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H. J. SMITH
Vol. 3, p 1105

The work by which Mr. Smith has most closely identified himself with
the affairs of the world and from which he has gained his chief
success has been in the general commercial field, first as a
merchant, and more recently around his home town of Dewey, Oklahoma,
as an oil operator and producer. Mr. Smith sank some of the pioneer
wells in some of the richest oil districts of Northern Oklahoma, and
should be remembered for his important work in this development of
some of Oklahoma's greatest resources.

His life has been spent in many parts of the country. He was born in
Henderson, Minnesota, October 24, 1866, and comes of a family of
missionaries, who spent their lives largely on the frontier in the
service of church and humanity. His parents were Rev. D. Z. and Emma
(RICKSEEKER) Smith. Both the maternal and paternal grandparents were
of that splendid sect of early American pioneers known as the
Moravians, and many members of both families were missionaries. The
maternal grandfather of Mr. Smith was a missionary in the West
Indies, and the latters mother was born at Kingston, Jamaica, in May,
1826, and died at Mound City, Missouri, in 1909. Mr. Smith's father
was born at Springplace, Georgia, in 1822, and died in 1882 at
Laketown, Minnesota. He had for fully forty-two years been in the
active service of the church both as a missionary and as pastor. Much
of his work had been done among the Indians and he was a natural
linguist who spoke fluently the Cherokee, Delaware, Pawnee and half a
dozen other tribal dialects. Mr. Smith's paternal grandfather was a
cousin of Count ZINSENDORFF of Saxony, Germany, who is best
remembered in America for his laudable though unfortunate enterprise
in attempting to colonize the German people in the Texas republic.
Both Rev. D. Z. Smith and his wife received their early education at
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

H. J. Smith gained his early schooling at Salem, North Carolina.
From there he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and followed the trade
of machinist from 1881 to 1888. During one winter of that time he
taught school and for two winters worked in a store. In 1888, going
to Craig, Missouri, he engaged in the mercantile business under the
firm name of H. J. Smith & Company, and remained there until 1897.
His next location was at Warrenton, Missouri, and while there his
business interests were of a somewhat more varied nature. While there
he established his first rural mail route in 1901.

Mr. Smith has been identified with the Dewey community in Oklahoma
since 1902. He was bookkeeper for J. H. BARTLES & Son until August 1,
1906, and then resigned to become an active operator in the oil
industry. To Mr. Smith's credit should be mentioned the drilling of
the first well in the Turkey Creek pool. This well started off with a
production of 750 barrels per day. He also drilled the first well in
the Rice Creek pool. For several years he has done an extensive
business in the buying and selling of oil leases.

While looking after his business interests Mr. Smith has not
neglected his duties to the public, and his name has been associated
with several local offices. In 1910-11 he served as police
magistrate, and was city assessor during 1913-14. Politically he is
independent. He was the first president of the school board at Dewey
after statehood, having been chosen as one of the three directors of
that board, and the other two members made him president. In this
capacity he deserves most of the credit for getting the present
school built at Dewey, and in fact he planned and closely supervised
its construction. Mr. Smith also organized Dewey Lodge No., 292 of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was its first
representative to the Grand Lodge which met at Tulsa in 1905.

On August 31, 1892, he married Miss Mary L. WARD, who was born
October 6, 1872, in Harlem, Kentucky, a daughter of John A. and
Mildred D. (PRICE) Ward, her father a native of Kentucky and her
mother of Virginia. Mrs. Smith was one of four children, namely:
Charles M., who lives in Missouri: Joseph H. and Harry, both of St.
Joseph, Missouri; and Mrs. Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one child,
Hubert A., who is now a student in the law school of the State
University at Norman. This son was born January 27, 1894, at Craig,
Missouri. Mr. H. J. Smith was one of the six children of his parents.
The oldest, Elizabeth, married Rev. A. W. BENSON, a Presbyterian
minister at Minneapolis; Emma L. is deceased; Rev. D. C. lives at
Lawrence, Kansas; C. T. lives at St. Paul, Minnesota; Alberta C. is
the widow of G. W. MURPHY of Oregon, Missouri; and the next two
children died in infancy. Mrs. Smith is a member of the Presbyterian
Church at Bartlesville.

In addition to other business activities Mr. Smith has performed a
great deal of commercial service as an auditor both in Oklahoma and
Kansas, and has been commissioned to examine the books of a number of
corporations in these two states.

Typed for OKGenWeb by Lee Ann Collins, December 12, 1999.