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Below is a family biography included in The History of Laclede County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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George Smith. Prominent among the enterprising and successful farmers of Laclede County, and among those deserving special recognition for their long residence in this county, stands the name of the above mentioned gentleman, who was born in Wilson County, Tenn., July 8, 1825, and is the son of William H. and Lucy W. (Piercy) Smith, natives of Maryland and Virginia, respectively. William H. was born in 1800, and came to Georgia with his parents when a child. They soon after moved to Tennessee. He was the eldest of three children, and attained his growth in Tennessee, where he was married in 1820. In 1838 he and family moved to Missouri, and lived in different counties for some time, but finally settled in Laclede County, Mo., within a mile and a half of where his son George now lives. Here he died in 1877. He led a quiet life, and was a good citizen. His wife, Mrs. Lucy (Piercy) Smith, was born in 1805, and was the daughter of Baswell and Sophia (Woodard) Piercy, natives of Virginia, who came to Tennessee when Mrs. Smith was a small child. They moved to Missouri about the same time the Smith family moved to this State. Mr. Piercy died in 1853, and Mrs. Piercy in 1855. They had four children: Jack, Frank, Martha and Lucy, all deceased but the last named, the mother of our subject, who is still living with her children: George, William B. and Mary (Woodard). One child, Jack, is deceased. Mrs. Lucy Smith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and has enjoyed good health until within the last five years. George Smith, subject of this sketch, received a rather limited education in the old subscription schools of early times, and at the age of twenty-eight started out for himself. He located on the place where he now lives, and here remained until 1885, when he returned to his former place, and there he has since resided. He was married to Miss Anna Craddock, daughter of Edmond and Elizabeth Craddock, both natives of Virginia. Her father died in 1855, and the mother in 1886. Of their fourteen children, Anna was the sixth child in order of birth. She is now living, and is the mother of eight children, one now living, James H., who is the youngest of this family. Four of these children died in infancy; Ellen, died when eight years old; William, choked to death at the age of two years; George, died at the age of eleven months. James H. was born in 1862, and is now living with his parents. He was educated in the common schools and at Lebanon, and is a promising young man. Mr. Smith has been an invalid for over twenty years, and all the business is done by his son, James H. He is a Democrat in politics, and his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

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This family biography is one of 104 biographies included in The History of Laclede County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Laclede County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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