Smith, Z. F. (Zachariah Frederick), 1827-1911

Z.F. Smith was born in Henry County, Kentucky on 7 January 1827. He was educated at Bacon College in Harrodsburg. Prior to the Civil War, Smith served as president of Henry College in New Castle, Ky. until he was elected superintendent of public instruction for Kentucky in 1867. As superintendent, Smith redesigned Kentucky's public school system in the wake of the Civil War. In 1869 he founded the Cumberland and Ohio Railroad Company and served as its president until 1873. He served on the Board of curators at Transylvania University in Lexington and was founder and president of the Kentucky Christian Education Society. As a historian, Smith authored several works including The History of Kentucky (1886), The Battle of New Orleans (1904), and The Clay Family (1899). He was also a member of the Filson Club.