| R. F. Smith, merchant at Friendship, of the firm of J. D. Smith &
Bros., was born October 4, 1856, and was one of a family of ten children,
eight of whom are now living. His parents are Dr. J. D. and Vestury Smith.
The father was born in North Carolina in 1828, and came to Tennessee with
his widowed mother when but a boy. They located in Henderson County and
remained there until 1850, when he located at Friendship and continued
the practice of medicine, having chosen that as his profession when a young
man. He was in the Confederate service throughout the war, and served as
assistant surgeon under Gen. Cheatham. The Doctor remained at Friendship
until 1882, when he moved to Dyersburg, and practiced medicine there until
the spring of 1886, when he moved to Paducah, Ky., where he now resides.
He is a very skillful physician, and always had an extensive practice.
Our subject�s mother�s maiden name was White. She was born in Tennessee
in 1832, and was the mother of an interesting and intelligent family. Our
subject received his education at the military university of Knoxville,
Tenn. In 1878 he married Miss Alice, daughter of John Buckley, and a native
of Chester County, born in 1855. This union resulted in the birth of four
children: Irene, Gertrude, Orion and Richard B. In 1878 Mr. Smith engaged
in the mercantile business at Friendship, where he remained for five years,
since which time, until recently (when he again entered commercial pursuits),
he has been farming. He and his brother, J. D., carry a general stock of
dry goods and groceries, and have a good trade. He is a Democrat in politics
and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is one of the first men of the
place, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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