The following was taken from the Union County Ohio Biographies Project:
William de Forest Smith and family settled on the Darby Plains, four miles South of Milford, in 1835. He and a brother-in-law, Dr. Benjamin Davenport-a famous physician, still held in grateful remembrance by old residents of Union and Champaign Counties-started from Columbia County, State of New York, early in 1834, for the West. Not having determined on the location, the families of the two young men were left in charge of Mr. Smith in Wilkesbarre, in the picturesque valley of Lehigh, while Dr. Davenport surveyed the promised land. H e selected the Darby Plains, where cousins of his, James Miller and the Culvers, were already residing on extensive forms. The next year the families followed, crossing the mountains in wagons, the only mode of conveyance in those times. Here Mr. Smith opened a carriage shop, and in later years added to the diversity of his employment by farming. Besides the land on the plains, he purchased jointly with his son-in-law, L. M. Fairbanks, a farm cut out of the Virginia military tract on the Big Darby near the Madison County line.
William De Forest Smith was born in Litchfield County, Conn., April 3, 1805. He was a descendant of the Rev. Henry Smith, a Congregational clergyman, active in affairs in the early times of that colony. His grandfather, Bethel Smith, a farmer, who resided at Kent, on the Housatonic River, was born in 1728, and lived to be about a century old. His father, Lyman Smith, also a farmer, married Elizabeth De Forest. Soon after his birth his mother died, and Lyman went to the Green River Valley, Columbia County, N. Y., where he had a farm, to reside. He survived his wife only about five years, dying at the early age of thirty. The orphan child William was sent to live with an uncle near Great Barrington, Mass., where he was educated and instructed as a mechanic, William De Forest Smith married a daughter of Deacon Story Gott, of Green River-Almira Gott, who was born May 21, 1809. The Gott family is also one of the oldest of the Connecticut families. Story Gott was a direct descendant of the Daniel Gott who was among the emigrants who arrived in New England prior to 1690, and settled in the valley of the Connecticut. The family was Dutch, and had been driven out of the Netherlands by Spanish Catholic persecutions; and again left England to seek perfect religious freedom in America. Story Gott, the father of Almira Gott, served as a Lieutenant throughout the Revolutionary war, thus testifying the willingness of the blood to fight for civil as well as religious liberty. After the close of the war, he built a residence on a farm he owned in the Green River Valley, midway between Green River and Spencertown, where be raised a large family, and was known to be as zealous a Presbyterian and Freemason as he had been a soldier. The family were Federalist, then Whig, and then Republican in politics, and very active. Story Gott's brother Daniel was a Member of Congress, and for many years a Judge of the Court of Appeals. Both of the brothers were personal friends as well as political associates of Horace Greeley. William De Forest Smith died in October 1849. Almira, his wife, survived him about twelve years. They were buried in the cemetery at Milford.
The children of William De Forest and Almira Gott Smith who survive, are Ann Elizabeth, born 1828; Mary Adelaide, born 1829; Charles Warren, born 1831; William Henry, born 1833; and Celia J., born 1841. All are married and have families of their own. The eldest daughter married W. W. Norton; the second, L. M. Fairbanks, and the third, Clark Ritchie.
The elder son, C. W. Smith adopted and has followed the railroad business, and is today one of the most prominent and successful railroad officers in the United States. He is the General Manager of the Chesapeake and Ohio system which extends from Newport News at the confluence of the James River and Chesapeake Bay to Memphis, Tenn., and which is soon to be united with the Southern Pacific at Shreveport, La. His headquarters are at Richmond, Va.
The second son, William Henry Smith, graduated at a Quaker College near Richmond, Ind., and adopted the profession of a journalist. When twenty-one years of age, he edited at Cincinnati, a literary monthly called the Casket and Review, and a weekly called The Type of the Times. Subsequently he became connected with the daily press of Cincinnati, and when the war broke out was on the editorial staff of the Gazette. In 1863, he was invited by John Brough, Ohio's great war Governor, became his private secretary, and while holding that position was nominated and elected Secretary of State on the Union ticket in 1864, and was reelected in 1866. He resigned this office in January 1868, to return to journalism. He established the Cincinnati Chronicle, and on that being merged into the Times, accepted the appointment of General Manager of the Western Associated Press, the largest news organization in the world, with headquarters at Chicago. This was in January 1870. When Rutherford B. Hayes was elected President, he appointed Mr. Smith Collector of Customs for the port of Chicago, which office he held until after the death of President Garfield, when his commission having expired, he declined to permit his name to be used longer in connection with the office. Mr. Smith has written a great deal, his largest literary work being "The St. Clair Papers," two volumes, octavo, which covers the years of the Revolutionary war, Government under the Confederation, and the Government of the Northwestern Territory before Ohio was admitted as a State.
