MATTHEW A. SMITH

Sacramento County

Biographies

MATTHEW A. SMITH

MATTHEW A. SMITH.--Matthew A. Smith was born at Clarendon, P.Q., October 31, 1871. His father, William Smith, was born in Ireland, coming to Quebec with his parents when he was eleven years of age. He grew to manhood and married Frances Hunt, who was also born in the Province of Quebec, of Irish parents, and in that province they followed farming, spending their last years there. Both were devote Methodists. Of their ten children, Matthew is the fourth oldest and the only one living in California. He was brought up on the farm in Quebec and educated in the public schools. In April, 1891, when nineteen years old, he came West, making his way to British Columbia. He remained there only three months and then came to California in July, 1891. He worked on a dredger engaged on river improvement for a time and then returned to San Francisco, remaining until June 17, 1892, when he came to Sacramento and entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the department of bridges and buildings, continuing steadily in that department for seventeen years. His close application to his duty made him a very valuable man with the company and his dependability was appreciated. He worked from San Francisco to the Nevada line and from Dunsmuir on the north to Los Banos on the south, and could construct anything in the building line. As stated before, he was with them for seventeen years, except after the big fire in San Francisco, when, in April of 1906, he spent eighteen months doing structural iron work during the rebuilding of San Francisco, after which he returned to his old place with the Southern Pacific.

Mr. Smith married on the old Frey ranch at Franklin, Sacramento County, in 1911, being united with Miss Elizabeth G. Frey, who was born at Franklin, a daughter of Henry Frey, a pioneer farmer of Sacramento County. After their marriage they made their home in Oakland for a time but Mrs. Smith had a longing for the country and the old ranch, and she having become the owner of ninety-two and three-quarter acres of the Henry Frey ranch, Mr. Smith resigned his position with the Southern Pacific in 1912, wishing to give all of his time to ranching, and located on their farm at Franklin. He built the comfortable residence and other farm buildings, which are adequate and convenient. He installed a pumping plant driven by a fifteen-horse-power engine for irrigating the ranch and a three-horse-power electric pumping plant for domestic use. He raises alfalfa and has a dairy herd of about twenty cows, supplying milk to the condensed milk factory at Galt. Mr. and Mrs. Smith's union has been blessed with four children: Frances, Irwin, Ernest and Charlotte. Mr. Smith was made a Mason in Tehama Lodge No. 150, F. & A. M., at Tehama, Cal., while Mrs. Smith is a member of the Royal Neighbors at Franklin. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are enterprising and progressive, being optimistic for the future of this region so favored by soil and climate, and are doing their part towards its development and upbuilding. Politically they give their allegiance to the Republican party.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches, Page 798. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.