Spartanburg County, South Carolina - Chapter 20: Smith Family, 1900

Just before the Revolutionary war five brothers came from Bull Run, Va., and settled in the vicinity of Glenn's Spring, in Spartanburg county, viz.: James, Fleming, Thomas, John and Charles. Their father came from Wales, and their mother, a Miss Fleming, from France. Of these brothers, Thomas was never married, hence he has no descendants ; of Fleming we can learn nothing ; James had two sons - John and Enoch. Enoch went to Alabama and John, his brother, settled in Union county, S. C. He was by occupation a farmer, and his homestead residence was about five miles below the courthouse of said county omthe Spartanburg & Union Railroad. He had two sons - Franklin and Thomas W. Franklin died during the war unmarried. Thomas W. was a Baptist minister of considerable note and ability^ and served acceptably for a number of }*ears churches in Union and Spartanburg counties. He was educated at the Furman University, at Greenville, S. C. He died in 1883, leaving behind him an interesting family who still reside at the old homestead place of his father.

John, one of the original five brothers mentioned, had one son, Thomas, who went to Georgia; two daughters, one was a cripple and never married, the other, Susanna, married Thomas Finch, and became the mother of James, Benjamin, Simpson and Enoch Finch, from whom have sprung numerous descendants of respectability, many of whom yet reside in the present county of Spartanburg.

Charles, the youngest of the five Smith brothers referred to, from whom a large portion of the Smith family now living in Spartanburg county descended, married a j\Iiss Rhodes about 1760. He was a soldier of the Revolution, but owing to a defective eyesight, he was assigned to duty in the commissary department. He was a man of eminent piety, having early embraced the Christian religion. He was made a deacon in Philadelphia (Baptist) church in 1805. From the death of Rev. Christopher Johnson, August, 1809, to the close of 1820, the church had no regular pastor, and for several years but little preaching. Charles Smith was the mainstay of the church through adversity as well as prosperity. He enjoyed the confidence of his brethren, for when there was no minister present, he was made moderator and conducted the services. He died in 1824. He had six sons : Elijah, Sanford, William, Daniel, Moses and Aaron ; and six daughters : Martha, who married Hugh White and lived in the community of Philadelphia church ; Abigail, who married Joseph Golightly and went west; Elizabeth, who married Robert Page; Rachel, who married James Page ; Ann, who married William Page ; three sisters marrying three brothers, and Mary, who married George Sloan.

Concerning the sons of Charles Smith, Aaron went to INIissouri ; Moses was drowned while a young man, unmarried ; Daniel married Elizabeth Trail ; they lived in the Philadelphia community. The children of Isaac T. Smith are the only descendants of this Daniel Smith living in Spartanburg county.

William married Sallie Trail. They had three children; only one remained in Spartanburg; she married Giles Bearden, near Friendship church on Dutchman's Creek. .J Sanford married Mary INIorrow, daughter of the old

Revolutionary soldier. They had three sons : Samuel M., David M. and Robert R. Robert R. was a mechanic - had a regular shop where he made wagons, buggies, carriages, etc. His work was well done. There were six daughters : two of them went to Alabama, one to Arkansas, one to Illinois, and two married to their cousins - sons of Elijah.

William and Sanford had the first and only gun factory anywhere in the southern portion of Spartanburg county. They manufactured rifles, made the barrel, bored and stocked them, and they were of what was known as the old time flint and steel, which were much used in their day. Their works, which were begun in the early part of the 19th century, were on Reedy Fork of Dutchman, one and a half miles southwest of Philadelphia church. A part of the old rock dam is yet to be seen there.

Elijah Smith was made a deacon at the organization of Philadelphia church in July, 1803. For near two years he was the only deacon of said church. He served his church faithfully in that capacity until his death in 1834. He married Diana Ham, sister of Squire James Ham. They had twelve children. Three died while young. There were three daughters who married and lived in the same neighborhood of the six sons, which was in the vicinity of Philadelphia church.

Moses went to Georgia about 1835 ; William S. was a mechanic, followed making and repairing wagons, buggies, carriages, etc., and his work was substantially done. He was an active worker in the Philadelphia church, a deacon in the same for nearly fifty years, and truly a good man.

Enoch H, was a farmer, had a grist and sawmill, cotton-gin and thresher, all run by water, one mile west of Philadelphia church, and half a mile above the old gun factorv referred to, on the same stream. He was an ex- cellent citizen, a Christian gentleman, and the clerk of Philadelphia chnrcli for twenty-five years. Among his sons were Dr. Robert M., Elias and Albert Smith, the two latter living and residing in the same commnnity. They are honest, intelligent and progressive farmers. They married two sisters : Elias to Miss Wallace, and Albert to Miss Lizzie Pool, now deceased, both edncated, refined and intelligent ladies and graduates of the female college at Asheville, N. C, before the war. Elias has followed teaching a portion of his life.

