Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/609

Rh several of the early presidents and of Henry Clay. She engaged in many religious and charitable en- terprises. Mrs. Smith wrote with facility, and pub- lished several tales and biographical sketches, in- cluding "A Winter in Washington " (2 vols., Wash- ington, 1827) and "What is Gentility?" (1830).

SMITH, Joseph, naval officer, b. in Boston, Mass., 30 March, 1790; d. in Washington, D. C., 17 Jan., 1877. He entered the navy as a midshipman, 16 July, 1809, and was commissioned a lieutenant, 24 July, 1813. He was the 1st lieutenant of the brig "Eagle" in the victory on Lake Champlain, 11 Sept., 1814, and was severely wounded in the bat- tle, but continued at his post. With other officers, he received the thanks of congress and a silver medal for his services. In the frigate "Constella- tion," in the Medi- terranean in 1815- '17, he co-operated in the capture of Algerine vessels, and he sailed again to the Mediterra- nean in 1819, re- turning in 1822. He was commis- sioned commander 3 March, 1827, and captain, 9 Feb., 1837. During two years, until December. 1845, he commanded the Mediterranean squadron, with the frigate " Cumberland " as flag-ship. Upon his re- turn home he was appointed chief of the bureau of yards and docks, which post he filled until the spring of 1869. He was then president of the ex- amining board for the promotion of officers until September, 1871. He had been retired, 21 Dec., , and promoted to rear-admiral, 10 July, 1862. He resided at Washington after his service with the examining board until his death, at which time he was the senior officer in the navy on the retired list. He was highly esteemed by Com. Isaac Hull, whose flag-ship " Ohio " he commanded in 1839. His son was killed on board the " Congress " when she was attacked by the " Merrimac," 8 March, . When the admiral heard that the ship had surrendered, he exclaimed : " Then Joe is dead."

SMITH, Joseph, clergyman, b. in Westmore- land county, Pa., 15 July, 1796; d. in Greensburg, Pa,, 4 Dec., 1868. He was graduated at Jefferson col- lege in 1815, studied at Princeton theological semi- nary, was licensed to preach in 1819, and became a missionary in Culpeper, Madison, and Orange counties, Va. He was principal of an academy in Staunton, Va., for several years, removed to Fred- erick city, Md., about 1832, and was pastor of the Presbyterian church there and principal of an academy. He was pastor of a church in Clairs- ville, Ohio, in 1840. and became president of Franklin college, New Athens, Ohio, in 1844, but resigned on account of his conservative views re- firding slavery, resumed his former charge in rederick city, Md., and was president of the new- ly organized college there. He became general agent of the synods of the Presbyterian church for the territory embracing western Pennsylvania, northwestern Virginia, and eastern Ohio. He sub- sequently held charges in Round Hill and Greens- burg, Pa. He received the degree of D. D. from Jefferson college. His publications include " Old Redstone, or Historical Sketches of Western Pres- byterianism" (Philadelphia, 1854), and " History of .IrUVrson College, Pa." (1857).

SMITH, Joseph, Mormon prophet, b. in Sharon, Vt., 23 Dec., 1805; d. in Carthage, Ill., 27 June, 1844. His parents were poor, and when he was ten years of age they moved to Palmyra, N. Y., and four years later to Manchester, a few miles distant. In the spring of 1820, in the midst of great religious excitement, four of his father's family having joined the Presbyterian church, Joseph claimed to have gone into the woods to pray, when he had a vision in some respects similar to St. Paul's, but was told by his religious advisers that &ldquo;it is all of the devil,&rdquo; and he was ridiculed by the public. On the evening of 21 Sept., 1823. after going to bed, he claimed to have had another vision. According to his story, an angel named Moroni visited him and told him of a book written upon golden plates, in which was a history of the former inhabitants of this country and &ldquo;the fulness of the everlasting gospel,&rdquo; and indicated to him where the book was deposited in the earth. He subsequently went to the spot that he had seen in his vision, found the plates of gold, but an unseen power prevented him from removing them. Moroni, with whom Smith claimed to have had many interviews, told him that he had not kept the Lord's command, that he valued the golden plates more than the records upon them, and not till his love for gold had abated and he was willing to give his time to the Lord and translate the inscriptions upon the plates would they ever be delivered to him. It is claimed that this was done by the angel, 22 Sept., 1827. Smith told of his visions from time to time, and, to escape the jeers and ridicule of the people of Manchester, he went to reside with his wife's family in Susquehanna county, Pa., where, according to his own account, he began to copy the characters on the plates and by the aid of &ldquo;Urim and Thummim.&rdquo; a pair of magic spectacles, translated them from behind a curtain, dictating the &ldquo;Book of Mormon&rdquo; to Martin Harris and later to Oliver Cowdery, who joined him in April, 1829. These two frequently went into the woods to pray for divine instruction, and on 15 May, 1829, they claimed that they were addressed by the materialized spirit of John the Baptist, who conferred upon them the priesthood of Aaron and commanded that they baptize each other by immersion for the remission of sins. Both claimed after they were baptized to have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and from that time had the spirit of prophecy. The &ldquo;Book of Mormon&rdquo; was printed in Palmyra, N. Y., by Egbert B. Grandin in 1830. The Mormon church was organized, 6 April, 1830, by six &ldquo;saints,&rdquo; at the house of Peter Whitmer, in Fayette, N. Y., and Oliver Cowdery preached the first sermon on the following Sunday, at the house of Mr. Whitmer, when several were baptized. The first conference of the church was held in June, 1830, at which thirty members were present, and thereafter the &ldquo;prophet&rdquo; claimed supernatural powers. Numerous miracles were performed by him, of which the casting the devil out of Newell Knight, of Colesville, N. Y., was the first that was done in the church. The membership increased rapidly, and Kirtland, Ohio, was declared to be the promised land of the Mormons. In February, Smith and the leaders of the church settled in that place, and almost at once missionaries were sent to make converts. Early in June, Missouri was announced by Smith to be the chosen land, and in July he located the new city of Zion. Soon afterward he returned to Kirtland, and during a visit