Smith, William Henry, 1804-1891

Epithet: PC; MP; of Add MS 48341

Smith, the nephew of Chief Justice Jeremiah Smith, was born in Cavendish, Vt. in 1800. He attended Dartmouth College from 1822 to 1824, then withdrew because of poor health. After college he continued to study, represented the town of Cavendish in the state legislature, travelled in Europe, and operated a woolen factory. He also spent some time in Michigan as a pioneer but returned to Cavendish to settle on his father's farm. In 1828 he married Rhoda Bates, with whom he had one daughter, Rhoda; Rhoda Bates died in 1844. In 1845 he married Isabel Proctor Page of Proctorsville, Vt.

Isabel Proctor Page Smith was born in Proctorsville, Vt. in 1823. She married Bates Page of Cavendish, Vt.; he died during the second year of their marriage, and their child died in infancy. In 1845 she married William Smith, with whom she had three children; Addison, Ellen Elizabeth, and William.