Benjamin Smith

As printed in 1902

BENJAMIN SMITH.

The late lamented citizen of Morgan tcAvnship, Knox county, Ohio, whose honored name appears above, has a place in history as the man who entered the last one-hundred-and-twenty-five-acre tract of government land in that township, and as one who lived longer within the borders of the township than any other of its citizens.

Benjamin Smith, son of James Harrington and Martha (Davis) Smith, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1807, and was brought by his parents to Knox county, Ohio, in 181 1. Such education as was available to him he acquired near his home in an old log school house with slab, seats and benches, and a big fireplace and greased-paper windows, and entirely destitute of anything like a floor. He was brought up toi farming and lived in the township continuously from 181 1 until his death, March 9, 1900, during the long period of eighty-nine years. He improved his farm and added to its acreage until it comprised one hundred and forty-six acres. In early life he was a Whig and later he was a Republican, and he was influential in local affairs, and was frequently called to places of trust and responsibility, though he was in no sense an office-seeker. He was a devout and consistent member of the Baptist church, always generously helpful to its various interests.

Mr. Smith married Sarah Brown January ly, 1833. INIrs. Smith, who was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, March 4, 1809, bore her husband two daughters: Martha Jane, who was born March 31, 1834, and died unmarried in 1855; and Sarah Ann, who was born October 19, 1836, on the farm on which she now lives and which she successfully manager.

As printed in The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.