The Smith Families of Boone County, Missouri

WILLIAM SMITH, DECEASED.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

he subject of this sketch is the son of William and Nancy (Ellis) th. He is entitled to the distinction of being the first white child I in Boone county of parents who were married in this county, was born on the old Peter Ellis farm, August 18th, 1819. He le eldest of a family of seven boys and three girls. Remained with his parents until 1845, when he removed to the farm upon which he now resides, consisting of 300 acres, adjoining the old homestead. Was married December 19th, 1844, to Miss Mary A Hubbard, a native of Boone county, and daughter of Daniel Hubbard, one of the early pioneers. By this marriage they have had four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons are now living. Mr. Smith is a member of the New Salem Baptist church. He is largely interested in stock raising and has some choice high-grade cattle. His farm is finely improved. His three sons are all married. David H. is a merchant at Mexico, Missouri; Dr. William R. is located atCarrington station, Callaway county, and Thomas B. is a farmer and resides in this county.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

PETER E. SMITH, DECEASED.

Peter Ellis Smith was one among the oldest native born citizens of Boone county. His father, William Smith, came to Boone county in 1818. He married Nancy, eldest daughter of Peter Ellis, Sr., the progenitor of the Ellis family of Boone county. The subject of this sketch was born March 28th, 1821. He was the second son and second child of a family of seven sons and three daughters, five of whom are now living, all but one in Boone county. When five or six years old, his father moved to the farm now occupied by F. M.Smith. He remained on this farm until his marriage, February 26th, 1846. His first wife was Miss Nancy Moseley, daughter of William Moseley, of Boone county. Mr. Smith had a fine farm of 500 acres, situated seven miles northeast of Ashland and twelve miles southeast of Columbia. He was a successful breeder of thoroughbred cattle. Was a member of the Methodist church. Had four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom only one daughter is now living. The first wife having died in 1872, he was again married, July 26th, 1874, to Mrs. Lorinda J. Wheeler, daughter of John Crobarger, of St. Louis.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOHN E. SMITH.

John Ellis Smith is the son of William and Nancy (Ellis) Smith, who were among the first settlers of Boone county. The subject ot this sketch was born on the old Smith farm, in Boone county, October 15th, 1830. He was the fifth son and sixth child of a family of seven sons and three daughters. He was reared on the farm and educated at the common schools of the neighborhood. He lived on the home place until 1859, when he bought the farm, where he now lives, which contains 320 acres and is situated six miles northeast of jhlaiid. He is largely interesteiJ in agriculture and is an extensive eller in stock. He was married in Callaway county, October 9th, 856, to Miss Mary J. Boyd, daughter of Thomas Boyd, now a citizen TBenton county, Missouri. They had four sons, three of whom are mor, Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist church.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

FRANCIS M. SMITH.

Francis Marion Smith is the son of William Smith, a native ot'M(*rcer county, Kentucky. He came to St. Louis at an early day and to Boone county in 1818 with Peter Ellis, whose daughter he nmrried. He settled on a farm in the vicinity of Ashland, which he finally improved. Upon this farm the subject of this sketch was born February 18, 1840. Was raised on the farm and educated in the common schools of the neighborhood. Has had charge of the farm upon which he now lives since 18(54. Has always followed the occupation of farmer and a dealer in stock, principally cattle and mules. Mr. Smith was married in Audrain county, September 14, 1864, to Miss Hattie J. Pearson, daughter of Richmond Pearson. They have two sons. SmirtM.h has been a justice of the peace since 1880. He is*

'Zcl'ai-TuX aber of Dry Fork Baptist church; also of the Ancient Order ted Workmen.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WARREN A. SMITH.

Warren A. Smith was born in Boone county, Missouri, June 8th, 1837. He is a son of the late Capt. Wm. Smith, a sketch of whose life may be found in the biography of his youngest son. Fielding W. Smith. Capt. Smith was the father of nine children, five of whom are now living. The eldest son is in business in San Francisco, California; William, the next youngest, lives in St. Louis. Oliver, lives in Mexico, Missouri. He is the son-in-law of Elder James Barnes, whose biography may be found in this volume. Two sons. Fielding W., and the subject of this sketch, are citizens of Boone county. Warren A. Smith has spent most of his life on the farm. During the late war he was engaged in the mercantile business at Quincy, Illinois. Subsequent to this, from 1855 to 1859, he was engaged in the same business at Columbia, Missouri. He was married in 1863 to Miss Mary McKinney, daughter of John C. McKinney. They have three <5hildren. Mr. Smith purchased a portion of the Model Farm " in 1882, and has made many improvements since getting possession of his new home. His farm contains about one thousand acres. In his home place — the '* Model Farm " — he has about three hundred and forty acres. A large portion of his land* is in grass. He makes a specialty of short-horn cattle. Mr. Smith is a man of excellent taste and culture and delights in the beautiful as well as the useful. He is surrounded with almost every comfort a man could wish for. He is a farmer from choice, and takes the greatest pleasure in all that pertains to his chosen avocation. He is a member of the Methodist church at Everett, and contributes liberally to the support of the Gospel.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

FIELDING W. SMITH.

