Bird, Edward, 1772-1819

Thomas Smiley was born in modern Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in 1759, the son of John Smiley and Anne Stuart. John and Thomas Smiley served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and both saw action at the Battle of Long Island. In 1808, Thomas Smiley moved to White Deer Hole Valley, Pennsylvania (now White Deer), where he established the area's first Baptist congregation. He and his wife, Nancy Tucker (d. 1838), had at least one son, John (1783-1822). Thomas Smiley died in 1832.

From the guide to the Thomas Smiley letters, Smiley, Thomas letters, 1814, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)