Stephen Jefferson, Samuel Mars, Vincent Williams, Phoebe Johnston, George Olvis/Alvis (Alwais).
*Note: Jacob Smith is buried in George Olvis's Plot according to the Lincoln Cemetery Map for Block C and the physical location of his headstone today.
|
| Died |
27 Dec 1852
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 2, 6, 7, 8]
|
| Residence |
1875
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 9]
|
| Prominent Colored People |
4 Dec 1886
Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 1]
– -Nathans-Dorsey-Brown-Chester-Dorris-Smith-Hooper- |
| Race |
Black |
| Name |
Jacob Smith [2, 3, 6, 9] |
| Buried |
201 South 30th, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [ 2, 5, 6]
|
|
|
| Notes |
- Jacob "Jake" Smith's headstone is located next to the headstone of Albert & Franklin Smith "sons of W.R. & Mary Ann Smith." Buried in lot that is identified as being owned by George Alvis on the Lincoln Cemetery Plot Map (Block C. Section 14. Plot #355). Jacob Smith is identified as "The First and Only Leader of the Harrisburg Band."
My Notes:
Shakespeare Goes Black Cemetery:
“Nay nothing. All is said. His longing is now a stringless instrument.”
An epitaph rooted in Shakespeare’s King Richard II, may provide new insights into a contested and controversial 19th century interracial relationship between Thaddeus Stevens (The Great Commoner), and his “housekeeper” Lydia Hamilton Smith.
Jake Smith was born in 1810 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He had two sons, William and Isaac "Ike", with Lydia Hamilton Smith (Wife, Mother, Entrepreneur, abolitionist). Lydia left Jacob, with their older son, William around 1841. Purportedly returning to her mother's home in Gettysburg, she soon took a position in the household of a powerful White man that her family had known for years.
Lydia later became known as the confidante (and rumored paramour) of Thaddeus Stevens (congressman, radical abolitionist, lawyer, and entrepreneur).
Piecing together information from multiple south-central Pennsylvania newspapers, it would seem that Jake raised their son, Isaac "Ike" Smith, in Harrisburg for several years, and furthered his career as a musician by founding and leading the Harrisburg Brass Band.
Jacob was revered for his astounding musical talent, but also drew considerable respect as the proprietor of an esteemed Barber Shop. His prominence and respect as a barber. He owned one of the four best barbershops in Harrisburg, which were all owned by Black men in the 1840s.
Recent historical scholarship has suggested that many African American's used Barbershops as cover for Underground Railroad activity
Further research shoud look into his possible involvement in the Underground Railroad, and look into his relationships with other known operatives in Harrisburg: check to see if he was involved with King Bennett etc)
Jacob "Jake" Smith died on December 27, 1852, in his Harrisburg at the age of 42, and was buried in Lincoln Cemetery.
|
| Person ID |
I3344
|
| Family |
Lydia Hamilton O'Neill (Age 71 years)
b. 14 Feb 1813, Butler, Adams, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 14 Feb 1884, District Of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA (Age 71 years) |
| Children |
| | 1. Ike Isaac Smith (Age 48 years)
b. Abt 1836, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 7 Apr 1884, Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 48 years) [natural] |
| | 2. William Smith (Age 25 years)
b. 1835, Gettysburg, Adams, Pennsylvania, USA
d. 10 May 1860 (Age 25 years) [natural] |
|
| Last Modified |
1 Nov 2024 |
| Family ID |
F4355
|