Boone county has been blessed by nature with almost every variety of soil from the richest and most sightly to the roughest and most romantic. Rich pasture land is not the rule, but there are many thousands of acres of blue grass not excelled on the continent. The subject of this sketch owns over 300 acres of grass land situated in one of the richest and most beautiful sections of country west of the Mississippi. That this is no exaggeration, one need but visit the farms in this section to be convinced. Mr. Smith is a practical farmer and delights in his avocation as much as it is possible for a man to delight in his business. He is the youngest son of Capt. William Smith, one of the earliest settlers of Boone county, a man of superior intelligence and sterling worth. He came to Boone county a poor man, but by industry, prudence and energy accumulated a fortune, bequeathing to his sons not only a handsome legacy but a thorough education. Capt. William Smith was a native of Madison county, Kentucky. He was born in 1794, and emigrated to Boone county in 1819. He was of Irish extraction and possessed many of the characteristics of that race. He was jovial and witty, and loved a joke for its own sake. Possessing a fair education and excellent judgment, his services were urgently sought for in public life, but with the single exception of representing his county once in the legislature, he steadfastly refused all offers of promotion. BLis colleagues in the legislature were Dr. Matt. Arnold and William Rowland. Claib. Jackson and Sterling Price were ako members of the same general assembly. The latter was speaker of the house. Captain Smith resided on a farm five miles west of Columbia from 1819 to 1862, removing in that year to the farm now occupied by his son Fielding W. Smith. Here he died in 1875, at the age of 81.. He was a man of sterling worth, moral, upright and dignified, commanding the esteem of all who knew him. Fielding W. Smith was born April 17, 1846. He was educated at the liijUissouri State University. He was married in 1867 to Miss Mattie A. Mc- Kinney, of Boone county, daughter of John C. McBanney. Their union has been blessed by four sons. Their model home is noted (bt and wide for generous hospitality dispensed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith to all who pass the portals of their happy, well-ordered home. Mr. Smith makes a specialty of breeding thoroughbred stock, especially Cots wold sheep and Hereford cattle. He owns the only herd of Hereford cattle in the county, and the second herd in the State. His fine bull, Dictator," number 1989, weighs 2,000pounds. He took the sweepstake premium at St. Louis in 1881; first premium at Eausas City in 1881, and the first prize at the Western National Fair at Lawrence, Kansas. Of this stock he has six females and two males. Three of his cows are imported from England. His herd is managed by W.J. Downing, an Englishman, from Hereford. He knows the name of every Hereford breeder in England and America and can tell the pedigree of every animal of the Hereford stock. Mr. Smith owns 900 acres of land, one-third of which is in blue grass. His farm is known as Greenwood." He is well supplied with all sorts of machinery, in fact there seems to be nothing wanting that heart could wish for. Mr. Smith is a member of the Baptist church at Walnut Grove. He is in the prime and vigor of young manhood, with, evidently, a bright future before him.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

SOLON E. SMITH.

David Smith, the father of Solon E. Smith, was born in Madison €county, Kentucky, in 1806, and came to Missouri in 1824, settling permanently in Cooper county. He was afterwards a soldier in the Blackhawk war, rendering substantial service in that campaign. He has succeeded well as a farmer and his old age (he is still living) has been crowned with quiet ease and contentment. He is a worthy and consistent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and a

Democrat in politics. David Smith is a brother of the late Capt. William Smith, of Boone county. He is the father of ten children, six ions and four daughters, all of whom are now living. Solon E., was born in Cooper county, Missouri, November 27, 1846, and came to Boone county in 1880. He purchased the Rollins farm " from R. L. Baker, consisting of 459 acres, situated in the blue grass region and splendidly adapted to stock raising. The farm is elegantly improved. The situation is most beautiful. The lawn extending south from the mansion nearly three hundred yards is set in grass and ornamented with all kinds of evergreens and native forest trees. The place was improved by the late John Rollins, son of Dr. Rollins and brother of May. James S. Rollins. It is part of the old Rollins homestead. The view from the mansion is distant and very impressive to all lovers of the sublime and beautiful in nature. Mr. Smith.is a bachelor. He has travelled a great deal, and being well posted on all the leading topics of the day, is a most entertaining companion. He is largely engaged in the stock business and deeply interested in his experiment, commenced in 1882, of breeding the Hereford cattle with the short horns.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ROBERT HUDSON SMITH.

