Haney V. Smith, who, with his brothers, Lemuel B. and
Edward L., form the firm of Smith Brothers, proprietors of the Bird Hill
Fruit Farm, consisting of 102 acres, situated in sections 14 and 11, Bunker
Hill township, Macoupin County, was born April 29, 1847, in Warren County,
Illinois. He is a son of Vincent and Rhoda (Bird) Smith, the former of whom
at the time of his death, February 28, 1904, was the most venerable citizen
of Macoupin County.
Our subject is one of a family of 12 children
born to his parents, the survivors being: Stephen, born January 5, 1841, is
in the real estate business at Wyndmere, North Dakota; Haney V., of this
sketch; Mrs. Hannah Boswell, of Shipman, Macoupin County; Katherine E., who
resides with her brothers; and Lemuel B. and Edward L., members of the firm
of Smith Brothers.
Our subject was four years of age when he
accompanied his parents to the present farm, which formerly belonged to his
maternal grandfather, Lemuel Bird. Mr. Bird was born in Maine and there
learned the business of manufacturing paper in the early days when much of
the work now accomplished by machinery was done by hand. Later he went to
Massachusetts, where he married, and in 1836 came with his family to Warren
County, Illinois, and in 1848 to Macoupin County. His last years were passed
in the home now occupied by our subject. His family consisted of eight
children, namely: Rhoda, who married Vincent Smith and became the mother of
our subject; Thomas, deceased, who is in the wholesale paper business in St.
Louis, Missouri; Richard, now a farmer near Vandalia, Missouri, who
graduated at Dartmouth College and was prevented from entering the ministry
on account of ill health; John, now a farmer near Vandalia, Missouri, who
made the trip to California in 1849; Katherine, who is the wife of Dr. T. C.
Patterson, of Monmouth, Illinois; Leander, a member of Company A, 97th Reg.,
Illinois Vol. Inf., who died in a military hospital at Memphis, Tennessee,
in the Civil War; Mrs. Eliza Brown, a resident of Decatur, Illinois; and
Samuel, also a member of the 97th Reg., Illinois Vol. Inf., who gave up his
life for his country, dying at Jefferson Barracks, two weeks after the death
of his brother Leander.
Our subject has lived on the beautiful Bird
Hill Fruit Farm practically all his life. On account of its favorable soil
and location, he with the assistance of his two brothers, has converted it
into a fruit farm exclusively. A specialty is made of the growing of fine
pears, the pear orchard including 5,000 trees of the Kieffer variety, 700 of
Dutchess, 500 of Orange quince, 200 apple trees, and 300 peach trees. In
addition, a sorghum and a canning factory is operated, the output from the
latter being 30,000 cans of tomatoes a season from home-grown stock. They
have a very complete equipment for an extensive canning business and the
demand for the goods is constantly increasing on account of their uniform
excellence.
On January 26, 1902, Mr. Smith was married to Henrietta
Henessey, who was born February 22, 1857, at St. Louis, Missouri, and was
left an orphan at an early age.
Mr. Smith is a member of the
Prohibition party and has been very active in advancing its principles.
Since he was eight years of age, he has been a member of the Methodist
Church. His fraternal association is with the Modem Woodmen of America. Mr.
Smith is one of the best known men in the southern part of Macoupin County,
where the family has been prominent so many years. He is a progressive,
reliable business man and in every way a first class citizen.
Extracted 2018 May 06 by Norma Hass from Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Macoupin County, Illinois, published in 1904, pages 163-165.
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