James M. Smith USGENWEB Montana ArchivesMay be copied for non-profit purposes. History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 James M. Smith, one of Montana's successful pioneer farmers came to the Territory July 1, 1864.He was born in North Carolina, March 30, 1833. His father, John Smith was born in Virginia and was a descendant of an English family who were among the first settlers of the Old Dominion. He was born in 1800 and married to Martha Shields, a native of North Carolina and of German extraction, born in 1802. After their marriage they resided in North Carolina until 1844 at which time they removed to Tennessee. There, the following year, he was attacked with a pain in his head which resulted in his death. He had been a gunsmith and a farmer and had mined in the gold mines of North Carolina. He was also a musician and taught music but with a family of ten children he had not been able to accumulate much and left them poor. After his death, the widow kept her children together as best she could until they were all raised to maturity. She died in 1865. Of the children, seven are now living, James M. being the fifth born. They resided in North Carolina until he was twelve years of age, when they removed to Tennessee. His opportunities for an education were limited in the extreme. When our subject was sixteen his elder brother left homeand upon him devolved the care of his mother and the younger children. He stayed with them, worked on the farm and provided for them until he was twenty- one. He then went to school for six months and began to learn the millwright trade, receiving $6 per month. After working a year at this trade, he turned his attention to carpenter work and followed that for about ten years in Tennessee. January 9, 1859, he married Mary Hauser, a native of Bavaria, Germany. On April 24, 1864 accompanied by his wife, he started west. She stopped at St. Louis until the spring of 1865 when he came on to Montana. Upon his arrival in Montana, he prospected at Silver City for eight days. Mining had just commenced. He found in the mountains a holein which he had a good show of gold. On Silver creek he recorded a claim but as soon as he left it, it was jumpedand when he returned a year later he found the men had taken $5000 from it. Mining was not his forte and after a little he worked at his trade. His first work at Alder Gulch was to make wheelbarrows, which he sold at $25 each.For a time he cut cordwood for the Tompson and Sanders Sawmill. This was the first mill in the territory and from November to January 1865 he furnished them with logs.Mrs. Smith had remained in St. Louis during the winter and in the spring of 1865 she joined her husband in Montana.She reached Fort Benton bringing with her about 2,500 in freight. Mr. Smith met her at the Fort and with his ox team hauled her and the goods to Helena. They camped on what is now Colonel Monroe's place. Afterward they went to Springville and started a boardinghouse but did not like it there and only remained one night. Returning to Helena they moved in a little cabin. A few days later, when going up town, Mr. Smith heard a sale being cried and out of curiosity went to see what it was. He learned that a squatter had taken up 160 acres in the valley and while covering his house with slabs a wind blew one of the slabs down, it striking him on the head and killing him. Judge Hedgeswas selling his right to the place. To help the sale along, Mr. Smith began to bid and unexpectedly it was struck off to him at $376.00. After making him a quit claim deed, Judge Hedges came out with Mr. Smith to a high place where Rodney Street is now located and pointed down the valley saying, "It's down that way. Take the ox trail and when you come to the place you'll know it. The house has been raised and the slabs to cover it are standing up against the house. There is a little corral there."The next morning Mr. Smith loaded up his effects and he and his wife made their way to the new home. Soon he roofed the little house and they began in earnest their life in Montana. That year Mr. Smith cut twelve tons of hay and fenced a portion of his land. He worked hard and as the years passed by made many improvements in his land. Having no children in 1875 they adopted Mattie Kents who is still with them. Their home is at Number 836 North Jackson Street. USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format forprofit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express writtenpermission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist.