Smith Ancestry – 3rd Generation: The Story of John Caleb Smith (1852-1940) and Deborah Emmeline Boutilier (1859-1940) – Part 1

The 1^st Generation of our Smith Ancestry in Canada is about Russell Cannon Smith (1920-1995) and Margaret Cecilia Mumford (1922-1998). The 2^nd Generation of the family history is about Ernest Milburn Smith (1894-1948) and Bridget “Bessie” Cannon (1891-1982). The following story looks at the 3^rd Generation - John Caleb Smith (1852-1940) and Deborah Emmeline Boutilier (1859-1940).

About John Caleb Smith (1852-1940)

John Caleb Smith was born on February 29, 1852, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His father, Caleb Nickerson Smith (1811-1893), was 41 and his mother, Mary Catherine Whynacht (1818-1900), was 33. John was baptized June 27, 1852 at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, French Village, Halifax. He was the 8th of 12 children - 7 boys and 5 girls.

John was a lumberman by trade. As his family tree shows, John was married twice and had 10 children of his own. He married Lydia Ann Boutilier and they had 2 children. After Lydia died, he married a second time to Deborah Emmeline Boutilier and they had 8 children together.

John Caleb Smith Family Tree

Lydia Ann was born on September 25, 1854, in Halifax. Her father, Joseph (Josie Joe) Boutilier (1827-1898), was 26 and her mother, Catherine Publicover (1824-1902), was 29. Lydia was one of 5 children – 3 girls and 2 boys. Sadly, her youngest brother and sister both died in 1880.

Lydia Ann Boutilier Family Tree

On April 3, 1877, when he was 25 years old, John married Lydia Ann Boutilier in St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Hackett’s Cove, Halifax. John and Lydia had two children during their brief marriage – Clement Seymour (1879-1926) and Herbert Isaiah (1881-1885), who died as an infant. Lydia Ann Boutilier died as a young mother (at the age of 26) on June 6, 1881, less than 3 months after Herbert was born. Apparently, she committed suicide and was buried in Halifax.

John Caleb Smith married Deborah Emmeline Boutilier in Tantallon, Halifax, Nova Scotia, on October 27, 1881, when he was 29 years old. Emmeline’s story is told in Smith Ancestry – 3^rd Generation: The Story of John Caleb Smith (1852-1940) and Deborah Emmeline Boutilier (1859-1940) – Part 2.

John Caleb Smith died on July 10, 1940, in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was buried at St. Margaret’s Anglican Cemetery in Tantallon, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Death Certificate (#28) indicates that he passed away of natural causes at the age of 88 years. His son Weldon Smith signed as informant.

John Caleb Smith - NS Death Certificate 1940