Is this photo a picture of Samuel Smith? It could be, but I cannot say with any certainty, since like most of G. Day Smith's photos it is unlabeled. However, it is the only picture of an older man in G. Day Smith's effects that might be his grandfather Samuel Smith. The rough and hard working look is consistent with Samuel Smith's life as a pioneer settler, farmer, county treasurer and small businessman in Eldora, Hardin County Iowa. The man in this photo looks the part. And it just seems reasonable that G. Day Smith, whose Grandfather Smith was alive at least until he was around 20, would have in his effects a picture of his grandfather. However I recently found a second picture of the same gentleman in the same overalls in an envelope with a picture of Jakob K. Smith fishing. This leads me to suspect that the gentleman above is in fact Jacob K. Smith, Day's father, in his old age and retirement. There is no way to know...yet. There are no candidate pictures for Samuel Smith's wife Mary Ann (nee Bland) Smith.

His wife Mary A. Smith (61) was Keeping House in 1880. Also listed and presumably still living at home in Eldora in 1880 was Ellis M. Smith (22), their youngest son, whose occupation was "Drug Mcht", i.e.. Drug Merchant. Soon he would follow two of his older brothers, Charles W. Smith and Jakob K. Smith, out to the Dakota territories.

For the 1880 US Census our subject Samuel Smith listed both his father and mother as from Virginia, and his birth place as Ohio. This recent discovery might explain the circumstances of his marriage to his wife Mary Ann (Bland) Smith of Virginia. Although he was born in Ohio, because he had parents from Virginia and married a woman from Virginia, there may have been ongoing connections between Virginia and Ohio between his birth in 1816 and his marriage in 1840. A future search of Virginia records offers the chance to determine who his parents might have been.

By 1840 he had found his way (with his parents? without them?) to Knox County Illinois where he would marry the Virginia born Mary Ann (Bland) Smith.

In 1880 another couple appears to have resided in the Smith household in Eldora, presumably as borders. They were Deforst Davidson (26) and Ella H. Davidson (23), a Millner, or hat maker. Interestingly, in 1880 it was she and not her husband, who had a listed occupation.

Samuel Smith Biography
(from "The History of Hardin County", 1883)

"Samuel Smith was the first Treasurer and Recorder of the county. He was first elected in the spring of 1853, and served four years. Samuel Smith is one of the pioneers of Hardin county, his residence in the county dating from May 1, 1850.

"Mr. Smith was born in Ohio, in 1816. He removed with his parents to Indiana, when but eight years of age, and afterward to Illinois. His residence in Iowa dates from the fall of 1840. He built a cabin and passed the following winter in Washington county. In the spring of 1841 he went to Johnson county, where he made a location and resided about four years. He removed to Keokuk county in 1844, and, as before remarked, came to Hardin county in May, 1850. He made a claim, in that year, on sections 21 and 22, in the township of Eldora, where he resided for several years.

"On the organization of the county, in 1853, Mr. Smith was elected Recorder and Treasurer of the county; a position he held for five years. On his retiring from the office of Treasurer and Recorder, he resumed farming; but about the time of the breaking out of the rebellion, he engaged in the grocery business in Eldora, which he followed till 1879.

"Mr. Smith was married to Mary Ann, daughter of Joshua Bland. Mrs. Smith is a native of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had twelve children, only five of whom (four sons and one daughter) are living. Their children are as follows: William H., now a resident of Grundy county, was a member of the 9th Iowa Cavalry during the rebellion; Hannah J., now Mrs. W. W. Brooks, of Grundy county; Jacob K., in Dakota; Charles W., also in Dakota, and Ellis M. Their deceased children died in infancy.

"Mr. Smith is known as an honest, upright citizen, and is a worthy representative of the pioneer element of Hardin county. At the organization of the Old Settlers' Society of Hardin county, July 22, 1882, Mr. Smith was chosen President for one year."

HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 537

The time of election was now changed to the spring, and, April 4, 1853, Cyrus Smith was elected Mayor; William McConnell, Recorder; Amos Johns, Samuel Campbell, David Goodin, William Schrader and Luther Damon, Council; Hugh Letson, Treasurer; Nelson Miller, Marshal. On the 1st of August, 1853, Samuel Smith was elected Mayor, to succeed Cyrus Smith, deceased. April 3, 1854-G. P. Ingman elected Mayor; Samuel Smith, Recorder; David Goodin, Luther Damon, William Schrader, G. W. Kemp and George Fry, Council; G. W. Berry, Treasurer; Jacob C. Born, Marshal; but the latter resigning in September, David Faurot was appointed to till the vacancy. April 2, 1855- ....

http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Hardin/HarChapXVII.htm

540 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Grove Cemetery Association.-On the 17th of August, 1854, Hugh Letson. Daniel Barron, Samuel Smith, Samuel Campbell, David Snodgrass, David Thomson, George Fry, William Cary, Day Pugh, James S. Robinson, James Bain, William L. Walker, C. H. Gatch and others met at the. court house for the purpose of forming a cemetery association, with Hugh Letson in the chair. and Samuel Smith. Secretary. The persons present formed themselves into a corporate body, to be known as "Grove Cemetery Association." and elected the following Board of Trustees: David Thomson, Day Pugh, Luther Damon, William Cary and James Bain, with C. H. Gatch as Clerk of the Board. On the 24th of August, 1854, William Cary and David Thomson were appointed a committee to purchase of William Dodds ten acres of land located one mile east of Kenton, between the Marion and Marseilles pikes, at a price not exceeding $50 per acre. The committee bought the ground, and the Board ratified said purchase, September 12, 1854. Edward T. Bogardus drew a plan of the cemetery, which was adopted October 2, 1854, and the first sale of lots took place on the 12th of the same month. By-laws, for the government of the association, previously drafted by Col. A. Root, Samuel Smith and C. H. Gatch, were adopted December 2. 1854, and,on the 4th of January following, William Cary was chosen Treasurer.

http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Hardin/HarChapXVII.htm

A Farming Life in Hardin County, 1850 to 1900

"Agriculture has been the dominate industry in Hardin County since it was established in the mid-19th century, although it has evolved and changed over time.... The earliest farms were of a subsistence nature, feeding the immediate family. By 1860, 11 mill sites were located on the Iowa River in Hardin County. These early mills processed wheat into flour. Wheat was the chief agricultural product grown; flour was ground for vital domestic food use and for sale to new immigrants and other markets.

"After the 1850s, it became increasingly apparent to Iowa farmers that more money could be made from corn and other feed grains grown for livestock consumption than that grown for human consumption. The cost of shipping grain to the east was prohibitive, but cheap Iowa corn could be fed to hogs and cattle, which in turn were sold at nearby markets. This shift in farming created a new demand for storing large amounts of grain at the farm site, which resulted in the development of the corn crib. On some farms, the corn crib was even larger than the barn.

"The Civil War created a lull in Iowa's growth and immigration, but the period after the war saw a significant land use change in the expansion of railroads, stagecoach and wagon roads and bridges. Section line county roads were increasingly laid out according to the legal township and range pattern superimposed upon Iowa by the national government land surveys. This grid pattern on the landscape has greatly influenced farmstead location and field placement over time.

By the late 19th century, the conversion from wheat to predominantly corn and livestock production was nearly complete, and grain elevators on county roads and rail lines rapidly replaced gristmills along the river. These storage and shipping points have evolved into multimillion bushel storage silo facilities. These silos are now affectionately known as the "Prairie Sentinels." (For more information about this subject, including this quotation: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/hardin/ag.htm)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/hardin/settle.htm

Burnace W. Baer, Biography

This biography appears on page 1756 in "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author.

BURNACE W. BAER, senior member of the firm of Baer & Brewster, who conduct a successful abstract and real-estate business in Woonsocket, Sanborn county, is a native of the state of Iowa, having been born in Ash Grove, Davis county, on the 4th of February, 1877, and being a son of William R. and Alice (Wonn) Baer. The subject secured his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools of his native town, and then entered the high school at Harlan, Iowa, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895. Soon afterward he was matriculated in the Southern Iowa Normal School at Bloomfield, that state, where he completed a course of study and was graduated in 1896. Upon leaving the normal school he began reading law under the preceptorship of Thomas H. Smith, of Harlan, continuing his technical studies under these auspices for two years.

He then entered the law department of the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, and was there graduated as a member of the class of 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, while he was simultaneously admitted to the bar of his native state.

In February, 1901, Mr. Baer came to South Dakota and took up his residence in Woonsocket, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1902 he entered into partnership with Delmar H. Brewster, and they have since conducted a general real-estate and abstract business, the firm name being Baer & Brewster. In politics the subject is a staunch adherent of the Republican party and is an enthusiastic advocate of its principles and policies.

In 1902 he was elected to the office of state's attorney of Sanborn county, and has proved a most able public prosecutor, so that it is most certain that he will be chosen as his own successor in the election of November, 1904. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On the 1st of June, 1904,

Mr. Baer was united in marriage to Miss Blanche E. Smith, daughter of Ellis M. Smith, who is a prominent and influential citizen of Woonsocket, where he is engaged in the drug business.

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The above is getting a little far afield from my genealogical interest. Note that the son in law Mr. Baer is a Republican, his father in law, Ellis M. Smith, a Democrat.

Blanche E. (nee Smith) Baer would have been the first cousin of G. Day Smith my grandfather. Her children if she had them would have been the second cousins of my mother. There children would be my third cousins... and so it goes. I hope to hear from that family some day.