The Smith Families of Wayne County, Ohio

DAVID N. SMITH is a son of James and Keziah (McCullough) Smith, natives of Washington County, Penn., who came to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1820, and entered a quarter section and a one-half section of land near Jackson, in Canaan Township. The lather of James Smith, a native of Ireland, settled

' in Washington County, Penn., where James was born in 1791. The latter came to Wayne County poor, and experienced all the hardships of the early pioneer. Through perseverance and economy, however, he accumulated a large property, and was in every sense a self-nine man, ! recognized as one of the prominent farmers of Canaan Township. In politics he was a Democrat, in which party he always took an active interest, and was identified with the Presbyterian Church of Jackson for many years. He died in 1875, his wife in l SI >3. They reared a family of nine children, viz.: Elizabeth, William,

Adam and Samuel (all deceased); Margaret, widow of William Foot; Mary Ann, wife of O. A. Prary, of Canaan Township, Wayne County; David N.; Rebecca, wife of Samuel Sh-numons, of Milton Township, Wayne County; Martha, a maiden lady.

The, subject of this memoir was born on the homestead in Canaan Township, Wayne County, February 17, 1X30, and received his education at: the schools of the township. He has always followed farming for his life's vocation. In 1X153 he married Miss Mary A., daughter of Emanuel Nortlmip, of Medina County, Ohio, and she died in January, 1879, leaving two children: Do Forest, who lives on the homestead farm, married to Ida, daughter of George Mallies, of Canaan Township, Wayne County, and Clyde, at home. Mr. Smith has always been a Democrat in politics, and has served as school director of the township for eight years. He is a member of Canaan Grange No. 1280, P. of 11., and is a prominent member of the Jackson Presbyterian Church, of which he is trustee.

William Foot (deceased) was born in Connecticut, November 17, 1807, and died October-4, 1888. About 1844 he came to Wayne County, and entered a store at Jackson as clerk. He afterward purchased the business, which he conducted for many years. He was a Republican in politics, and postmaster of Jackson for several years. In 18(53 he married Miss Margaret Smith, and by her had four children: Joseph Mdntire in Missouri. Amanda, now Mrs. William Wallace, in Iowa; William, in Knox County, Ohio, and Alice, now Mrs. Harry Covert, in Nebraska.

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

- his parents died. In April, 1834, he came to the western part of Stark County, and located on a tract of one-fourth section of land adjoining Wayne County, where he lived until his death, he being seventy-six years of age. His wife was born in 1800, and died in 1878. Fifteen children were born to them, of whom those who grew to maturity were William C., of Stark County, Ohio; Jeremiah, late of Emporia, Kas., and who died June 17, 1880; Rebecca, widow of William N. Lash, of Stark County, Ohio; Kaziah (deceased); Cassie Jane (deceased); Jesse, of Stark County; John Austin, of Afton, Union Co., Iowa; Malissa, of Osceola, Clarke Co., Iowa; Alonzo, on the homestead, and Edward M.

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

CYRUS D. SMITH.

As a native son of Wayne county and a representative of one of the early pioneer families in this section of the Buckeye state, Mr. Smith is eminently entitled to representation in a compilation which has to do with those who have been the founders and builders of this commonwealth, while such is his personal honor and integrity of character and such his standing as one of the successful and progressive men of the county that this consideration is all the more compatible.

Cyrus D. Smith was born in Canaan township, Wayne county, on the 20th day of September, 1852. His antecedents were Scotch, from which blood come many of the sturdy qualities which characterize him. His paternal grandfather. James Smith, was born about 1770 and followed the pursuit of agriculture during his active years. He came to Wayne county about 1820, his having been the fifth family to settle in Canaan township. Here he entered land from the government, and among a number of interesting and valuable old relics in the possession of the subject of this sketch, there is the following tax receipt, thought to lie the oldest tax receipt in this county:

“Received of James Smith $1.80, taxes on 160 acres of land. September 14, 1821.” James Smith died about thirty years ago, never having removed from the farm which he entered from the government. Among his children was Adam Smith, father of the subject, who was a native of Pennsylvania, but who was brought to Ohio with his parents when he was but an infant. Adam Smith too followed farming during his life and died at the Canaan township homestead about forty-two years ago, at the age of forty-six years. He married Tabitha Barnes, who was a native of Canaan township, her family having removed to this state in about 1830, coming from West Virginia. Her death occurred about eleven years ago. By her union with Adam Smith, she became the mother of the following children: Cyrus D., the immediate subject of this sketch; James, of Silver City, Idaho; one that died in infancy unnamed; Ada, who died at the age of twelve years; Mary, who died at ten years of age; Andrew, who lives on the old home farm in Canaan township; and Ella, who makes her home with her brother Andrew.

