More Information:

About Benjamin Fitzpatrick Smith:

1860 United States Federal Census about Stephen S Smith
Name: Stephen S Smith
Age in 1860: 48
Birth Year: abt 1812
Birthplace: Georgia
Home in 1860: Jackson, Jackson, Louisiana
Gender: Male
Post Office: Woodville
Bengiman Smith 38
Elizeabth S Smith 24
Jane P Smith 4
Ela S Smith 3
Eugene H Smith 1
Susan M Smith 65
Stephen S Smith 48

Inscription:
AT REST
In Memory of
Benjamin F. Smith
Born Nov. 19, 1822
Died Dec. 21, 1900
Aged 78 yrs 1 mo & 2 dys
"Farewell my wife and children all
From you a Father Christ doth call.
Mourn nor for me, it is in vain to
Me to your sight again".

Burial:
Smith Family Cemetery
Clay, Jackson Parish, Louisiana, USA

B. F. Smith is a man whom nature seems to have especially designed to be a planter, for he has met with more than the average degree of success in pursuing that calling and owing to his desire to keep out of the beaten path and to his adoption of new and improved methods, together with industry and good judgment, he is now in the enjoyment of ample means. He was born in Montgomery, Ala., in November 1822, the fifth of ten children born to Rhode L. and Susan (Eiland) Smith, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Georgia. Rhode L. Smith grew to manhood in the state of his birth, but when he had attained the age of twenty-one years, he went to Georgia, where he met, wooed and won Miss Eiland for his wife, their marriage being celebrated in 1809. After residing in this state for nine years after their marriage he (in 1818) removed with his family to Montgomery, Ala., where, being a carpenter by trade, he built the first building put up in the town, having also erected the first frame house ever put up in Columbus, Ga. After making his home in Alabama until 1828 he again returned to Georgia, where he successfully followed the calling of a planter for eleven years, at the end of which time he took up his abode in Ouachita Parish, La., this being about the year 1839. He was one of the pioneers of the northern part of this state, for at that time there was but one family living within reach of them. After a residence of two years in Ouachita Parish, they located in what is now Jackson Parish where Mr Smith succeeded in accumulating considerable land prior to the war as well as a large number of slaves. He was a highly respected citizen and was regarded by all who knew him as an honorable and high-toned gentleman. He died at his home in Jackson Parish in November, 1859 in his eightieth year, his widow surviving him only a few years, passing from life in November, 1862. The subject of this sketch and his three sisters are the only surviving members of their family. The former being the only son at his father's death, he remained with his mother and cared for her in her declining years. He was married when in his thirty-third year to Miss Emma S. Wilson, to which union five sons and three daughters have been born: Julia P., Eugene H., Howard W., Benjamin F. Jr., James R., Oliver h., Ella and Alice, the last two being deceased. Mr Smith has made planting his chief calling throughout life and is now the owner of 1,750 acres of land, of which 500 acres are under fence and a considerable portion under cultivation, devoted to the raising of the usual Southern products. He is a plain and practical planter, and his success in life is owning to his own earnest efforts. Since 1882 he has kept a stock of general merchandise on his plantation, worth about $8,000, which brings him in a fair sum annually. He is an earnest Christian and a high-minded gentleman, and he and his family move in the highest circles of society and are hospitable and charitable.

B. F. SMITH Self M Male W 57 AL Farmer VA Ga
Emma S. SMITH Wife M Female W 45 NC Keeping House SC SC
Julia P. SMITH Dau S Female W 24 LA At Home AL NC
E. H. SMITH Son S Male W 20 LA Works On Farm AL NC
H. W. SMITH Son S Male W 18 LA Works On Farm AL NC
B. F. SMITH Son S Male W 16 LA Works On Farm AL NC
J. R. SMITH Son S Male W 12 LA Works On Farm AL NC
O. H. SMITH Son S Male W 10 LA Works On Farm AL NC
Alice M. SMITH Dau S Female W 10 LA AL NC

1880 Census 3rd Ward, Jackson, Louisiana Page 215A

About Emma Spencer Wilson:

Birth: Mar. 25, 1835
Death: Nov. 12, 1914
Spouse: Benjamin F Smith (1822 - 1900)*

Burial:
Greenwood Cemetery
Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA

About Ella Saphronia Smith:

Inscription:
Ella Saphronia
Dau. of B.F. & E.S. Smith
Born Aug. 20, 1857
Died April 19, 1862
Aged 4 Years 5 Ms & 29 Ds
"Sweet Ella unto earth
A little while was given,
She plumed her wings for flight
And soared away to heaven.

Burial:
Smith Family Cemetery
Clay
Jackson Parish
Louisiana, USA

About Alice M Smith:

Inscription:
Alice M.
Daughter of B.F. & E.S. Smith
Born June 25, 1870
Died Aug. 20, 1882
Aged 12 Yrs 2 Mo

Burial:
Smith Family Cemetery
Clay
Jackson Parish
Louisiana, USA