Smith - George Washington - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Smith - George Washington

Source: AW Bowen History, Montgomery County, Indiana (Indianapolis: Bowen, 1913)'

The great task in the early days of the history of Montgomery County in clearing the land of its timber and preparing the soil for the profitable raising of crops can scarcely be realized by the people of today. Not a seed could be sown or an orchard tree planted until the timber had been cut down and removed either by fire or with horses. Even then the stumps were a great hindrance and it is doubtful if so much as half a crop could have been raised until they had been eradicated in some manner. The amount of hard labor thus required to remove the timber and place the land under a high state of cultivation seems almost incredible. It was a task that never ended and all members of the family were required to assist early and late all seasons of the year. But the persistence in all instances brought success as the years passed, and in time the bare acres were spread out before the sun ready to produce abundant crops as soon as the seeds were deposited, and the wilderness gave way to abundant harvests and browsing herds. These were the tasks set before the ancestors of George Washington Smith, farmer of Union township, for this honored pioneer family came here among the early settlers, in the days of the great forests and, setting to work with a will, cleared the land and established a good home, and their descendants have continued to be active in the affairs of the community for three quarters of a century.

George W. Smith was born in Ripley township, this County, on October 23, 1856, and he is a son of Joseph and Martha (GASS) Smith. The father was born in 1820 in Butler County, Ohio, and was six years old when he was brought by his parents to Montgomery County, Indiana, where the elder Smith entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government, which he cleared and improved, establishing thereon the permanent home of the family. Here Joseph Smith grew to manhood in the midst of rugged pioneer conditions, finding plenty of hard work to do, like all farmer boys of that period, but the Smiths were able to foresee a great future in this locality and they were content to labor and to wait for results and the natural increase that was bound to come with advancing years. Joseph Smith was a man of unusual sagacity in business matters. He devoted his life to general agricultural and stock raising pursuits, achieving a far greater success in these lines than the average man, being worth at the time of his death in August, 1882, seventy-five thousand dollars. This indicated that he was the possessor of unusual energy, sound judgment and foresight, for he started out a poor boy, and also in later life was practically blind, and it was on account of his eyes that he was exempt from military service during the war of the states. He was widely known throughout this and adjoining counties. His wife, Martha Gass, was born in 1820, in Tennessee and she came to Montgomery County, Indiana, an orphan child. Here she and Mr. Smith were married. She proved to be a faithful helpmeet {sic} and was a hospitable, neighborly woman and, with her husband, was a faithful member of the Methodist Church. Her death occurred in 1872. George W. Smith, of this review, grew to manhood on the home farm and there assisted with the general work when a boy. He did not have extensive educational advantages, but made good use of what he did have. He has spent his life on the home farm, which he has kept well tilled and well improved. Politically, Mr. Smith is a Democrat and takes considerable interest in the affairs of his County, although is not an office holder. He belongs to the United Brethren Church, and fraternally is a member of the Modern Woodman of America. On October 12, 1882, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Anna A. ORR, who was born in Montgomery County, this state. She is a daughter of Daniel and Nancy (HENDERSON) Orr, the father a native of Scotland, and the mother was born in Ireland. They came to the United States when young, locating in Indiana. Daniel Orr enlisted for service in the Union army, and while at Lafayette, on his way to the front he was stricken and died. One child has been born to George W. Smith and his wife, Harry O. Smith, who lives in Crawfordsville. - typed by kbz