Profile of the Day: Jedediah Smith

Jedediah Smith

Do you have explorers in your family tree? On this day in 1799, trapper and explorer Jedediah Smith was born in Jericho, New York.

One of the first to explore the West, Smith is often considered one of America’s greatest trapper-explorers. In 1822, he joined William H. Ashley’s fur trading company to explore and trap in the Rocky Mountains. He would come to discover the South Pass through the Rockies, which offered a safer and easier route through the Continental Divide. Smiths’ discovery of the South Pass would prove to be of great importance. It became the route for thousands of emigrants on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails to the West.

Before the age of 30, Smith had also led the first documented exploration from the Great Salt Lake to the Colorado River and became the first person to explore the Southwest in California. At the age of 32, Smith was killed by a group of Comanche Indians while leading a caravan on the Santa Fe Trail.

How are you related to Jedediah Smith? Explore his family tree and discover your connection to the legendary explorer!
 

View Jedediah Smith’s Geni Profile

Image: Wikimedia Commons