Few business men have occupied so prominent a position before the people of Boone county as the subject of this sketch, and none, perhaps, have a number hold upon the confidence of the, public. He is the son of William and Elizabeth (Cress) Smith, originally of Millersburg, Bourbon county, Kentucky, where he was born May 17, 182K. He came with his parents to Callaway county, Missouri, in the spring of 1826, and settled near Millersburg. They resided in Callaway county until the fall of 1844, when they came to Boone and settled three miles north of Columbia, at what was known as Hannah's Mill on Hinkson creek, where, they remained until 1848, when Mr. Smith went to Santa Fe, taking with him a saw-mill, the first ever erected in that country. He remained there until 1850, when he came back to Boone county and located two miles south of Columbia > taking charge of the Reuben Black grist and saw mill, which he changed from a water-power to steam. He remained with this mill until 1855, when he went to the John Keene farm, three miles east of Columbia, on the Mexico road, where he built a steam mill which he operated until 1862, when he came to Columbia and bought the mill then under construction, paying the proprietor, Gaines C. Raney,. $10,000 for the property, which he completed, adding from time to time such new machinery as the increase of business demanded. Ho

sold the property in 1871 for $18,000, to Conley, Anderson & Guitar. The mill is now valued at $60,000. In the fall of 1871 Mr. Smith went to Bocheport, Missouri, and bought the old Stailey mill, which was blown up a few months later, killing A. J. Norris, the engiDeer, and badly injuring a man named Roberts. He at once rebuilt the mill, putting in new machinery and spring no expense in his efforts to repair the loss. In less than a year the new mill was in ashes. The cause of the fire was never known. Mr. Smith was, for the time being, financially ruined. He came to Columbia without a cent. The people, appreciating his active, earnest labors in the past, and feeling a generous sympathy for his losses, elected him collector of Boone county, which position he held for two years, at the same time conducting a livery stable and stock business at Columbia, which he continued to follow for four years after his term of office expired. He then bought a third interest in the Columbia mills, for which he paid $9,000. He remained with this firm for one year and a half, when he sold his interest to Anderson, Hubbard & Co. He now turned his entire attention to trading in stock and real estate, which he followed until April, 1882, when he became one of the proprietors of the Farmer's mill, Columbia, Missouri, saw and grist combined, situated in the northwestern part of town. Mr. Smith was married. May 25, 1843, to Martha A., daughter of Thomas and Patsey McCutchen. Mrs. Smith died in less than one year after their marriage. She was buried in the old Hinkson Creek church-yard. He was married to his second wife, Caroline, daughter of John and Mary (Williams) Cave, of Scott county, Kentucky, July 17, 1850. By this marriage they had two sons and one daughter, Andrew F., Thomas C. and Mary E., all of whom are dead. They were buried at the Columbia cemetery. Mr. Smith is still in vigorous health, and is as active and enterprising as when he first commenced his business career, years ago. In addition to the mill already mentioned, Mr. Smith owns a nice residence in Columbia, and a half interest in a farm of four hundred and forty-four acres, one-half mile north of Stephens' Store, Callaway county, Missouri. It is hardly proper to close this biographical sketch without making brief mention of the parents of Mr. R. H. Smith. His father, William Smith, was born September 11, 1787, and died July 17, 1860, at the age of seventy-two. He is buried in the Bonne Femme church-yard. His wife, Elizabeth, was born May 25, 1793, and is still living, having reached her ninetieth year. She is living with her son, G. W. Smith, in Callaway county.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WILLIAM ENOCH SMITH.

le subject of this sketch is the son of Benjamin F. and Polly A. Wilson) Smith, and was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, ember 6th, 1835. He lived in Kentucky until he was twenty-two J old, when he removed to Boone county, Missouri, in 1857. He )d at Providence on the Missouri river, April 16th, and remained at vicinity for two years, when he moved north of Columbia, near leon, ten miles south of Sturgeon, where he remained for eight I. L#having that neighborhood, he removed to a place six miles west of Columbia, where he remained for thirteen or fourteen. His next move was to Sturgeon. His occupation, up to this had been farming, shipping of stock and trading. Coming to;eon, he bought the Commercial hotel, opening house October 1880. Mr. Smith was educated in Kentucky, partly at common Is and partly by private tutors. He took no part in the war. as never married. Is a member of the Christian church, but gs to none of 'the lodges. He never held an office and has no cal aspirations whatever. His paternal grandfather was a native rgiuia, but one among the first to emigrate to Kentucky. He A surveyor. He settled where Mt. Sterling now stands, but 9 there was a white settler within sixty miles of his place. At ime he donated one hundred acres of land to a preacher as an ment to the minister to settle in his locality and preach for the

settlement. He had previously located one thousand acres for himBe for in those days, according to a special law of Virginia, the surreji was monarch of all he surveyed" — almost. Kentucky was thei portion of the Old Dominion, and to induce surveyors to go tot wilderness and run off the lauds, large grants were allowed them, wi the privilege of locating their lands wherever they liked best. Tl law induced a large number of young men to learn surveying, and practical knowledge of the art enabled many of them to lay the fou dation of a princely fortune in the wilds of Kentucky.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.