Benjamin F. Smith
BIRTH: 4 Jul 1811 in Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, USA
DEATH: 12 Dec 1892 (aged 81) in Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, USA
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Colonel Benjamin Franklin Smith was born July 4, 1811, in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Raised in a prominent and public-spirited family, he began his career in public service early in life as Assistant Clerk of the Court of Knox County under his father. He was later elected Auditor of Knox County around 1851, serving four years, and subsequently represented his district in the Ohio Legislature. He also served as Inspector of Militia and developed a lifelong interest in military affairs.
In addition to his civic work, Smith became deeply involved in Freemasonry. While living in Ohio he served eight years as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge and in 1856–1857 was elected the Twenty-Second Grand Master of Masons in Ohio. He later received the 33rd degree. He also edited a Masonic publication for a time and would remain a prominent and influential figure in the fraternity throughout his life.
In the spring of 1857, Smith came to Blue Earth County, Minnesota, as a representative of the Mount Vernon Colony. With others, he helped lay out the town site of Vernon Center, naming it in honor of his Ohio home. There he engaged in general merchandising with his son, John F. Smith, and operated a hotel and sawmill. He quickly became a central figure in the developing community.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Smith organized a militia company at Vernon Center and was elected its captain. On November 5, 1861, he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Third Minnesota Infantry and served in the South. After approximately six months of service, he resigned due to illness contracted in the Missouri swamps. During the summer and fall of 1862, Governor Ramsey placed him in charge of the recruiting camp at Fort Snelling, where he supervised the organization of Minnesota troops. He also served as commander of the militia for the Blue Earth County district from 1863 until the close of the Sioux War in 1866, with headquarters in Mankato. For a time he again held command at Fort Snelling and was in command at Mankato when the Indian Campbell was executed.
Smith’s public service in Minnesota was extensive. In November 1862 he was elected Register of Deeds of Blue Earth County, serving six years. He later served an additional term, totaling approximately six years in that office. He was elected Mayor of Mankato in 1869 and represented his district in the Minnesota State Senate during 1870–1871. From 1872 to 1876 he served as Register (Receiver) of the United States Land Office at Redwood Falls by federal appointment.
Throughout his thirty-six years in Blue Earth County, Colonel Smith was regarded as one of southern Minnesota’s most influential political figures. In every office he held, he was widely respected for integrity, fidelity, and strict honesty.
His Masonic leadership continued in Minnesota, where he became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and was a charter member of the Mankato Lodge. His prominence within the fraternity led the Masonic order to take charge of his funeral rites.
After completing his federal service, Smith retired to his farm, later moving to Good Thunder. For the final two years of his life, he resided in Mankato.
Colonel Smith married Julia Stilley in 1830 when he was nineteen years old. Their marriage endured sixty-three years. Julia, born in August 1808, survived him and later resided in Washington State. They had thirteen children, seven of whom survived to maturity: John S. Smith of Mankato; Mrs. Diana Dunn of Winnebago City; Mrs. Sarah Bixby of California; Mrs. Eliza A. Brown of Washington; Mrs. Henrietta Parrett; Miss Ada A. Smith of Mankato; and Henry W. B. Smith of Minneapolis. He also left two distinguished brothers—Hon. James Smith, Jr., of St. Paul, and Dr. Vespatian Smith of Duluth—as well as a sister in Ohio. A grandson, Benjamin D. Smith, became a prominent attorney and public servant in Mankato.
Colonel Benjamin F. Smith died December 12, 1892, at his home in Mankato at the age of eighty-two. His death was widely mourned throughout the county. Newspapers described him as one of the best-known and most beloved men in Blue Earth County—a soldier, merchant, legislator, and civic leader whose life was marked by public service, military leadership, political influence, and deep fraternal commitment.
He rests in the Smith family plot, marked by a large monument bearing his name and that of his wife, with individual markers inscribed simply “Father” and “Mother”—a fitting tribute to a life of leadership, service, and enduring family legacy.
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