William de Forest Smith and family settled on the Darby Plains, four miles South of Milford, in 1835. He and a brother-in-law, Dr. Benjamin Davenport-a famous physician, still held in grateful remembrance by old residents of Union and Champaign Counties-started from Columbia County, State of New York, early in 1834, for the West. Not having determined on the location, the families of the two young men were left in charge of Mr. Smith in Wilkesbarre, in the picturesque valley of Lehigh, while Dr. Davenport surveyed the promised land. H e selected the Darby Plains, where cousins of his, James Miller and the Culvers, were already residing on extensive forms. The next year the families followed, crossing the mountains in wagons, the only mode of conveyance in those times. Here Mr. Smith opened a carriage shop, and in later years added to the diversity of his employment by farming. Besides the land on the plains, he purchased jointly with his son-in-law, L. M. Fairbanks, a farm cut out of the Virginia military tract on the Big Darby near the Madison County line.
William De Forest Smith was born in Litchfield County, Conn., April 3, 1805. He was a descendant of the Rev. Henry Smith, a Congregational clergyman, active in affairs in the early times of that colony. His grandfather, Bethel Smith, a farmer, who resided at Kent, on the Housatonic River, was born in 1728, and lived to be about a century old. His father, Lyman Smith, also a farmer, married Elizabeth De Forest. Soon after his birth his mother died, and Lyman went to the Green River Valley, Columbia County, N. Y., where he had a farm, to reside. He survived his wife only about five years, dying at the early age of thirty. The orphan child William was sent to live with an uncle near Great Barrington, Mass., where he was educated and instructed as a mechanic, William De Forest Smith married a daughter of Deacon Story Gott, of Green River-Almira Gott, who was born May 21, 1809. The Gott family is also one of the oldest of the Connecticut families. Story Gott was a direct descendant of the Daniel Gott who was among the emigrants who arrived in New England prior to 1690, and settled in the valley of the Connecticut. The family was Dutch, and had been driven out of the Netherlands by Spanish Catholic persecutions; and again left England to seek perfect religious freedom in America. Story Gott, the father of Almira Gott, served as a Lieutenant throughout the Revolutionary war, thus testifying the willingness of the blood to fight for civil as well as religious liberty. After the close of the war, he built a residence on a farm he owned in the Green River Valley, midway between Green River and Spencertown, where be raised a large family, and was known to be as zealous a Presbyterian and Freemason as he had been a soldier. The family were Federalist, then Whig, and then Republican in politics, and very active. Story Gott's brother Daniel was a Member of Congress, and for many years a Judge of the Court of Appeals. Both of the brothers were personal friends as well as political associates of Horace Greeley. William De Forest Smith died in October 1849. Almira, his wife, survived him about twelve years. They were buried in the cemetery at Milford.
The children of William De Forest and Almira Gott Smith who survive, are Ann Elizabeth, born 1828; Mary Adelaide, born 1829; Charles Warren, born 1831; William Henry, born 1833; and Celia J., born 1841. All are married and have families of their own. The eldest daughter married W. W. Norton; the second, L. M. Fairbanks, and the third, Clark Ritchie.
The elder son, C. W. Smith adopted and has followed the railroad business, and is today one of the most prominent and successful railroad officers in the United States. He is the General Manager of the Chesapeake and Ohio system which extends from Newport News at the confluence of the James River and Chesapeake Bay to Memphis, Tenn., and which is soon to be united with the Southern Pacific at Shreveport, La. His headquarters are at Richmond, Va.
The second son, William Henry Smith, graduated at a Quaker College near Richmond, Ind., and adopted the profession of a journalist. When twenty-one years of age, he edited at Cincinnati, a literary monthly called the Casket and Review, and a weekly called The Type of the Times. Subsequently he became connected with the daily press of Cincinnati, and when the war broke out was on the editorial staff of the Gazette. In 1863, he was invited by John Brough, Ohio's great war Governor, became his private secretary, and while holding that position was nominated and elected Secretary of State on the Union ticket in 1864, and was reelected in 1866. He resigned this office in January 1868, to return to journalism. He established the Cincinnati Chronicle, and on that being merged into the Times, accepted the appointment of General Manager of the Western Associated Press, the largest news organization in the world, with headquarters at Chicago. This was in January 1870. When Rutherford B. Hayes was elected President, he appointed Mr. Smith Collector of Customs for the port of Chicago, which office he held until after the death of President Garfield, when his commission having expired, he declined to permit his name to be used longer in connection with the office. Mr. Smith has written a great deal, his largest literary work being "The St. Clair Papers," two volumes, octavo, which covers the years of the Revolutionary war, Government under the Confederation, and the Government of the Northwestern Territory before Ohio was admitted as a State.
