THOMAS S. SMITH is well known in this county as one of the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of Curran Township. He owns one hundred and forty acres of prime land on sections 13 and 14, where he has all the modern improvements, making it one of the most valuable tracts in the township. The house, barns and other outbuildings are commodious and substantial and especial pains has been taken to afford adequate shelter for the horses, of which Mr. Smith makes a specialty. The latest improved machinery is used in the transaction of the affairs of the estate, the owner being one who believes in labor-saving inventions and progressive ideas.
Mr. Smith is a grandson of Thomas Smith, a Virginian who accompanied his parents to Kentucky during the early settlement of that State. He married Elizabeth Peters. IN 1819 he removed to Madison County, Ill., and in 1822 came to this county. He took a claim in Curran Township, operated it a few years, then removed to the vicinity of Springfield, where he continued farming for a time. He then retired on account of age and spent his last years with his son John, the father of our subject. He was a soldier during the Black Hawk War.
John Smith was born in Washington County, Ky., March 18, 1805, and was seventeen years old when he came to this county. When old enough to do so he entered land in Curran Township on section 26, splitting rails for fifty cents a hundred to get money with which to pay the fees. He worked by the day at farm work on the present site of Springfield and cut grass at seventy-five cents a day where the court house not stands. He was a very successful farmer, prospered in his undertakings and became the owner of over one thousand acres of improved land. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for over fifty years and a pillar in the organization. He gave the site and $1,000 toward the building of Mt. Zion Church, in which he was a Class Leader, etc. Politically he was a Democrat.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Jane Drennan. Her father, James Drennan, was born in South Carolina in 1786 and reared in that State, but afterward resided in Kentucky, where Mrs. Smith was born. Grandfather Drennan and his wife, Rebecca Everetts, came to this county in the spring of 1818 and spent the balance of their lives here. The marriage of our subject's parents was solemnized June 23, 1825, and was blest to them by the birth of six children. The wife and mother died in 1836 and the father subsequently married Rebecca Enix who was born in East Tennessee June 16, 1808. She is now living with her daughter, Mrs. David Miller, in Curran Township. The brothers and sisters of our subject are William C., Rebecca, Elizabeth C., Lucy M. and Richard C. The last named lives on the old homestead in Curran Township; Lucy is the wife of William Barbre and Elizabeth is the wife of William Poor, both of the same township. The other brother and sister are deceased. The half sisters of our subject are: Mahala J., wife of David Miller, and Martha H., wife of A. J. Drennan.
Thomas Smith was born April 4, 1827, in what is now Curran Township, and reared on the frontier prairies of Illinois. He was early set to work driving oxen, guiding the plow, etc., and hauled wood to Springfield for $1.37½ a cord. The old log schoolhouse in which he pursued his studies is still standing on Lick Creek, a memento of the olden times. His school privileges were limited to the months when school was kept by subscription, but what he laced in book lore he made up in practical observation and experience. The whole round of pioneer experiences were his, even to making the trip to St. Louis, which required ten days, during which he slept with the canopy of heaven for his covering and the prairie sod for his pillow. He hauled wheat there and sold it for thirty-seven and one-half cents per bushel and that place also was the market to which hogs and cattle were driven. Mr. Smith vividly recalls the deep snow which is one of the epochs in the history of the State.
The marriage of Thomas Smith and Lucy M. Smith was solemnized in Springfield Township, October 13, 1845. The bride was born in this county November 29, 1830, and is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Cooper) Smith. Her father was born in Kentucky and was an uncle of our subject. He began farming in Springfield Township, this county, on eighty acres of land which he bought with money made by clerking for Mr. Iles, of Springfield. He died when sixty-eight years of age and his widow subsequently married Samuel Smith. She finally died at the home of our subject. The family of which Mrs. Smith was a member, includes the following living children: Mrs. Louisa Jones, now of Missouri; Striblin S., living in Ottawa, Kan,; Thomas E., a resident of Clinton, this State; Mary, whose home is in Kansas; and of the second marriage John H., living in Ottawa, Kan., and Amanda C., whose home is in Wichita. Two fo the boys, - Thomas E. and John H. belonged to the Forty-first Illinois Infantry from 1861 until the close of the late war. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Smith were John and Elizabeth (Carter) Cooper, who were early settlers of this county, whither they had come from Tennessee.
After his marriage our subject began farming on his father's land, establishing his home in a hewed log house, which was 16x18 feet. This house he moved three times, the last occasion being in 1857, when it was brought to the land he now occupies. Until a few years since Mr. Smith owned two hundred and forty acres, all of which he had improved from the raw state. He raises a large crop of wheat, sowing one hundred acres or more. He also raises and feeds hogs and guys and ships other stock, although not as heavily as of yore. In former years he took train loads of cattle to New York City. His farm is well adapted for stock raising and feeding, as it is watered by Withrow Branch. For ten seasons Mr. Smith has run a threshing machine, operating it by steam during the last two years. He also has a corn sheller and feel mill run by steam.
Mr. Smith is a great lover of and a fine judge of horses, about whose peculiarities he is able to converse most intelligently and enjoyably. He has raised some valuable horses and always has a fine herd, some of which are standard bred and worth a round price. He was the owner of the pacer Gray Alice, one of the best pacers of her day, whose record was 2:23¼. He sold her for $2,650, and has received as high as $600 apiece for colts. He had one pair of driving horses valued at $1,450 and two teams worth $2,000 each. He keeps the Monon stock and can give anyone who desires, points on their good qualities. Mr. Smith was at one time President of the Blooded Horse Association and very active in the working of the society. He has acted as starter for the races times most without number. When the Association fell $1,200 behind he paid the premiums from his own pocket and received it all back except $44. Mr. Smith attended the first fair ever held in St. Louis, Mo., was a stockholder in the first Sangamon County Fair Association and acted as judge nearly every year until quite recently, when he declined to serve longer.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of seven sons and daughters, five of whom are happily settled in homes of their own. Louisa is the wife of G. M. D. Davis and lives in Springfield; John is a farmer in Champaign County; J. S. tills the soil in Curran Township; Laura B. is the wife of Thomas Drennan of Curran Township; Alice is the wife of Robert M. Foster; Thomas, Jr., is farming in Curran Township; Richard P. still resides under the parental roof. All have had good advantages and exhibit a marked degree of intelligence.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Board of Supervisors two years, has been Commissioner of Highways six years and is still serving in the latter capacity. He is now efficiently discharging the duties of School Director. He is a very liberal free-hearted man, who helps in all enterprises which promise to advance the public welfare, such as building schoolhouses and churches. His hospitality is unbounded and his estimable wife adds her cordiality and kindness to the charms of the welcome which is extended to acquaintances from far and near. Mr. Smith belongs to the Farmer's Mutual Benefit Association of Curran. He is strictly independent in politics, voting as he pleases and is a strong advocate of temperance. Mrs. Smith belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.