In 1843 Colonel Maurice Smith journeyed from Fayette County, Tennessee to Dallas County,
Arkansas with the hope of starting a new life for his family.
Col. Smith, a native of Caswell County, North Carolina, ventured into the
recently created state with Dr. W.B. Langley and Cornelia (Smith) Langley, his
son-in-law and daughter, and their overseers and slaves. In October the group
arrived at the hamlet of Tulip. A new home was soon built, and Smith
subsequently returned to Tennessee, where he spent the following year, 1844,
disposing of his lands and preparing his family for the movement to Arkansas. In October of
that year the entire family made the arduous trip westward and soon
settled into life at “The Athens of Arkansas.” Thus began the
enduring legacy of one Arkansas family.
The papers consist of letters, an autobiography, various publications,
photographs, and other materials pertaining to the Smith family. The bulk of
the collection is 19th century correspondence among various family members.
Colonel Smith was a devout Methodist, and a great deal of information can be
gleaned from the materials about the denomination. The collection also covers
such topics as education, early reminiscences, travel and description, slavery,
economic conditions, the Civil War, and agriculture. Additional items within
the papers include genealogical information, financial notes and receipts,
newspaper clippings, and memorabilia.
According to family genealogical information found within these papers,
Colonel Smith was descended from a prominent North Carolina family, which had
previously lived in Virginia. Colonel Smith’s first wife, Martha Williams
Hayes, had two children, Cornelia (1823-97), and Samuel Gallatin (Gally) Smith
(1826-63), before her early demise. By his second wife, Clarissa (Clara)
Harlowe Reid (1806-74), whom he wed in 1830, Colonel Smith had several
children: Elizabeth Keziah (Betty) Smith (1831-1913), who was married to
Chesley Page Patterson Barbee (1821-51), a University of North Carolina
graduate and a lawyer; Annie Maurice Smith (1839-94), who was married to Felix
Strong of Clark County; she was educated at Tulip, the Science Hill Female
Academy in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and later taught music at Malvern, Arkansas; Lockie
Lenora Smith (1841-1925), who was married to her kinsman, William Hargrove
Smith, and lived at Malvern; Olin Durbin Smith (1844-79), unmarried, farmer and
later merchant at Malvern; Asbury Warren Smith (1847-1927), who was married to
a young widow and lived in Little Rock.