The following was taken from the Union County Ohio Biographies Project:
William de Forest Smith and family settled on the Darby Plains, four miles South of Milford, in 1835. He and a brother-in-law, Dr. Benjamin Davenport-a famous physician, still held in grateful remembrance by old residents of Union and Champaign Counties-started from Columbia County, State of New York, early in 1834, for the West. Not having determined on the location, the families of the two young men were left in charge of Mr. Smith in Wilkesbarre, in the picturesque valley of Lehigh, while Dr. Davenport surveyed the promised land. H e selected the Darby Plains, where cousins of his, James Miller and the Culvers, were already residing on extensive forms. The next year the families followed, crossing the mountains in wagons, the only mode of conveyance in those times. Here Mr. Smith opened a carriage shop, and in later years added to the diversity of his employment by farming. Besides the land on the plains, he purchased jointly with his son-in-law, L. M. Fairbanks, a farm cut out of the Virginia military tract on the Big Darby near the Madison County line.
William De Forest Smith was born in Litchfield County, Conn., April 3, 1805. He was a descendant of the Rev. Henry Smith, a Congregational clergyman, active in affairs in the early times of that colony. His grandfather, Bethel Smith, a farmer, who resided at Kent, on the Housatonic River, was born in 1728, and lived to be about a century old. His father, Lyman Smith, also a farmer, married Elizabeth De Forest. Soon after his birth his mother died, and Lyman went to the Green River Valley, Columbia County, N. Y., where he had a farm, to reside. He survived his wife only about five years, dying at the early age of thirty. The orphan child William was sent to live with an uncle near Great Barrington, Mass., where he was educated and instructed as a mechanic, William De Forest Smith married a daughter of Deacon Story Gott, of Green River-Almira Gott, who was born May 21, 1809. The Gott family is also one of the oldest of the Connecticut families. Story Gott was a direct descendant of the Daniel Gott who was among the emigrants who arrived in New England prior to 1690, and settled in the valley of the Connecticut. The family was Dutch, and had been driven out of the Netherlands by Spanish Catholic persecutions; and again left England to seek perfect religious freedom in America. Story Gott, the father of Almira Gott, served as a Lieutenant throughout the Revolutionary war, thus testifying the willingness of the blood to fight for civil as well as religious liberty. After the close of the war, he built a residence on a farm he owned in the Green River Valley, midway between Green River and Spencertown, where be raised a large family, and was known to be as zealous a Presbyterian and Freemason as he had been a soldier. The family were Federalist, then Whig, and then Republican in politics, and very active. Story Gott's brother Daniel was a Member of Congress, and for many years a Judge of the Court of Appeals. Both of the brothers were personal friends as well as political associates of Horace Greeley. William De Forest Smith died in October 1849. Almira, his wife, survived him about twelve years. They were buried in the cemetery at Milford.
The children of William De Forest and Almira Gott Smith who survive, are Ann Elizabeth, born 1828; Mary Adelaide, born 1829; Charles Warren, born 1831; William Henry, born 1833; and Celia J., born 1841. All are married and have families of their own. The eldest daughter married W. W. Norton; the second, L. M. Fairbanks, and the third, Clark Ritchie.
The elder son, C. W. Smith adopted and has followed the railroad business, and is today one of the most prominent and successful railroad officers in the United States. He is the General Manager of the Chesapeake and Ohio system which extends from Newport News at the confluence of the James River and Chesapeake Bay to Memphis, Tenn., and which is soon to be united with the Southern Pacific at Shreveport, La. His headquarters are at Richmond, Va.
The second son, William Henry Smith, graduated at a Quaker College near Richmond, Ind., and adopted the profession of a journalist. When twenty-one years of age, he edited at Cincinnati, a literary monthly called the Casket and Review, and a weekly called The Type of the Times. Subsequently he became connected with the daily press of Cincinnati, and when the war broke out was on the editorial staff of the Gazette. In 1863, he was invited by John Brough, Ohio's great war Governor, became his private secretary, and while holding that position was nominated and elected Secretary of State on the Union ticket in 1864, and was reelected in 1866. He resigned this office in January 1868, to return to journalism. He established the Cincinnati Chronicle, and on that being merged into the Times, accepted the appointment of General Manager of the Western Associated Press, the largest news organization in the world, with headquarters at Chicago. This was in January 1870. When Rutherford B. Hayes was elected President, he appointed Mr. Smith Collector of Customs for the port of Chicago, which office he held until after the death of President Garfield, when his commission having expired, he declined to permit his name to be used longer in connection with the office. Mr. Smith has written a great deal, his largest literary work being "The St. Clair Papers," two volumes, octavo, which covers the years of the Revolutionary war, Government under the Confederation, and the Government of the Northwestern Territory before Ohio was admitted as a State.
