Margaret Jane Smith ^{2 3 4 5 6}

   Other names for Margaret were Margaret E. Caldwell ⁸ and Mary Jane Smith.⁹

   FamilySearch ID: 9Q2F-YRZ.

  Noted events in her life were:

1. She has conflicting birth information of Abt 1818 and , , MO. ²

2. She has conflicting birth information of Abt 1820 and , , MO. ²

3. Margaret sold land on 4 Aug 1838 in , Cole, MO. ^{5 10} From the Ancestry.com Franklin County, Missouri surname board message posted by LeslieCollier97:

I have recently found a deed in Cole Co., MO, Deed Book C, p. 258. On 4 Aug 1838, newlyweds Samuel Beecher and wife Margaret Jane of Franklin Co., sold HER interest in a particular tract of Cole Co. land for $54 to James Miller (Jr.).

This share identifies Margaret Jane as one of "the three children of Jane (Miller) Smith, decd. - two of whom lived in Campbell Co., TN, and the third in Franklin Co., MO." That very interesting word-for-word phrase comes from the 1822 Letter of Administration in Cole Co. of James Miller (Sr.). It was his orginal land that is described in the Samuel and Mary Jane Beecher deed of 1838.

4. Census in 1840 in Saint John Twp., Franklin, MO. ¹¹ The 1840 census recorded Samuel Beicher with this household:
Males (born)
Under 5 (1836-1840) = 1 son William
30-39 (1801-1810) = 1 father Samuel
Females (born)
15-19 (1821-1825) = 1 wife Margaret

Next door in 1840 is Matthew Caldwell, 60 to 70 years old, who may be the guardian of Margaret (Smith) Beecher whose mother died when she was a young child, and her father then returned to Tennessee leaving Margaret in Frankln County where she was born.

5. Census in 1850 in District 31, Franklin, MO. ¹² Samuel Beecher, carpenter, 33, was living with wife Margaret, 30; William, 11; Sam, 8; James, 3; and Edward, 9 months old when the census was recorded on 5 Dec 1850. Samuel was born in Pennsylvania, everyone else in Missouri.

6. Census in 1860 in Boueff Twp., Franklin, MO. ² Samuel Beecher, farmer, 45, was living with wife Margaret, 42; William, 21; Adrian, 18; James, 13; Francis, 11; John L., 7; and Mary E, 3. Also in the home was Charles Matthias, 23, laborer, born in Germany. Everyone else was born in Missouri. Judging by the names and birthplaces of neighbors, they were living in a community with German roots. The post office was Dundee.

7. Census in 1870 in Washington, Franklin, MO. ¹³ The 1870 census recorded Samuel Beecher, 50, farmer, living with wife Margaret, 51; James M., 23, laborer; John L., 17; Lizzey, 13; and Chas. L. Kingsley, 20, laborer. Samuel was born in Maryland, everyone else in Missouri except Chas. in Virginia. Samuel's real estate was worth $10,000 and personal estate $5,000. The post office was Washington, MO.

Margaret married Samuel Beecher, son of William Beecher and Elisabeth M. Herr, on 29 Mar 1838 in , Franklin, MO.¹ (Samuel Beecher was born on 29 Mar 1816 in Hagerstown, Washington, MD ^{14 15 16}, christened on 25 Aug 1816 in Hagerstown: Zion Reformed Church, Washington, MD,^{8 14 16} died on 31 Aug 1889 in Chicago, Cook, IL ^{15 17 18 19} and was buried in Pottstown: Edgewood Cemetery, Montgomery, PA ^{15 17}.)

  Marriage Notes:

They were married by James G. Rule, M.G.