Individual Details
Major David Smith
(October 7, 1753 - December 4, 1835)
"David Smith served in the revolution for two years with the North Carolina forces, participating in the Battle of King's Mountain and the Seige of Augusta, immediately after the war, he went to the Cumberland Settlement, now Middle Tennessee, in command of a military guard to a party of settlers. His wife and little daughter accompanied him and his second daughter was probably born there. Finding life on that frontier too dangerous for his small family, he took them, by boat, down the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers to the Natchez District, then Spanish Territory but well settled by American colonists. Here they were happily located. But in 1790, his wife, Margaret, died, and, a few months later, he accidently killed a Spaniard. Advised to leave the District rather than be tried before the Spanish authorities, he went to Nashville with Andrew Jackson, who was returning, at that time, to his law practice there, leaving his two daughters with a brother who had also come to "the Natchez" to live. In Tennessee, he married (2nd) Obedience Fort, November 1791, and by her had eleven children, many of whom became prominent in Mississippi and Texas." (Rockingham Post-Dispatch," Richmond County, North Carolina, 30 November 1949.)
"Smith County, Mississippi, as recited in the establishing act, was named "in honour of major David Smith, of Hinds County." At the time, Hiram Runnels, the husband of David Smith's daughter Aurelia, was Governor of Mississippi, the first under the Constitution of 1832. David Smith (1753-1834?), a native of North Carolina, moved to the Natchez District after serving in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He later moved to Nashville, and he evidently received the title of major while serving with Jackson during the Creek Wars. His son, Ben Fort Smith, was the first Representative from Hinds County in the State Legislature, and David Smith moved to Hinds County in about 1822. His home, which he called Soldier's Rest, was a popular social and political gathering-place. Another of his daughters, Sarah, married George W. Humphreys, and their son, Benjamin G. Humphreys, was Governor of Mississippi from 1865 to 1868, the last under the Constitution of 1832. The second son of B. G. Humphreys was named David Smith Humphreys."
"Smith County, Mississippi was named after David Smith." (THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DAVID SMITH, 1958, by May Wilson McBee.)
"Smith County, Mississippi, as recited in the establishing act, was named "in honour of major David Smith, of Hinds County." At the time, Hiram Runnels, the husband of David Smith's daughter Aurelia, was Governor of Mississippi, the first under the Constitution of 1832. David Smith (1753-1834?), a native of North Carolina, moved to the Natchez District after serving in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He later moved to Nashville, and he evidently received the title of major while serving with Jackson during the Creek Wars. His son, Ben Fort Smith, was the first Representative from Hinds County in the State Legislature, and David Smith moved to Hinds County in about 1822. His home, which he called Soldier's Rest, was a popular social and political gathering-place. Another of his daughters, Sarah, married George W. Humphreys, and their son, Benjamin G. Humphreys, was Governor of Mississippi from 1865 to 1868, the last under the Constitution of 1832. The second son of B. G. Humphreys was named David Smith Humphreys."
"Smith County, Mississippi was named after David Smith." (THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DAVID SMITH, 1958, by May Wilson McBee.)
Events
| Birth | October 7, 1753 | Cumberland County, North Carolina | |||
| Marriage | Bef September, 1775 | Anson County, North Carolina - Margaret Terry | |||
| Marriage | November 3, 1791 | Tennessee (the Cumberland) - Obedience Fort | |||
| Death | December 4, 1835 | Hinds County, Mississippi | |||
| Burial | "Soldiers Rest", Hinds County, Mississippi |
Families
| Spouse | Margaret Terry (1755 - 1790) |
| Child | Sarah Smith (1776 - 1817) |
| Child | Mary "Polly" Smith (1782 - 1827) |
| Spouse | Obedience Fort (1771 - 1847) |
| Child | Sarah David Smith (1793 - 1837) |
| Child | John William Nicholas Arthur Smith (1794 - ) |
| Child | Benjamin Fort "Ben" Smith (1796 - 1841) |
| Child | Josiah C. Smith (1798 - ) |
| Child | Evaline (or Emeline) Mabry Smith (1800 - ) |
| Child | Esther Jackson Smith ( - 1818) |
| Child | Obedience Smith (1805 - 1883) |
| Child | Piety Lucretia Smith (1807 - 1898) |
| Child | David Andrew Jackson Smith (1812 - ) |
| Child | Elias William Shelby Smith (1812 - ) |
| Father | John Smith ( - ) |
| Mother | Sarah ( - ) |