BIOGRAPHIES - SMEDLEY, John G., Bourbon County, Kentucky From: Bob Francis http://www.shawhan.com Date: 07 Feb 2000 The biographies are taken primarily from William Perrin's "The History of Bourbon, Scott, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky" and E. Polk Johnson's "The History of Kentucky and Kentuckians," Vol. III. Many Bourbon County, Kentucky, researchers have pointed out mistakes and they are notated. Name: John G. SMEDLEY _________________________________________ Birth: February 20, 1836 Carlisle, Kentucky Father: Aaron SMEDLEY Jr. (1794-1863) Mother: Catherine HUGHES Spouses _________________________________________ 1: Martha BOULDEN Death: November 22, 1872 Father: Nathan BOULDEN Marriage: October 28, 1862 Children: Maude S. (1867-) _________________________________________ 2: Lizzie BOULDEN Death: 1892 Father: Jesse H. BOULDEN (1825-) Mother: Varille MOORE Marriage: March 14, 1877 Children: Mary (1877-); Graham (1879-) JOHN G. SMEDLEY,1 merchant; P. O. Millersburg; was born Feb. 20, 1836, to Aaron and Catharine (Hughs) Smedley, she was a daughter of Jesse and Priscilla (Parker) Hughs, both of whom died in Carlisle, the former in 1863, the latter in 1856; Aaron Smedley was born in Paris, Ky., July 25, 1794, died Sept. 7, 1863; he was a son of Aaron, who was born in Pennsylvania, April 4, 1764; died June 31, 1836; his wife was Rebecca Leer; born Dec. 15, 1765, died July 16; 1828; he built the first shingle-roof house in Paris. The subject of this sketch is the oldest of Aaron Smedley, Jr.'s children, who were: John G., Wm., who was twice married; first to a Miss Howell, of New York City, afterward to a Miss Burns, of Leavenworth, Kan., now deceased; he resides in Salt Lake City, engaged in mining and the insurance business; Joseph (deceased), married a Miss Jamison, of Paris, and left two daughters: Broadus, residing with his mother, near Hutchinson Station; Elizabeth died in childhood; Aaron, Jr., engaged in mercantile business in St. Louis; Catharine was a Mrs. Harry Forrester, who is a merchant in Chicago; John G. remained upon the farm with his parents until fifteen years of age, when he entered the store of G. B. & A. Hale, of Lexington, where he continued until the years 1854-5, when he attended the Baptist College at Georgetown, during the years 1857-8; he was engaged in the mercantile business with Upstill, Pierson & Co., of St. Louis; in February, 1859, he came to Millersburg and entered into partnership in the mercantile business with Mr. J. M. Hughs, County Clerk of Bourbon; this firm still continues, doing the largest business in the village. Mr. Smedley was married Oct. 28, 1862, to Miss Mattie Boulden, daughter of Nathan Boulden; by this marriage there was a son, who died in infancy, and a daughter, Maud S., born Oct. 14, 1867; the mother of these died Nov. 22, 1872; he was remarried March 14, 1877, to Mrs. Lizzie Rains, widow of Dr. Rains, of Millersburg; this marriage took place at Jacksonville, Fla., and after traveling through the South, he returned to his business; by this marriage there are two children, viz : Mary, born Dec. 21, 1877; Graham, born Nov. 10, 1879; the mother is a daughter of Jesse Boulden (see history). He is a member of the Baptist Church, she of the Christian; he is a member of the Knights Templar, an enterprising, energetic, and prominent mail in business circles. JOHN G. SMEDLEY.2 Numbered among the honored citizens and representative business men of Millersburg, Bourbon county, Mr. Smedley is entitled to definite recognition in this publication. He is junior member of the firm of Corrington & Smedley, who conduct a large and prosperous enterprise as dealers in general merchandise and whose well equipped establishment is one of the foremost in the thriving little city of Millersburg. Mr. Smedley views with a due measure of satisfaction the fact that he claims Kentucky as the place of his nativity and that in both the agnatic and maternal lines he is a scion of honored pioneer families of this favored commonwealth. He was born at Carlisle, Nicholas county, on the 20th of February, 1836, and is a son of Aaron and Catherine (Hughes) Smedley, the former of whom was born in Bourbon county, this state, and the latter in Nicholas county. The father devoted the major part of his active career to merchandising and farming, and both he and his wife were residents of Bourbon county at the time of their death. They became the parents of six children, of whom five sons and one daughter are now living. John G. Smedley gained his early educational discipline in the common schools of Bourbon county, where he was reared to maturity, and later he was afforded higher educational advantages through attendance at Georgetown College, at Georgetown, this state. Prior to entering this institution he had initiated his experience in connection with the practical affairs of life, as he began clerking in a general store in the city of Lexington when but fifteen years of age. After leaving college he went to the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where he held a clerical position in a mercantile establishment for some time. In 1859 he took up his residence in Millersburg, Kentucky, where he engaged in the general Merchandise business in partnership with his maternal uncle, James M. Hughes. This association was maintained for several years and Mr. Smedley then formed a partnership with James M. Batterton, with whom he continued to be associated in the same line of enterprise until the death of Mr. Batterton, about the year 1882. Shortly afterward he again entered into partnership with his uncle, Mr. Hughes, later he was associated for a time with Alexander Butler, and in 1897 the latter was succeeded by C. W. Corrington. Since that time the business has been successfully continued under the firm name of Corrington & Smedley. Mr. Smedley has the distinction of being the oldest merchant engaged in active business in Millersburg, so far as years of active identification with local business affairs is concerned, and during more than half a century of dealing with the people of this community he has maintained an inviolable reputation for fair and honorable business methods and sterling integrity of character, the gracious result of which has been that no citizen commands a greater measure of popular confidence and respect. Mr. Smedley has always done his part in the support of measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the community, and while he has never sought or desired political preferment he has accorded a staunch allegiance to the cause of the Democratic party. He is affiliated with Amity Lodge, No. 40, Free & Accepted Masons, of which he is past master, and for the past half century he has been a zealous member of the Baptist church in Millersburg. At Millersburg, in the year 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Smedley to Miss Martha Boulden, who was summoned to the life eternal in 1872. Of this union were born two children--Claude, who died at the age of two years, and Maude S., who is the wife of Dr. C. Bruce Smith, of Millersburg, of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this work. In 1877 Mr. Smedley contracted a second marriage, having then been united to Mrs. Elizabeth (Boulden) Raines, widow of Dr. Henry Raines, who was one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Bourbon county at the time of his demise, Mrs. Smedley passed away in the year 1892 and is survived by two children born of her marriage to Mr. Smedley--Mary H., who is the wife of Dr. Ernest Boston, of San Antonio, Texas, and Graham B., who is engaged in the practice of law at Midland, Texas, and who is serving as prosecuting attorney of Midland county at the time of this writing, in 1910. The honored subject of this review now resides in the home of his son-in-law, Dr. C. Bruce Smith, and though venerable in years he is alert and vigorous, while he finds pleasure in being surrounded by leal and loyal friends in the community that has been his home and the scene yof his well directed efforts during the long period of more than half a century. Sources 1. Perrin, p. 517 2. E. Polk Johnson, The History of Kentucky and Kentuckians, Vol. III, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1912, p. 1283. ------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or his legal representative and then contact the listed USGENWEB archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.