BIO:  SMITH, Sylvester, s/o James & Martha (Mattingly) Smith

Submitted by:  phill@redrock.net   (Phyllis Hill)

SMITH   MATTINGLY   GOOTEE   WALKER

History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana
Chicago:  The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1886

Daviess County, Barr Twp., page 832

SYLVESTER SMITH was born in Daviess County, Ind., in 1823, and is the son of
James and Martha (Mattingly) Smith.  He received a limited education, and at
the age of twenty began as a farmer on a rented place.  Some three years
later he purchased twenty acres of timber land, on which he built his first
log house.  He now owns a good frame dwelling, surrounded by 400 acres of
very fine land.  In 1843 he married Martha A. Gootee, born in 1825, who bore
him fifteen children:  James, William, John, Martha, Sarah, William, Barbara,
Charles, Marion, George, Thomas, Lee, Francis, Catherine and Augusta.  The
family are members of the Catholic Church.  Mr. Smith deals extensively in
stock, and during the last four years has given almost his entire attention
to stock trading.  In 1874 he purchased a thoroughbred Norman horse at a cost
of $2,750, and in 1883 purchased another which cost $1,800.  He has held the
positions of director, vice-president and superintendent of the Martin County
Fair Association.  He is a Democrat, and as a farmer has been very successful. 
Mrs. Smith is a daughter of Silas and Barbara (Walker) Gootee, who were
born in Kentucky.  They both died in 1848, within four weeks of each other.
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