The Smith Families of Ray County, Missouri

The subject of this sketch was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in the year 1792. He was married in his native state in 1819, to Miss Jane Close, daughter of Joseph and Susan Close, natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Smith was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, October 20, 1802. During the war of 1812, Mr. Smith served in the North Carolina militia. He emigrated to Missouri and settled in Ray county in the year 1838, and engaged in farming and stock raising. Mr. and Mrs. Smith became the parents of the following named children: John Calvin, Joseph Addison, Susan Ann, William Washington and Margaret E. J. Mr. Smith was an elder in the O. S. Presbyterian Church for many years. He died in September, 1869. He was a highly respected citizen, and a devout and active Christian. Mrs. Smith is yet living on the old homestead.

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

JOSEPH A. SMITH.

Joseph Addison Smith was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, September 23, 1822. His parents removed to Ray county, Missouri, in 1838, settling within two miles of where Mr. Smith now resides. Here our subject lived, occupied with duties on his father's farm, until 1846, when he enlisted in company C, ist Missouri cavalry, under Col. A. W. Doniphan, for the war with Mexico. From Leavenworth, Kansas, the ist Missouri marched to Santa Fe, and thence across the Rio Grande river into Mexico. Mr. Smith served twelve months, and was discharged at the old Mexican town of Monterey. He participated in the battles of Brazito (near El Paso, New Mexico,) Sacramento, marched to Chihuahua, and thence to Monterey, where he was detailed to the care of the sick, and remained while his regiment marched on, to be discharged at New Orleans. After the war, Mr. Smith returned to this county, and commenced improving a farm on the open prairie, which at that time was not settled and hardly thought to be habitable, building a small log cabin where his residence now stands. His friends wondered at his going so far away on the prairie, and ridiculed the idea of improving a farm in that wild and untried region. But he was not dissuaded from his purpose, and in time made those lands, that were regarded with so much disfavor then, to "blossom as the rose." But this was not a speedy transformation. There were long years of labor and cultivation before the place assumed its present prosperous and thrifty appearance and condition. For years his lone cabin, standing in bold relief on a high ridge, served as a guide and a landmark for travelers crossing the prairies. Mr. Smith was married in Grundy county, Missouri, December 18, 1849, to Miss Catherine Miller, by Reverend William McCameron. Mrs. Smith is the daughter of Judge Jesse and Mercy Ann Miller. She was born in Franklin county, Ohio, January 12, 1832, and came to Missouri, with her parents, at the age of eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have eleven children, viz: Joseph C, born October 2, 1851; William W., born November 1, 1853; Nora J., born October 23, 1855; James A., born November 15, 1857; Victoria, born January 8, 1860; Maggie S., born March 16, 1862; Clement L. V., born August 4, 1864; Stephen D., born January 1, 1867; Angie S., born March 20, 1869; David C, born August 24, 1871; Mary M., born October 16, 1874. Mr. Smith owns 955 acres of excellent land, 700 acres of prairie land, enclosed by good, substantial fences, and in a high state of cultivation, with a large, thrifty orchard, bearing abundantly many of the best varieties of fruit. His residence, a large, handsome brick structure, is situated upon a high, rolling plateau, commanding a view of the towns of Lawson and Vibbard, with the surrounding country for miles away. He also has good, room, well-arranged convenient barns, sheds, and granaries, for the shelter of stock, feed, grain, and farming implements. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Old School Presbyterian Church, at Lawson. He has been an elder and an active, leading member of that church for eighteen years. When Mr. Smith first came to this county there was an abundance of deer and other game here, and in his youth he was a great hunter, and had many interesting experiences in the chase. Joseph A. Smith is one of the most highly respected and prominent citizens of the county.

