Bio: Francis Smith III

When Francis Smith III died in 1841, his daughter indicated that he was 69 years of age. This would place his birth around 1772, in Chesterfield county Virginia. He was the son of Francis Smith Jr and Catherine Markham. Most of what is known about his life has been snatched, in little bits and pieces, from a variety of sources. Identifications such as attorney-at-law, millionaire, and salt mine owner, give the impression that he was well educated and successful.

Francis Smith III watched his father go off to war when he was just past toddling, and he probably lost his mother when he was a young boy, perhaps twelve or thirteen. His father did remarry, providing him with a step-mother. Nothing further is known of his childhood. His younger brother, Ballard Smith, is identified as a student of William and Mary College in Williamsburg Virginia, and it seems likely that Francis Smith also attended there. It is not known exactly when he struck out for western Virginia, but he was probably settled near Abingdon in Washington county, Virginia during his young manhood.

A notice in the "Virginia Argus" on 1 February 1804, may represent his first marriage: "Married on 19th instant Francis Smith, Esq, Attorney at Law, to Miss Eliza Henry Russell, daughter of the late General William Russell, late of Washington county." Russell family records indicate that Elizabeth Henry Russell, daughter of William Russell and Elizabeth Henry, was born 15 September 1785 in Aspenville, Virginia and died 10 October 1804, aged nineteen. Her death date being almost nine months after her marriage date, might suggest that she died in childbirth. There is no record of any living children.

It seems likely that Francis Smith III became involved with the salt works which were a major industry around Abingdon. He may have been an investor or served as legal counsel. The largest salt work in the area belonged to William King. It's operation made William King an extraordinarily wealthy man. In 1799 William King married Mary Frances Trigg and the couple set about to build an impressive brick home in Abingdon. The marriage remained childless and about 1808 William King died, leaving an estate worth several million dollars. Litigation devalued the estate considerably, but Mary Frances Trigg King was still left a very wealthy, young widow.

On the 29 of March 1811, the "Richmond Enquirer" made this announcement: "Married on 7th inst by Rev Stephen Bovell, Capt Francis Smith to Mrs Mary King, both of Abingdon." It is likely that Francis Smith III had already made a considerable fortune of his own before he married Mary Frances Trigg. Their combined wealth assured them a comfortable circumstance.

Mary Frances Trigg was born 2 December 1781 in Christianburg, Montgomery county Virginia. Her parents were Daniel Trigg and Ann Smith. The Trigg family moved from Christianburg to Abingdon, Washington county Virginia when she was a girl.

Francis Smith III and Mary Frances Trigg had only one child, a daughter, who they named Mary Frances Trigg Smith. She was born 7 August 1812 in Abingdon, Washington county, Virginia. Much of her education was provided by a private tutor, Julia Ann Hieronymus Tevis, who taught three or four girls in the Smith home. Julia Tevis wrote a book about her experiences as a teacher, in which the Smith family figures prominently.

In 1818, when little Mary Smith was five or six years old, Francis Smith purchased a three hundred and fifty acre property near Abingdon, Virginia. It included a home that had originally been built by Capt James Bradley. He named his new home "Mary's Meadow", in honor of his daughter. In later years it would be known as "The Meadows". Francis Smith acquired additional acreage, finally bring the property to about three thousand acres. Nanci C King, in her 1989 book, Places in Time, gives wonderful detail on the Meadows Plantation:

The Smiths remodelled the Bradley house, adding a wing at each end. The center hall had a curved mahogany staircase and opened into a drawing room on each side. A landscape gardener was brought from Richmond to design the grounds and two acres of formal gardens.

Nanci C King goes on to explain that the Meadows plantation stayed in family hands for several generations, passing first to Mary Trigg Smith and her husband Wyndham Robertson. In the 1870's, a six-hundred fifty acres tract, along with the homeplace, was passed to the Robertson's son, Francis Smith Robertson, and then to his daughter Nellie Robertson Motley.

The 1833 Will of Francis Smith Jr names his son Francis Smith III with the following comment: ". . . [estate] to be divided equally among my children and grandchildren . . except my sons Frank and Lewis and the children of my daughter Kate M Spiller, they being in good circumstances require no donation from me." Francis Smith III serves as executor of his father's estate.

The 1854 Pension Application of Francis Smith Jr's grandaughter, Catherine Spiller Findlay, indicates that her uncles, Frank Smith III and Lewis Smith, had been residents of Abingdon, Washington county Virginia, but were both deceased in 1854. Frank and Lewis Smith were probably half-brothers.

Abingdon, Virginia remained the home of the Smith family and their descendants for many years. Mary Frances Trigg Smith died there on 25 April 1839, a brief obituary statement was published in the Richmond Enquier (Richmond Virginia), on the 30th of April 1839:

Died April 25th Mrs Mary Smith, age 58, wife of Francis Smith, Esq of Abingdon, leaving husband and child.

Just over two years later, Francis Smith died. A note of his tombstone inscription gives the following:
In memory of FRANCIS SMITH who departed this life 26 Jul 1841 in the 69th year of his age...by his only and affectionate daughter.

Do you want to know more?
Link to Francis Smith
Sketch: Fincastle Sterrett – Slave to Free Man.

Further Reading:
Places in Time, Vol 1, Abingdon Virginia 1778-1880; Nanci C King, 1989; photos by James Birchfield.
Historic Virginia Homes and Churches; Robert Alexander Lancaster, 1915. (google ebook) Sketch on The Meadows.
Sixty Years in a School-room: An Autobiography of Mrs. Julia A. Tevis; Julia Ann Hieronymus Tevis, 1878.

Bio for Francis Smith III; written by Pamela Hutchison Garrett for John Markham of Chesterfield website; 2014.