Smith, James

Born: 1792-XX-XX Pennsylvania

Died: 1872-XX-XX Vermilion County, Illinois

Flourished: Vermilion County, Illinois

James Smith was a farmer and pioneer settler of Vermilion County, Illinois. Smith moved from his native Pennsylvania to Ohio, where he married Mary Sewell in March 1818. James and Mary S. Smith would have five children together. James engaged in agriculture in Ohio before deciding to move his family to Illinois. In December 1828, he purchased approximately 325 acres of public land in Vance and Oakwood townships, in western Vermilion County. In the fall of 1829, Smith moved with his family to Vermilion County, where he commenced farming. Between 1830 and 1852, he acquired an additional 240 acres of public land through either purchase or warrant. In 1850, Smith owned real property valued at $8,000. By 1860, he was living on and farming his land in Vance township, and his real property was valued at $7,500. He also had a personal estate of $100.

Portrait and Biographical Album of Vermilion County, Illinois (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1889), 461; Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, 2016); Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Vermilion County, 231:119, 236:4, 112, 291:20, 33, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Vermilion County, IL, 261; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Vance, Vermilion County, IL, 139.