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

W. W. SMITH.

William W. Smith was born May 5, 1827, in Guilford county, North Carolina. He is the son of Jedediah and Jane (Close) Smith, natives of North Carolina. In 1838 William, in company with his parents, removed to Ray county, Missouri, and settled near where he now resides. In 1845 our subject returned to Tennessee, and finished his education at Mount Pleasant College, Murray county, after which he came back to this county, and in 1850, went, with a party of neighboring young ment to California. They made the trip with mule teams, and were on the road from the loth of April until the 6th day of July, following. They mined while, and kept a provision store for a time, and withal made it pay pretty well. After staying in California one year, Mr. Smith sailed from San Francisco by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New Orleans, for home, which he reached in the spring of 1851, and has lived here ever since, engaged in trading, farming and stock raising. He owns two thousand acres of excellent land, the greater part of which is in cultivation. He has one thousand acres in the home place, which is handsomely improved by a fine, large dwelling house of fourteen rooms, well furnished and comfortably and conveniently arranged. He also has good barns and other buildings, for the accommodation of stock and the shelter of the products of his broad and fertile acres. His is one of the largest, best appointed and valuable farms in Ray county. Mr. Smith was married in this county, May 5, 1857, to Miss Sallie E. Miles, daughter of John N. and Margaret Miles, natives of Kentucky. She was born in Lawrenceburg, Anderson county, Kentucky, October 3, 1839. They became the parents of nine children, viz.: Thomas C, born April 17, 1858; Emma A., born November 24, 1859; Margaret J., born April 13, 1862; Robert A. L., born January 24, 1864; Miles W., born March 18, 1866; Susan K., born March 30, 1868; Annie J., born March 24, 1870; Sarah E., born August 17, 1872; Ella, born January 16, 1875. Mr. Smith and his wife are leading members of the Old School Presbyterian Church, and he also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, (Bee-Hive Lodge No. 393.) He has always been the friend of education and religion, an active supporter of schools and churches, a public spirited and valuable citizen, and his dealing and intercourse with his fellow men have always been characterized by just and honorable department, and he enjoys the confidence, respect and esteem of all.

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

PEYTON T. SMITH.

Peyton T. Smith, a native of Missouri, was born in St. Charles county, May 3, 1820. His parents, James W. and Lucy H., about the year lS'2-i, removed with their infant son, Peyton, to this county, locating about seven miles southwest of Richmond, on what is known as Rollins' Branch. Nearly two years later they again removed to the farm now owned and occupied by the subject of this sketch. Here, in later years, the elder Mr. Smith, assisted by his son, operated a tannery in connection with the farm. Peyton T. Smith was married January 19, 1843, to Miss Lucy H. Bates, a native of Virginia. The marriage ceremony was performed near where they now reside, by the Rev. Zachariah Quesenberry. This union was blessed by the birth of six children, five of whom still live. The other, born March 3, 1847, died in infancy. The names of the surviving children, with dates of birth, are as follows, viz: Cleopatra 3., born May 19, 1814; James W., born May 7, 1848; Mary S., born April 21, 1850; Nancy F., born May 22, 1852. Although Mr. Smith has met with severe reverses in business, great destruction and loss of property by fire, at different times during life, his well known industry and close attention to business, and his indomitable pluck in battling against adversity, have won for him an enviable position among his neighbors. He owns a highly improved farm of 172 acres. One hundred and sixty acres of it, comprising pasture lands, orchard and tillable fields, are in a high state of cultivation, well watered and stocked. Mr. Smith, despite the obstacles he has been obliged to combat, is to-day a successful business man, and as an evidence of the esteem in which he is held as a financier, he has been successively elected to the responsible position of director in the Ray County Savings Bank.