Dr. Robert M. Smith, son of Enoch and Nancy Smith, was born October 19th, 1833. His boyhood was spent on his father's plantation. He received a good education in literature, and in 1856 began the study of medicine under Dr. G. H. King, at Walnut Grove, S. C. He graduated in medicine with distinction from the Atlanta Medical College in 1858, and for several years following had an extensive and lucrative practice.

At the outbreak of the civil war he enlisted in Company K, 3d Regiment, S. C. V. , and was elected as one of its lieutenants. He remained with the company until serious illness compelled him to resign. After recovery he joined Captain Westfield's company, which formed a part of the 2d Regiment, S. C. Cavalry. In the battle on John's Island, S. C, in 1864, he was wounded in the right arm, which necessitated amputation at the shoulder-joint.

After the war he became a prominent politician in Spartanburg, and was seldom defeated in his political aspirations. For fourteen years lie was a prominent member of the House of Representatives and in the Senate. He was a good stump orator, an able debater, and a strong advocate of home rule against "carpetbag government," which principle resulted in the election of Wade Hampton in 1876.

Walnut Grove, S. C. To them were born eight children^ four sons and four daughters, two of which are deceased. Those living are Annie Eugenia (Mrs. Dr. S. T. D. Lancaster), Carrie Pauline (Mrs. I. P. Mahoney), Mary Virginia (Airs. J. F. Alexander), Nannie (Mrs. Henri Bernhardt), Charles O'Conner, and Earle Hix.

Noah H. Smith, another brother, was a farmer. He was a man of exemplary character, and reared a large family of children, who have proven themselves worthy citizens. Two of his sons, John B. and Lecil, gave their lives in their country's defense. Two sons, W. J. and E. B. Smith, reside in the county, while the others are either dead or have gone west.

Colonel Daniel H. was the youngest child of Elijah Smith. He was a farmer by occupation, and married ]\Iiss Jane Lanford, a granddaughter of James Lanford, a soldier of the Revolution, who in an early day settled in Spartanburg county below Woodruff. Her father was John Lanford.

a Sunday-school superintendent for about fifteen years. Soon after he attained to military age he became a commissioned officer in one of the companies of the old 45th S. C. IMilitia, and served as such for seven consecutive years. Then he was elected colonel of said regiment. At a later period he was brought out and reelected colonel of the same regiment without any desire or effort on his part, being already muster free.

But when the war broke out and the services of every available man were needed, though well advanced in years, he did not hesitate to volunteer his services to his country. He was orderly sergeant in Dr. Ben Wofford's company in the winter of 1862-3 at Charleston, and was captain of Company A, ist Battalion of S. C. Reserves from August, 1864, to the end of the war.

"No one who knew Captain Smith will doubt his high Christian character. I knew him thirty-five years, and I knew him best at a time in the history of his life when men's souls were tried - in the army. Under all circumstances he bore out the same character that he built up at home. . . . He was a strict disciplinarian - always the same on picket, on the march, on the battle-line or in camp. The same unswerving Christian officer and soldier."

Colonel Daniel Smith had four children, two sons and two daughters. One of the sons. Rev. William Pinckney Smith, is well known to the people of Spartanburg as an able, humble and earnest minister of the gospel of the Baptist faith. He is well educated for this specific work, and has been, at this writing (1900), in the ministry for about twenty-one years, and has served churches both in the counties of Union and Spartanburg, and is now in the twentieth year of his pastorate at Sulphur Springs.

He married Miss O 'Shields, who died in 1898, leaving fonr children. Of these Fnrman was educated at the Furman University ; Lamar is a graduate of Wofford College ; Elmore is in business and Falls in school.

Of the daughters of Colonel Smith, Miss Ella is unmarried. The other daughter is the wife of Mr. John W. Stribling of Spartanburg. They have five children. Willie is a graduate of the Citadel Academy at Charleston, Miss Alice of Converse College, Hickman of Wofford College, and two daughters at present students in Converse College.

The men of this branch of the Smith family have been mostly farmers and mechanics. Some of the family, especially among the females, have followed teaching. As a whole they have formed a part of the best class of citizenship in Spartanburg county, and both in times of peace and in war they have always been patriotic and true to their country's welfare. In the civil war between the States no less than nine of the grandsons of Elijah Smith gave up their lives in their country's defence. Let the descendants of the families mentioned herein be proud to emulate the example of a noble ancestry.