Jared Hemingway Smith

As printed in 1910

JARED HEMINGWAY SMITH.

Jared Hemingway Smith, who was numbered among the large land owners, successful business men and most highly respected residents of Osco township, was born in Harwinton, Connecticut, November 18, 1827, and was a son of Anson and Abigail (Holt) Smith. He grew to manhood in his native state but the sterile fields of New England did not give him the opportunities he sought and

JARED H. SMITH believing that he might have better advantages on the broad prairies of the middle west he came to Illinois in 1853 at the age of twenty-six years. Making his way to Henry county he lived for a time with the Welton family, whom he had known in his old home. Soon, however, he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 22, Osco township, which remained his home until his death in 1903. The year following his arrival in Henry county Mr. Smith returned to Connecticut and there wedded Miss Jane A. Welton, with whom he had been previously acquainted. With his bride he returned to the middle west and they began their domestic life in one of the primitive pioneer homes of the town. The dimension timbers for their home were hewn by Mr. Smith from a tract of forest land which he owned east of Cambridge. This was one of the three houses then standing between Cambridge and Brown's Grove. A description of the furnishings of the house is taken from a letter written in 1856: "We have a set of flag seat chairs, one large rocking chair, a black walnut table and a stand, two bedsteads, an old clock that Lester gave us stands on a shelf in the southeast corner of the room and the looking glass hangs beside it. A cupboard stands on the west side of the kitchen. Jane uses it to wash dishes on. The room hangs in the northwest corner of the room." This room is still in daily use but has been added to and remodeled.

Three children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Amelia, who became the wife of M. M. Nash, who is represented on another page of this volume; Anson W., who died in childhood; and Myra J., who married W. F. West and now lives in Berwyn, Nebraska. The mother died February 17, 1863, and on the i8th of August of the year following Mr. Smith married Miss Mary E. Knowles, of Lynn township. A native of Pennsylvania, she had come to Henry county with her parents in her early girlhood days and acquired her education in the public schools and afterward engaged successfully in teaching. By her marriage she became the mother of six children: Henry A., the oldest, wedded Miss Delia Atwood; Anna E. is the widow of William H. Patterson and now lives in Osco township with her brother, Charles E., on the home farm; Jared H. and George R. are twins and both are mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Charles E., as stated, lives on the old home farm and Mary Ethel resides with her brother and sister on the old home place.

Mrs. Smith died in 1894 while Jared H. Smith survived until the 23d of January, 1903, and was then called to his final rest. Throughout the period of his residence in Henry county he had devoted his life to general farming and had so capable and energetically managed his business affairs and so judiciously placed his investments that he had become the owner of eleven hundred acres of land all of which was under cultivation. Over nine hundred acres of this property is still in the possession of his children in Henry county. His success was never the cause of other men's failure but resulted from close application, careful business management and laudable ambition. He took keen interest in local affairs and rendered valuable service to the community in the offices of trustee, supervisor and treasurer of his township. He was one of the charter members of Grace Episcopal church and for eighteen years acted as senior warden. His entire life was in harmony with his profession, his sterling traits of character won him high regard and his activity contributed in no inconsiderable measure to the development and progress of the county within whose borders he established his home in pioneer times and lived to see it take its place with the leading counties of this great commonwealth.

As printed in History of Henry County, Illinois (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.