Smith, Jacob

(submitted by Eleanor Collings)

Jacob Smith Jr. (1829–1908) was born in Lanark County. His parents, Jacob and Ann (Kerfoot) Smith, had emigrated from Ireland around 1824.

As a young man, Jacob Jr. moved to Warwick Twp. and settled on Lot 20, Con. 3 SER. He married Charlotte Kerr. Jacob owned a stage line that ran between Warwick and Watford. When the snow was deep he took the mail on horseback. He did all of this with one arm. As a youth, he had lost his arm at a barn raising.

An excerpt from the Watford Guide in 1882 advertised:

Stage Lines — Watford and Warwick Stage leaves Warwick Village every morning except Sunday — reaches Watford at 11:30 a.m. — returning leaves Watford at 3:45 p.m. Passengers and Freight at reasonable rates. Jacob Smith, proprietor.

The stage line was taken over by T. B. Willoughby in 1892. John Smith’s Memories of Warwick Village notes that Jacob Smith was one of the early owners of the home at 7026 Egremont Rd. (Lot 15 NER, Rogers Survey) in Warwick Village.

In 1892, Jacob retired to Arkona, where he built a home on what is now known as Smith St. A relative recalled that he was very deaf and he used a horn to help his hearing. It was reported that he had said, “most that was said wasn’t worth listening to anyway.”

Jacob’s grandson, Russell Robertson, bought the west ½ of Lot 22, Con. 3 SER. He raised a daughter named Eleanor there.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Smith, Jacob

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