The Daniel Smith Family
Recent research has produced more interesting information and photos of the Daniel Smith family. In this issue we will share them with you. Our previous article featured photos of what we believe to be the Daniel Smith house. Below right is one recently obtained, taken around 1895. Dr. J.B. Rick purchased the house from the Smith Family around 1890 and started his medical practice in the home. Dr. Rick and his daughters, Ruth and Elsie, (1884-1964) are on the front porch. This is the earliest picture that we have of the house, which originally was along the river near the present day barber shop.
Daniel (1801-1858) and Elizabeth Puffer Smith (1803-1882) had 9 children. Mary Ann (1822-1844) was the first burial in our cemetery, Amanda (1824-1837) died and was buried in Buffalo NY, and Melissa (1828-1845) was probably the second burial here in Mishicot.
This left six children; three sons. First, Alfred (1825-1880) the oldest boy who followed in his father's work as a lumberman and who helped build the mill in Mishicot in 1844 and the second one two years later a mile west on highway 147. He had help from Ira Clark, who himself built a mill in the hamlet named after him, Clarks Mill.
Alfred married Minnie Landsworthy from DePere. His oldest son was named Rockway. In honor of his first grandchild, Daniel named our Rockway street after him. Alfred died in Neenah of dryrot in 1880 and supposedly, according to his obituary, is buried in the family plot here, but there is no marker for him. The second son was Ira P. (1832-1904) who was married, ran a store in our village for a while and was sheriff of the county from 1862-63. He had three children -two daughters and a son, Ira J. who spoke at Mishicot’s centennial in 1947. Ira asked to be buried with his parents in our cemetery. His other family members rest in Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc. The third son was Lafayette, (1835-1906) who was one of the first from the area to enlist for the civil war. After the war, he lived in Minneapolis, was married, had a family but separated from them and they are not mentioned anywhere. Later he lived at King Veterans Home and for his last two years came back to Mishicot and rented a room at the Opera House. He died there and his military funeral was there. He too is buried in the family plot and has a civil war marker.
The three remaining daughters were Jeanette Smith Eams (1831-1914) who married Frank Eams and lived in Spring Green & Elkhorn. They had two sons who lived beyond childhood, Frank Jr. who became editor of the Elkhorn newspaper and Albert, who went to the Hawaiian Islands and started the pineapple plantations which, with time, became the Dole Pineapple Co. He died in Hawaii in 1914, but is buried in Oakland, CA.
The three of them are pictured below left. This is the only photo besides Elizabeth that we presently have of the family. Jeannette was the last of the family to die.
Clementine Smith VanValkenburgh (1837-1880) was married in Mishicot in 1855 to B.J. He was an officer in the civil war and was the 1st superintendent of schools for the county. They moved to La Crosse, had 4 children, the oldest son was named Daniel Smith died in Houston Texas. Clementine died in 1880 and is buried in La Crosse. Her husband remarried and lived in Austin, MN. but is buried next to Clementine. Elizabeth Smith Goodwin. (1842-1898) was two when the family came to Mishicot. She went to school in Two Rivers, Mishicot, and Racine, where she became a teacher. She married Benjamin F. Goodwin in Milwaukee. Goodwin School and Goodwin Road here in the county are named after him. They moved to La Crosse and then to Winnebago City, MN. where they had three children. Elizabeth and Benjamin are buried there.