William de Forest Smith and family settled on the Darby Plains, four miles South of Milford, in 1835. He and a brother-in-law, Dr. Benjamin Davenport-a famous physician, still held in grateful remembrance by old residents of Union and Champaign Counties-started from Columbia County, State of New York, early in 1834, for the West. Not having determined on the location, the families of the two young men were left in charge of Mr. Smith in Wilkesbarre, in the picturesque valley of Lehigh, while Dr. Davenport surveyed the promised land. H e selected the Darby Plains, where cousins of his, James Miller and the Culvers, were already residing on extensive forms. The next year the families followed, crossing the mountains in wagons, the only mode of conveyance in those times. Here Mr. Smith opened a carriage shop, and in later years added to the diversity of his employment by farming. Besides the land on the plains, he purchased jointly with his son-in-law, L. M. Fairbanks, a farm cut out of the Virginia military tract on the Big Darby near the Madison County line.
William De Forest Smith was born in Litchfield County, Conn., April 3, 1805. He was a descendant of the Rev. Henry Smith, a Congregational clergyman, active in affairs in the early times of that colony. His grandfather, Bethel Smith, a farmer, who resided at Kent, on the Housatonic River, was born in 1728, and lived to be about a century old. His father, Lyman Smith, also a farmer, married Elizabeth De Forest. Soon after his birth his mother died, and Lyman went to the Green River Valley, Columbia County, N. Y., where he had a farm, to reside. He survived his wife only about five years, dying at the early age of thirty. The orphan child William was sent to live with an uncle near Great Barrington, Mass., where he was educated and instructed as a mechanic, William De Forest Smith married a daughter of Deacon Story Gott, of Green River-Almira Gott, who was born May 21, 1809. The Gott family is also one of the oldest of the Connecticut families. Story Gott was a direct descendant of the Daniel Gott who was among the emigrants who arrived in New England prior to 1690, and settled in the valley of the Connecticut. The family was Dutch, and had been driven out of the Netherlands by Spanish Catholic persecutions; and again left England to seek perfect religious freedom in America. Story Gott, the father of Almira Gott, served as a Lieutenant throughout the Revolutionary war, thus testifying the willingness of the blood to fight for civil as well as religious liberty. After the close of the war, he built a residence on a farm he owned in the Green River Valley, midway between Green River and Spencertown, where be raised a large family, and was known to be as zealous a Presbyterian and Freemason as he had been a soldier. The family were Federalist, then Whig, and then Republican in politics, and very active. Story Gott's brother Daniel was a Member of Congress, and for many years a Judge of the Court of Appeals. Both of the brothers were personal friends as well as political associates of Horace Greeley. William De Forest Smith died in October 1849. Almira, his wife, survived him about twelve years. They were buried in the cemetery at Milford.
The children of William De Forest and Almira Gott Smith who survive, are Ann Elizabeth, born 1828; Mary Adelaide, born 1829; Charles Warren, born 1831; William Henry, born 1833; and Celia J., born 1841. All are married and have families of their own. The eldest daughter married W. W. Norton; the second, L. M. Fairbanks, and the third, Clark Ritchie.
The elder son, C. W. Smith adopted and has followed the railroad business, and is today one of the most prominent and successful railroad officers in the United States. He is the General Manager of the Chesapeake and Ohio system which extends from Newport News at the confluence of the James River and Chesapeake Bay to Memphis, Tenn., and which is soon to be united with the Southern Pacific at Shreveport, La. His headquarters are at Richmond, Va.
The second son, William Henry Smith, graduated at a Quaker College near Richmond, Ind., and adopted the profession of a journalist. When twenty-one years of age, he edited at Cincinnati, a literary monthly called the Casket and Review, and a weekly called The Type of the Times. Subsequently he became connected with the daily press of Cincinnati, and when the war broke out was on the editorial staff of the Gazette. In 1863, he was invited by John Brough, Ohio's great war Governor, became his private secretary, and while holding that position was nominated and elected Secretary of State on the Union ticket in 1864, and was reelected in 1866. He resigned this office in January 1868, to return to journalism. He established the Cincinnati Chronicle, and on that being merged into the Times, accepted the appointment of General Manager of the Western Associated Press, the largest news organization in the world, with headquarters at Chicago. This was in January 1870. When Rutherford B. Hayes was elected President, he appointed Mr. Smith Collector of Customs for the port of Chicago, which office he held until after the death of President Garfield, when his commission having expired, he declined to permit his name to be used longer in connection with the office. Mr. Smith has written a great deal, his largest literary work being "The St. Clair Papers," two volumes, octavo, which covers the years of the Revolutionary war, Government under the Confederation, and the Government of the Northwestern Territory before Ohio was admitted as a State.
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