This site is dedicated to Anderson and Rebecca Smith, early pioneers who opened the way for the settlement of the West. Their many descendants are spread from Missouri where they settled to California. This is a small of their story.
This site is dedicated to Anderson and Rebecca Smith, early pioneers who opened the way for the settlement of the West. Their many descendants are spread from Missouri where they settled to California. This is a small of their story.
"The Smith family had a long and much
interrupted journey from North Carolina, back through Georgia, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Illinois and to Missouri. They traveled in covered wagons across
mountains, rivers and plains. The roads were only trails so they had to
ford the rivers and streams. The household goods were securely packed in
the wagons.
In 1804 Anderson was charged with
the murder of Ephraim Edams (Adams or Evans). At that time he was described
as 6 ft tall, fair, has had a broken arm, lost the sight of the right eye,
is about 24 years old. No record of the outcome of this charge has been
found.
Anderson and Rebecca Smith moved to
Georgia in 1804, to Bedford co., Tennessee in 1809, to Gallatin County,
Illinois in 1820 and to Morgan County, Illinois. Together with his brother,
Vincent T Smith, and two sister, Elizabeth and Mollie reached western Missouri
about 1827. Vincent T and Elizabeth (Eliza), went to Kansas before the
Civil war. The other sister, Mollie, married a Poteet and moved to Buchanan
Co, Missouri.
In those early years in Missouri friendly
Indians often camped during the winter around the area north of Cameron.
The nearest trading post was Weston, Missouri on the Missouri River. A
wagon train would be made up about twice a year to go to Weston to purchase
such things as coffee, sugar, flour, salt, and a few other things that
could not be producedf on the farm. Trappers came down river to trade at
Weston. The Smith's butchered a large number of hogs and cured the meat.
They kept the hams, shoulders and sausage for the family to use, and loaded
the wagons to the top with huge slabs of salt bacon, which they traded
to the trappers at Weston, Missouri.
Anderson Smith was listed in the 5th Federal Census (1830) as a resident
of Clay Co, Missouri with his wife and nine children. In 1833 he and his
sons (pictured at left) homesteaded over 1000 acres of land between what
later became the the Harris School and Grindstone Creek in Grand River
Twp, Clinton county (now DeKalb county). The Smith's were the third family
to settle north of Cameron, Missouri.
They were the parents of 15 children
and held school and worship services in their homes until schools and churches
could be built. It seems that the three most important things to the Smith
family were - family, church and school. The old Wamsley (Presbyterian)
Church, next to the Wamsley Cemetery, in DeKalb Co, Missouri was built
by the Smiths and their neighbors.
Anderson and Rebecca had 126 known
grandchildren, 105 born while Anderson was still alive."
I would like to Acknowledge the many hours of research by Wayne & Louise Smith and Kathryn Smith (Wayne's sister), without whom this page would not be. Wayne and Kathryn, 4th great-grandchildren of Anderson and Rebecca Smith and Louise Wayne's wife spent their vacations in courthouses and graveyards in Missouri and from California to Canada searching the Smith Trail. Hundreds of hours of spare time was spent writing letters, taking pictures, talking on the phone, and finally compiling the gathered information. Most of this was done before the days of computers and copy machines. Although Wayne is no longer with us Kathryn and Louise are still busy. At the young age of 73, Louise is learning to use a computer. Her latest project is scanning her hundreds of pictures so she can share them. Thank-you Wayne, Louise and Kathryn.
To see the known Descendants and Ancestors of Anderson and Rebecca click here.
To make additions or corrections to the database, send them to Linda Smith