William Calloway Smith Family Photographs

        William Callaway Smith (6 Nov 1828 – 23 Dec 1880) was born in Perry County Alabama, the son of John Smith. He moved with his parents to Linville, in eastern Union Parish Louisiana about 1837. In 1850, Smith worked as a saddler in eastern Union Parish, possibly in Marion or Linville. In 1853, the denizens of Union Parish elected Smith as the Parish Recorder on the Whig ticket, and they repeatedly re-elected him to this position. Smith served a total of twenty-six years as Recorder, through all of the great political and social changes that resulted from the War Between the States. He joined the Farmerville Baptist Church in 1854, and was elected several times as Mayor of Farmerville. Smith also served for over twenty years as Clerk of the Union Parish Police Jury. About 1872 Smith began to suffer from a malady, presumably from what eventually took his life, osteomyelitis of the hip. After treatment by local physicians proved ineffective, Smith became bedridden on 23 December 1876. However, he apparently continued to carry out his official duties as Union Parish Recorder. In 1878, he travelled to Atlanta, Georgia for treatment at the National Surgical Institute. After six months, he became clear that they could not help him, so Smith returned home to Farmerville. He suffered about two more years, finally passing away on 23 December 1880. His family buried him in the Farmerville Cemetery. His neighbor and associate, Judge W. K. Rutland, wrote his obituary.

        William C. Smith married on 20 March 1856 in Union Parish to Elizabeth Amy Manning (4 Nov 1837 – 15 Nov 1879). Their children were:

1. James Monroe Smith (6 Feb 1857 – 6 Oct 1931)


2. Mary Elizabeth Smith [Mollie] (27 Feb 1860 – 26 Nov 1879) married George Kilgore, Jr. on 20 February 1879. She and her infant died in childbirth.


3. William Allen Smith (12 June 1866 – 16 Mar 1884).


4. Florence Eleanor Smith (9 Nov 1870 – 11 Apr 1957) married Lee Emmitt Thomas in 1891 She died in Shreveport.

        William Callaway Smith and Elizabeth Amy Manning's eldest child was James Monroe Smith (6 Feb 1857 – 6 Oct 1931), born in Farmerville. James M. Smith attended Louisiana State University, and in 1879 at the tender age of twenty-two, Smith was elected clerk of court by the citizens of Union Parish. He remained in this capacity continually until 1900, when he was elected as the region's state senator. After one term, Smith was appointed as the Registrar of the State Land Office, and then in 1904, he was elected as the Louisiana Treasurer. After leaving office in 1908, Smith moved to Shreveport, where he joined his brother-in-law L. E. Thomas in various political and business ventures. He also owned a cotton plantation in Bossier City including the current location of Louisiana Downs.

        James M. Smith was married twice, first on 15 October 1885 to May Olive Kidd (7 June 1861 – 23 Feb 1895), who died at Farmerville. On 6 January 1898, Smith remarried to Eva M. Slaton (19 July 1861 – 6 Feb 1935).

A wealth of information on these people is available in the Smith Family Letters.

 

William Calloway Smith & Elizabeth Amy Manning Family Photographs
William Calloway Smith	James M. Manning
Mary Elizabeth Smith	William Allen Smith
Florence Eleanor Smith	James Monroe Smith
J. M. Smith & G. A. Killgore	James Monroe Smith
May Kidd Smith	Eva Slaton Smith
James M. & May Kidd Smith	Eva Slaton Smith & kids
Lois May Smith, aged 7	Lois May Smith
Union Parish Officials	James M. Smith – 1908

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