A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas Page: 672
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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,
in farming. By this marriage three children
have been born, namely: Mittie,who
died at the age of four years and six
months; Claud and Minnie, yet at home.
Mr. Hightower is a Master Mason, and he
and his wife are bothl members of the
Missionary Baptist Church. In politics he
is a Democrat.
S ON. ELIAS BROOKS SMYTH.The
progress of towns, cities, and
communities depends largely upon
the character and progressiveness of the
men who inhabit them; and particularly in
this connection is it true of Mexia, as from
her inception, some twenty years ago, to the
present time, it has been the good fortune
of the place to receive direction in its destiny
at the hands and brains of men who
are energetic and untiring in their labor
and zeal to give character and stability to
its commercial growth and prosperity.
Prominent among the gentlemen in
whose hands lay either the weal or woe of
Mexia is the gentleman who is the immediate
subject of this notice. He is a native
of the Palmetto State, having been
born in the Abbeville district of that
State on the 9th day of January, 1832,
'and is the fifth of eleven children born to
John and Sarah (Teague) Smyth, both of
whom were natives of the Old South State,
the former being a son of Thomas Smyth,
a native of Ireland, who, when a young
man, settled in South Carolina, while the
Teagues were of English extraction, both
families having been prominent and influential
in the early affairs of that State.When our subject was five years of age
his parents moved to and settled in Benton,
now Calhoun, county,Alabama, where,
in 1846, his mother died, having borne the
following named children: Lourana H.,
deceased, wife of J. A; Landers, of Johnson
county, Texas; James W., a farmer of
the same county; Rev. Elijah T., now a
resident of Oxford, Alabamna; Thomas V.,
a farmer of Johnson county, this State;
Elias Brooks; John B., of Alvarado, Johnson
county; Jot J., a farmer of Grandview,
the same county; Sarah A., widow
of William Reader, of Anderson county,
Texas; Rev. Daniel I., farmer and minister,
Johnson county; Josephine H. and
Susana E., both deceased. Nine of these
eleven children grew to manhood and
womanhood, and seven of the sons gallantly
served in the Confederate army
during the late war between the States.
In 1851 the father married Mrs. Harriet
Ray, who bore him two children, viz.:
Forney, of Fort Worth, and Jabe C., of
Alvarado. In 1861 Mr. Smyth died. He
was a consistent Christian gentleman, and
an acceptable member of the Baptist
Church, as also was his first wife..
The boyhood of Elias Brooks Smyth was
passed in a manner common to Southern
lads whose fathers were planters, and in
the common schools such as were then in
vogue he obtained the rudiments of his
education,-residing with his father until
he attained his majority. The(" majority"
period is an important one in the lives of
most young men, and young Mr. Smyth,
not being an exception to the general rule,
entered out upon the world to seek his for.
tune. Going to northern Mississippi, heI
672
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Lewis Publishing Company. A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth46827/m1/684/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Palestine Public Library.