Cyrus D. Smith spent his boyhood days on the parental farmstead and secured his education in the common schools of the township. At the age of twenty-two years, he went into the sawmill and lumber business at Creston, in which he was engaged about a year. Then going to Orrville, he went into the same line of business, which he followed for thirteen years, meeting with fair success the meanwhile. On the first day of January, 1893, he came to Wooster and entered upon the discharge of his duties as sheriff of Wayne county, to which position he had been elected in the autumn of the previous year, as the nominee of the Democratic party. Mr. Smith served two years in this position, giving the office his faithful and painstaking attention and retiring from it with the commendation of all. After relinquishing his official position, Mr. Smith engaged in the coal and transfer business in this city, in which he has since been continuously occupied, meeting with splendid success. While living at Orrville, he had given efficient service to his township as trustee and also served as a member of the Orrville city council. In every position in which he has been placed he has faithfully performed his part and has won and retains the high regard of all who have known of him and his work.

In 1874 Mr. Smith married Sarah E. Whonsetler, who was born and reared in Canaan township, the daughter of Philip Whonsetler. To this union five children have been born, as follows: Frank E., deceased: William M., who is associated with his father in business under the firm style of C. D. Smith Sc Son; Charles C., who is the proprietor of the London Tea House and Grocerv at Wooster; Maud, who is the wife of Fred Shook, of Alliance, this state; Edith, who is the wife of Wallace H. Smith, of this city.

Politically, Mr. Smith is a stanch and uncomprising adherent of the Democratic party and gives it an active and influential support, being considered one of the wheelhorses of the party in this county. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, which order he joined in 1885 and in which he has passed through all the chairs of the subordinate lodge. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are well and favorably known and enjoy the warm regard of many friends.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JLLIAM H. SMITH was born in Chippewa Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, in April, 1830, and is a son of Joseph G. and Mary (Frank) Smith. His paternal grandfather was Andrew Smith, formerly of Centre County, Penn., who settled about 1829 in Chippewa Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, where he cleared and improved a farm, on which he lived and died. His children were three in number, viz.: James, Joseph G. and William, all now deceased. Joseph G., at his father's death, succeeded to the homestead, where he resided until his death, in 1872. His family consisted of six children, viz.: William H., Mettie (Mrs. John B. Zimmerman), Charles P., Arthur, Howard and Alice.

The maternal grandfather of William H. Smith was Henry Frank, a native of Germany, born October 30, 1787, and who immigrated to America in 1791 with his parents, who located in Washington County, Penu. In 1792 his parents died, and he was bound out to a farmer until twenty-one years of age, receiving for his services two suits of clothes and one pair of shoes per year. At seventeen years of age he ran away, and learned the potter's trade. In 1822 he came to Wayne County, Ohio, locating in Canaan Township, where he worked at his trade and cleared a farm. In 1840 he moved to Chippewa Township, settling on the farm now occupied by his children, which he also cleared and improved, and here he resided until his death, which occurred in 1861. His wife was Jane, daughter of Charles and Mary A. Provines, of Washington County, Penn., and by her he had five children, as follows: Margaret, Mary (Mrs. Joseph G. Smith), Elizabeth (Mrs. Almon Butler), James P.. and Maria J.

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

BENJAMIN H. SMITH.

One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful agriculturists of Wayne county is Benjamin H. Smith. He is public-spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of his locality, and for many years he has been numbered among its most valued and honored citizens.

Benjamin H. Smith was born in Lehigh county. Pennsylvania, on the 29th of September, 1857, and is a son of Henry L. and Sarah A. Beisel. On the paternal side the subject is descended from English ancestry and on the material side the line is traced to German antecedents. Both families were early and prominent pioneers of Lehigh county, the subject's paternal grandparents having emigrated to that locality from England, while his maternal grandparents were former residents of New York state. Henry and Sarah Smith were married in Pennsylvania and about two years after the birth of the subject of this sketch they came to Ohio, locating in Wayne county. The father was a millwright and machinist by profession and he has worked at these lines practically all his life. Both of these parents are still living, though the father is now retired from active labor. In politics he is a Democrat, though he has never been an office-holder, nor has he had any desire for public preferment of any nature. During the Civil war Henry L. Smith enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served about five months. This regiment was sent to Washington to assist in the defense of the nation's capital, but was not sent to the front. Mr. Smith has long occupied an enviable position in the estimation of his fellow citizens, his sterling qualities of character winning for him the sincere respect of all who know him.

Benjamin H. Smith received his elementary education in the district schools, supplementing this by attendance at the Northwestern Normal University, at Ada, where he took a full business course. He learned the trade of a carpenter and machinist and was steadily employed along these lines until 1897, w'hen he purchased the splendid farm which he now occupies and which he has since engaged in operating. The farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres and is eligibly located in Congress and Chester townships. On this place Mr. Smith has made many \’alualile and permanent improvements, including the erection of commodious and well-arranged buildings and the laying of about five miles of tiling, besides many minor inqiroi'ments, all of which have tended to appreciate the value of the place, which is today considered one of the best farms in the locality. Here Mr. Smitli conducts general farming, raising all the crops common to the section of count rv in which he lives, and in connection therewith he gives consideralile attention to the breeding and raising of live-stock, in which he has been \-ery successful. He is progressix'e and enterprising in his methods and has achieved a distinctive success in his undertaking. He is now taking life a little easier than during his younger years, leaving most of the active labor of the farm to younger men, but still maintains a personal supervision over the general operations conducted on the place.