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

H. C. SMITH.

Henry Clay Smith is a native of Kentucky, born in Woodford county, on the lath day of October, 1820. His father emigrated from Maryland to Kentucky at an early day. He died soon after the birth of our subject, leaving his widow, with seven young children, in very straitened circumstances. Henry's advantages for obtaining an education were, in consequence of his father's death and the family's poverty, quite limited. He remained with his mother, working for the common support of the family, until his twenty-first year, when the whole family removed to Ray county, Missouri, and stopped for about a year on a farm near Richmond. This was in 1841. In 1842 Mr. Smith and his brother, B. F., bought a tract of land near the town of Millville. This land was in a wild state, covered with dense forest and underbrush. # By their indomitable industry the brothers cleared and improved this place, and made a living for themselves and their mother's family. They continued to clear and improve the place until, in 1849, Henry bought out the interest of his brother, and thus gained entire control of the place. His mother continued to reside with him until her death, which occurred in 1859. Mr. Smith was married in the autumn of 1870 to Miss Cynthia A. Smith, daughter of Peyton T. Smith, a prominent farmer of Ray county. Though their names were the same, they are not in anyway related to one another by ties of consanguinity. Two children were born of this union: Nora Belle and Lucy Rachel. Mr. Smith still resides on the farm which himself and brother improved. He has added to it from time to time until it now comprises some four hundred and forty acres. His residence, a large and handsome frame building, occupies a conspicuous location near the point where the Richmond, Russellville, Millville, and Tinney's Point roads intersect one another. Since the war Mr. Smith has turned his attention mostly to the raising of stock. Mrs. Smith is a member of the Millville M. E. Church. Mr. Smith is a self-made man, and one of the most prosperous and successful farmers in the county.

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

WILLIAM J. SMITH.

This gentleman was born in Carroll county, Missouri, on the loth day of September, 1829. His grandfather, on the material side, Mr. Barnes was a native of Germany, who settled, at an early day, in Boonslick, Virginia, and lived there during the war of American independence. Mr. Barnes was the brother-in-law of Daniel Boone, the great Kentucky pioneer. The father of the subject of this sketch, George Smith, was a farmer of Carroll county, Missouri. He was accidentally drowned while on a bee hunt in Livingston county. William J. Smith was educated in the schools of his native county, and at the age of twenty-one years commenced teaming in the town of Dewitt, and followed that business for ten years. In September, 1850, he was married to Miss Minerva Smith, daughter of Mr. Moses Smith, of Carroll county. Though this lady had the same name, she was not connected by blood relationship to Mr. Smith. He removed to Tarrant county, Texas, in the autumn of 1853, and farmer there for about four years, and then came back to Dewitt. Soon after his return, in 1858, his wife died, and he was married again to Mrs. N. A. Adkins, a widow. Mr. Smith is the father of four children, whose mother was his first wife. Three of them are living and married. Six months after his second marriage, Mr. Smith removed to Ray county, and bought the farm upon which he lives. It now includes two hundred and twenty-seven acres of rich and productive land. Mr. Smith's favorite occupation is dealing in live stock, but his health has been so poor of late, as to prevent his engaging in that business. He is a successful farmer and a sharp, shrewd and experienced trade. He is also a good neighbor and a valuable citizen.

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

JAMES W. SMITH, M. D.

James W. Smith is a native of Ray county, Missouri, and was born May 7, 1848. His literary training was acquired at Richmond College, Richmond, Missouri. In 1869 he entered the drug store of Taylor & Donaldson, where he remained as clerk (at the same time studying medicine) till the fall of 1872. As medical student, Doctor Geo. W. Buchanan, of Richmond, was his preceptor till he entered the St. Louis Medical College, from which he graduated in the spring of 1874. After graduating he entered upon the practice of his profession at Orrick, Ray county. In the spring of 1876 he returned to Richmond, and formed a partnership with Doctor J. D. Taylor, buying also an interest in the drug store of Taylor & Ringo. He continued the practice of medicine and a druggist and pharmacist, in connection with Doctor Taylor, under the firm name of Taylor & Smith, until March 1, 1881, when they dissolved, W. C. Patton, Esq., purchasing the interest of Doctor Taylor in the drug store, while Doctor Smith retained his interest therein, and continues the practice of medicine alone. Doctor Srrfith is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, as is his wife, an accomplished lady, nee Mary V. Bates, a native of Ray county, to whom he was married December 14, 1876. He is also a member of Richmond Lodge A. F. & A. M. He is a successful practitioner, a genial gentleman, and useful citizen, and as such is highly respected and esteemed.

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