Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Smith, Thomas B. 1871 - 1914
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Author: Emma E. Forter (1917)

THOMAS B. SMITH.

    Thomas B. Smith, now deceased, at one time one of the well-known and
successful farmers of Murray township, Marshall county, was born in Banff,
Scotland, on June 12, 1871, and was the son of John and Isabelle (Metven) Smith.

    John and Isabelle Smith were also natives of Scotland and there received
their education in the public schools, grew to maturity and were married. After
their marriage they continued to live in the land of their nativity until 1883,
when they decided to come to America, where they might make a home for
themselves and those dependent upon them. On their arrival in the United States
they located on a farm in Fremont county, Iowa, where they spent the remaining
days, of their lives and where they were among the prominent and highly
respected people of the district.

    Thomas B. Smith received much of his education in the schools of his native
land and in Iowa. He first came to Kansas with William Mawhor in 1887 and
assisted him in driving cattle to the state. Mr. Smith continued this work for
several years, when he later established his home in Marshall county.

    In 1898 Thomas B. Smith was united in marriage to Leah Mawhor, who was born
in Iowa in 1874 and is the daughter of William and Martha (Songer) Mawhor, the
former having been born in 1832 and died in 1901 and the latter was born in 1842
and died in 1887. Mr. Mawhor was a native of Ireland and his wife was born in
Illinois. For many years before his death Mr. Mawhor was in poor health and went
to Excelsior Springs, Missouri, where he died. They were the parents of the
following children: Alice, Grace, Leah, Samuel and May. Alice is now deceased
and Grace and Samuel died in infancy; Leah is the widow of Thomas B. Smith and
May is the wife of Roy Mason, of Beattie. By a former marriage Mr. Mawhor was
the father of a son, Robert J., who now lives in Iowa.

    After their marriage Thomas B. and Leah Smith established their home on a
farm four and one-half miles southwest of Axtell, where they lived until 1902,
when they moved to the present home farm, where Mrs. Smith now has three hundred
and twenty acres of splendid land, all under high cultivation and well improved.
The house is nicely located on a hill and is well protected by beautiful trees,
and surrounded by a well-kept lawn. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were active members of
the Presbyterian church and always took much interest in the religious life of
the township. Politically, Mr. Smith was identified with the Republican party,
yet he frequently voted for men, regardless of party affiliations. He was a
great home man and took much pleasure in the company of his wife and children,
and was a most affectionate husband and kind father. He and Mrs. Smith were the
parents of the following children: Lawrence Darrell, who was born on April 27,
1899; Leah Alice, June 5, 1901; Howard Leverne, April 10, 1903, and Grace Leora,
January 4, 1908. On July 15, 1914, while Mr. Smith was assisting a neighbor in
threshing, he was killed by a stroke of lightning, at which time a horse was
killed and several of the other workers shocked. It was a most peculiar
circumstance, for there was but little indication of an electrical storm and
there was but a small cloud in the sky. His death caused a gloom over the entire
community, for he was a man who was held in the highest regard and esteem by all
who knew him.

    Mr. Smith was a most progressive farmer and stockman and was recognized
throughout the township as one of the substantial and successful men of the
county. His life was a most active one, and his untimely death cut short a
useful career. He was a firm believer in intensive farming and the keeping of
the best of stock, and his farm was one of the ideal places of the district and
his stock received the best care and attention. He always took much interest in
local affairs, and while he was not an office seeker, his advice was often
sought in matters pertaining to the welfare of the township and the county, and
there were few men whose judgment was more worthy of consideration.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions
by
Emma E. Forter

Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917)


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