In matters political, Mr. Smith has always given his support to the Democratic party and has taken a deep interest in local public affairs, having held several township offices in Congress and Chester townships, including those of constable, school superintendent and assessor. In all these positions he discharged his official duties to the full satisfaction of his fellow citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are earnest and faithful members of the Presbyterian church, in the workings of which they take a deep interest and to which they give a generous support, being numbered among the leading members of the society.

On the 8th of January, 1880, Mr. Smith w'as united in marriage to Sarah L. Howey, a native of Wayne county and a daughter of John and Nancy Howey, early settlers of Wayne county. Mrs. Smith’s paternal grandfather, George Howey, was one of the pioneers of this township and was a man prominent in the public affairs of the township in its formation period. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been born one son, George, who is now married, his wife's maiden name having been Ida Billheimer.

That Mr. Smith has lived and labored to goodly ends is clearly indicated in the position which he holds in the confidence and regard of his fellow men and in the success wffiich has crowded his efforts in the great basic art of agriculture. He is a business man of much more than ordinary ability, and his unremitting toil and close attention to business throughout his active career have been the means of winning for him the comfortable competence w'hich today is his. He is a man of genial disposition and kindly manners, and these Cjualities, together with his well-recognized sterling worth, have won for him the friendship of all wffio know him.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ROBERT J. SMITH.

A most exemplary citizen and an honored hero of the war of the Rebellion is Robert J. Smith, who conducts a successful coal and transfer business in the city of Wooster, Ohio. During his army career he was ever found faithful to the duties imposed upon him, thus winning the confidence and high regard of his comrades and superior officers, while in his business life and social relations he has ever manifested the same justice, integrity and reliability, because of which he has won and retains the high regard of all who know him.

R. J. Smith is a native son of the Keystone state and is of Irish antecedents. His birth occurred in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of August, 1847, and he is the son of John M. Smith, also a native of the same county. In his native county, the father lived his entire life, following the honorable pursuit of a miller of the soil, and there he died in 1901, in his eightieth year. He married Xancy Matthews, also a native of Westmoreland county, and her death, in her eightieth year, occurred two years before that of her husband. They were the parents of the following children: Hiram M., who lives in the state of Colorado; Robert J., subject of this sketch; William M.. who resides in Kansas; Jennie (Mrs. Johnson), residing at Greensburg, Pennsylvania; James H.. of Seattle, Washington; Edward J., who resides at the old family homestead at New Florence, Pennsylvania; Sarah Agnes, also residing at New Florence: Thomas Watson and Mary Ellen are both deceased. The subject's paternal grandfather, Robert Smith, came to America from Ireland in 1801. He had married before emigrating and on arrival here he and his wife settled on land in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, which he cultivated for many years, dying at a ripe old age.

Robert J. Smith remained on the home farm with his mother until he was twenty-six years old. Then, feeling that larger opportunities for an ambitious man lay farther to the west, he came to Wooster, Ohio, arriving here in 1874. He here engaged in the milling business, in connection with which he also dealt in ice, and these two industries he successfully carried on until 1894. In that year he sustained a heavy loss in the destruction of his mill by fire, but he at once went to work to recoup his finances and engaged in the coal and ice business, which he continued until 1907, when he sold the ice business, since which time he has confined his attention to the coal and transfer business. He has been fairly successful in his business affairs and is today considered one of the substantial business men of Wooster, where he has been identified with business interests for so many years. During recent years he has been assisted by his son Robert, who is an able and efficient business man.

It would be unjust to complete this sketch without making specific mention of the service which Mr. Smith rendered to his country in the hour of its extremity. In February. 1864, he enlisted in the Fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry and thereafter took part in a number of severe engagements, one of the most sanguinary of which was the battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. He was with General Grant in all his campaigns up to White House Landing, and at the battle of St. Mary's church, June 26, 1864, he received a severe gunshot wound in the left leg. From the effects of this wound he was confined in hospital until August of the following year, when he was discharged and returned to his home. Because of his military service, Mr. Smith is now an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

On the 28th of December, 1868, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Elizabeth H. Pollock, who was born and reared in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. To this union were born three children, namely: Arnett Pollock, who died at the age of two years; Thomas Watson, who died at the age of seventeen years, and Robert H.. who is associated with his father in business. He married Vina L. Mackey and they have two children, Elizabeth H. and Lucy.

Mr. Smith is an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of the Republican party and has taken a somewhat active part in public affairs. On that ticket he was elected mayor of the city of Wooster, serving from 1898 to 1902, and he was also trustee of Wooster township for fifteen years, being re-elected continuously for eleven years. In religion, he belongs with his wife to the United Presbyterian church and they are faithful attendants and generous supporters of that society.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.