San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JAMES H. SMYTH
The life of this honored pioneer of
1849 had its beginning in County Antrim, north of Ireland, February 9, 1822,
and its end came in 1885, after sixty-three years of activity and
usefulness. The family which he represented
was of prominent lineage in the annals of Ireland, where his parents, Samuel
and Mary (Adam) Smyth, held a high position in the most refined circles of
society. The mother died at the age of
eighty-five years in 1865, and the father, who owned and operated a large farm,
was seventy at the time of his demise.
Reading had given them a broad culture and they aspired to give their
children advantages which they had been denied in their early years. One of their sons, Samuel, was educated for
the ministry and at the age of twenty-two he assumed a Presbyterian pastorate
at Draperston, where he remained until his death
forty years later. Meanwhile he was
honored and beloved by the people among whom his lot was cast, and into their
homes he went, welcomed alike in times of joy and of sorrow, cheering the sick,
helping the sorrowing and befriending the needy.
It was the intention of the parents
that their son, James H. also should enter the ministry, and with that ambition
in view gave him exceptional educational advantages for that day and locality. However, his tastes were not in the direction
of ministerial work and after he had studied some years he decided that he
would seek other avenues of activity.
Coming to America in 1842, he settled in Texas and there engaged in
ranching for five years or more. During
1849 he came to California via Panama.
For a time after arriving in this state he mined at Columbia, Tuolumne
County, and at Sonora, the same county, but he met with no special good
luck. His next venture was in the
hauling of freight from Knights Ferry to Columbia and Sonora, and later he had
several teams hauling copper from the copper mines to Stockton. In 1859 he bought a raw tract of 970 acres
and later increased his holdings by the purchase of 140 acres and another tract
of 240 acres.
Returning to his old Irish home in
1859, Mr. Smyth was there married early in the year of 1860, his brother
officiating at the wedding, which united his destiny with that of Caroline M.
Smyth, who though bearing the same family name, was not related to him. Born in Ireland, November 27, 1833, she was a
daughter of John and Mary (Laughlin) Smyth and traced her ancestry to England on
the father’s side and Scotland on the mother’s side. The wedding trip of the young people was a
voyage to America. It had been the
intention of Mr. Smyth to settle in Texas, but his wife became ill, and it was
then deemed advisable to proceed to California.
They came via Panama and settled on the ranch eight miles from Stockton,
where they industriously labored in the improvement of the land and the
building up of a valuable property.
Meanwhile he bore an active part in establishing the early schools and
making the first roads through his part of the county. As school trustee he accomplished much in
behalf of the common schools. It was his
belief that nothing promoted the growth of a district more than good schools
and good roads, and his public spirit was evidenced in the energy and sincerity
with which he supported these movements.
One of his intimate friends was the illustrious Captain Weber, who gave
him an opportunity to buy land in his grant, later a part of Stockton, but the
difficulties encountered in perfecting the title caused him to hesitate, and he
thus lost an opportunity which did not come to him in later years. For years he was active in the membership of
the San Joaquin Society of California Pioneers.
In politics he voted with the Democratic Party.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
851-852. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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