Brothers Henry and Fred Smith moved with their wives and young children from Lawrence County, Missouri to work on a farm near the town of Welsh, Oklahoma. They were respected as hard-working family men who were known to be saving money to purchase some property of their own. After working there a couple of years, they heard about 80 acres of land located about 10 miles northwest of Welsh they could afford to purchase. It was in the Cherokee Indian Territory close to the small town of Kinnison, Oklahoma. After the brothers inspected the land, they rode back to Welsh and purchased it. They decided Fred and his wife should move there first to build a home while Henry and his wife fulfilled their work commitments in Welsh before moving to the property with the children. Soon after Fred and his wife arrived at the property, he became involved in a heated dispute over the ownership of the land with some members of the Kinnison family from the nearby town. He refused to leave and was shot dead one night while he and his wife were asleep. The gunman then rode off into the dark towards the nearby town. The following morning his wife rode back to Welsh to tell Henry what had happened. Henry and a Welsh deputy rode to the property and then into Kinnison, but the Cherokee agent there blamed Fred's widow for his murder. Henry retrieved his brother's body and carried it to a cemetery and buried it. The man who sold them that property had left town and no one admitted to knowing who he was or where he went. No one was ever arrested for the murder of Fred Smith.
Brothers Henry and Fred Smith moved with their wives and young children from Lawrence County, Missouri to work on a farm near the town of Welsh, Oklahoma. They were respected as hard-working family men who were known to be saving money to purchase some property of their own. After working there a couple of years, they heard about 80 acres of land located about 10 miles northwest of Welsh they could afford to purchase. It was in the Cherokee Indian Territory close to the small town of Kinnison, Oklahoma. After the brothers inspected the land, they rode back to Welsh and purchased it. They decided Fred and his wife should move there first to build a home while Henry and his wife fulfilled their work commitments in Welsh before moving to the property with the children. Soon after Fred and his wife arrived at the property, he became involved in a heated dispute over the ownership of the land with some members of the Kinnison family from the nearby town. He refused to leave and was shot dead one night while he and his wife were asleep. The gunman then rode off into the dark towards the nearby town. The following morning his wife rode back to Welsh to tell Henry what had happened. Henry and a Welsh deputy rode to the property and then into Kinnison, but the Cherokee agent there blamed Fred's widow for his murder. Henry retrieved his brother's body and carried it to a cemetery and buried it. The man who sold them that property had left town and no one admitted to knowing who he was or where he went. No one was ever arrested for the murder of Fred Smith.
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