James M. SMITH, a prominent and influential citizen of Elvira Township,
Johnson County, was born in this township January 22, 1833. His father,
William SMITH, was born in Tennessee, and his father, Millington SMITH,
was a pioneer settler of Johnson County, Ill., who after removing to
this county, spent the rest of his days here. At the time of his
removal to Johnson County, William SMITH was but a boy, and Illinois
was at that time very sparsely settled. In several portions of the
State there were no inhabitants but Indians. He secured a tract of
Government land in what is now Elvira Township, and upon that land
erected the log cabin in which James M. SMITH was born. He cleared up
his farm in the wilderness, and resided upon it until his death. The
maiden name of his wife, the mother of James M. SMITH, was Amy ELKINS;
she was a native of Georgia and a daughter of John ELKINS, who is
mentioned in the personal sketch of Joshua ELKINS, elsewhere in this
work. She died on the farm, having reared seven children.
James M. SMITH was reared in his native township at a time when pioneer
life was the order of the day. There was no railroad connecting
interior points, and commerce between distant places had to be carried
on by means of the rivers and teams, sometimes oxen, sometimes horses.
The woods were then full of game, such as deer, bear and smaller
animals, which, when hunted, provided excellent food for the table in
the absence of the more domesticated kinds of animals. The mother of
Mr. SMITH clothed her family, as did her neighbors, with cloth woven by
her own hands. Farming methods were equally primitive. Oxen were for
the most part used, and the wooden mold-board plow. All grain was cut
with the reaping-hook, and later with the cradle, so called from its
rocking motion as it swung back and forth across the swath.
Mr. SMITH resided at home with his parents until his marriage, and then
settled on a portion of the old homestead, consisting of forty acres
that his father gave him. Since then he has purchased other lands until
now he owns six hundred and ninety-six acres, all in one body, and his
improvements rank with the best in the county. He was married in 1862
to Miss Sarah GORE, a native of Vienna Township and a daughter of
Walter and Polly (BAIN) GORE. Mr. and Mrs. SMITH have five children:
Sarah J., Sherman, Jefferson, Addison and Hosea. Mr. SMITH is a
Republican in politics. From adverse circumstances in his youth he has
by industry and energy accumulated a handsome property and become a
well-informed and self-educated man.
transcribed by Nan Starjak
Source:
The Biographical Review of Johnson, Massac, Pope and Hardin
Counties
Chicago
Biographical Publishing Co., 1893
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