John C. Smith

John Smith was a wealthy and influential citizen. He conducted a ferry on the Cape Fear River. On June 27, 1812, he announced his candidacy for the State Senate and was elected, serving 1812, 1813, and 1814.

His granddaughter (Mrs. Jane Evans Elliot) wrote of him, in her diary under date of January, 1852:

"My dear and honored grandfather now sleeps with his fathers. He died last June at Father's. The funeral of such an aged and estimable man was peculiarly solemn and interesting. He was borne to his final resting place by his six oldest grandsons and the coffin was placed in the very center of the family burying ground, by the side of our grandmother's grave; the lid was removed and the children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors and the family servants, crowded around to take the last look at that venerable face. What an impressive lesson in immortality! ... There lay the patriarch of years, who was gathered as a shock of corn full ripe in his season. Most reverentially, affectionately and tenderly was his beloved form deposited to sleep with kindred dust. Peace to thy ashes, my dear old grandfather. Never shall I forget a form manly and revered, which is associated so fondly and vividly with my earliest recollections. May thy numerous posterity emulate thy worthy example and may they live worthy of this honorable birthright."

His children were:

-Elizabeth Smith.

-Alexander Smith; b. 1797, d. 1815; bu. Smith's Ferry, N. C.

-Isabella Smith; b. 1800, d. 1876; m. Henry Elliot (S 78). No issue.

-Farquehard Campbell Smith.

-Mary Smith; b. Oct. 4, 1803, d. Dec. 5, 1861; m. John Campbell Elliot (S 82); bu. Smith's Ferry, N. C. Children under father.

-John Cambell Smith.

-Jane Smith.

-William Turner Smith.

-Robert Smith; b. 1812, d. 1813; bu. Smith's Ferry, N. C.

-James Campbell Smith.

The Honorable John Smith, having announced his candidacy on Jun 27, 1812 and having been duly elected, served as state senator for North Carolina serving 1812, 1813, and 1814. John was 7 years old when his father, Alexander Smith, died. His widowed mother, Elizabeth Whitfield, married Farquhard Campbell, and John later married his step-sister, Isabella Campbell, daughter of Farquhard Campbell and Isabella McAllister. When he came of age, John inherited more than 1,100 acres. With time, he managed to incease the land into more than 8,000 acres in southern Harnett County (at that time the land lay in Cumberland County, the county boundry changing in 1855,) land which three sons — Farquhard Campbell Smith, William Turner Smith and Robert Smith — inherited. John earned the nickname "Ferry John" when he took over the ferry his father had started on the Cape Fear River.

His granddaughter (Mrs. Jane Evans Elliot, the daughter of John's daughter Elizabeth Smith and Jonathan Evans and the wife of Alexander Elliot) wrote of him, in her diary under date of January, 1852:

"My dear and honored grandfather now sleeps with his fathers. He died last June at Father's. The funeral of such an aged and estimable man was peculiarly solemn and interesting. He was borne to his final resting place by his six oldest grandsons and the coffin was placed in the very center of the family burying ground, by the side of our grandmother's grave; the lid was removed and the children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors and the family servants, crowded around to take the last look at that venerable face. What an impressive lesson in immortality! ... There lay the patriarch of years, who was gathered as a shock of corn full ripe in his season. Most reverentially, affectionately and tenderly was his beloved form deposited to sleep with kindred dust. Peace to thy ashes, my dear old grandfather. Never shall I forget a form manly and revered, which is associated so fondly and vividly with my earliest recollections. May thy numerous posterity emulate thy worthy example and may they live worthy of this honorable birthright."