Smith, Andrew W.

Born: 1806-11-25 Rutherford County, Tennessee

Died: 1875-10-01 Macon County, Illinois

Flourished: 1830-05-26 Decatur, Illinois

Andrew W. and his brother, William C., came to Shelby County, Illinois in 1828. In 1829, Smith was among three commissioners sent to lobby the General Assembly to make the area where he settled into a new county. He succeeded in convincing the General Assembly to create Macon County, and in June 1829, Smith began purchasing tracts of land in the new county. He married Elizabeth Blankenship, who died in 1831. Smith then married Rebecca R. Smith in 1836, with whom he had four children. Smith served as a county commissioner for several years and fought in the Black Hawk War, serving in the company of rangers from Macon County. In 1850, Smith had acquired over 450 acres of land and was farming in Macon County, owning over $4,000 in real estate. By 1860, Smith was still farming and had amassed $18,000 in real estate, with a personal estate of $450.

History of Macon County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1880), 33; John W. Smith, History of Macon County, Illinois, from its Organization to 1876 (Springfield, IL: Rokker's, 1876), 284; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Macon County, 145:6, 43, 47, 93, 147:45, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Macon County, IL, 145; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Macon County, IL, 181; Gravestone, Salem Cemetery, Decatur, IL.