My Genealogy Hound

Albert Smith, one of Cullen Township’s best farmers, was born in Isle of Wight County, Va., in 1821, being a son of Daniel and Rebecca (Justice) Smith, who were natives of the “Old Dominion,” and the parents of twelve children, Albert being the only one now living. He was reared on his father’s farm, and gave the proceeds of his labor to his father until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began doing for himself, and became overseer on a large plantation in his native State. In 1858 he went to Louisiana, where he followed the same occupation, and in the spring of 1861 came North with the last regular boat that plied the Mississippi River. He landed at St. Louis, Mo., on the 22d of May, and soon after went to Peoria, Ill., but soon returned to St. Louis, and in September enlisted in the telegraph department for three years. Three months later the regiment was disbanded, and he took charge of a train of wagons, and about twelve months later began driving ambulances in St. Louis for Jefferson Barracks. He afterward joined the telegraph repair department, and served until the close of the war. After the close of hostilities he went to Collinsville, Ill., where he was married in June, 1865, to Mrs. Lottie (Robinson) Gibson, who was born in Lincoln County, Mo., in 1816. In June, 1866, Mr. Smith became a citizen of Pulaski County, Mo., and by industry and good management has become the owner of 307 acres of fertile land. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mrs. Smith departed this life July 25, 1884. His father, Daniel Smith, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and participated in the “whisky insurrection.”