Joseph R. Smith and Cynthia Reed

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Husband Joseph R. Smith ^{1 2}

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           Born: 1816 1
     Christened: 
           Died: Aft 1880
         Buried: 

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         Father: William Smith (Abt 1790-1867) 1
         Mother: Annie Reed (      -      ) 1

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       Marriage: 13 Aug 1861 2

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Wife Cynthia Reed ³

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           Born: 18 May 1842 3
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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         Father: Charles Reed (1796-1860) 4
         Mother: Kezia Boyle (1804-1884) 4

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Children

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1 F Jessie Benton Smith ⁵

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           Born: 12 Jun 1862 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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2 F Margaret Blanch Smith ⁵

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           Born: 19 Feb 1871 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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3 F Olive Boyle Smith ⁵

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           Born: 29 May 1874 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 
         Status: Twin

         Spouse: Joel Irvin Hubbard (      -      ) 5
           Marr: 16 Jul 1907 5

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4 M Horace Logan Smith ⁵

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           Born: 29 May 1874 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 
         Status: Twin

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General Notes: Husband - Joseph R. Smith

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After arriving at an age when he was able to work he followed the occupations of farming and teaching school, until he was the age of twenty-five years, when he moved to the town of Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he followed teaming until March, 1848, when he was elected constable, and was re-elected for nine successive years.
In 1851, while he held the office of constable, the counties of Westmoreland and Indiana were infested with a gang of most daring horse-thieves. They were a terror to the country, and their depredations extended from Pittsburgh to Elmira, New York. No man who owned a good horse in all the country between these two points felt safe. Having learned that one of the gang had been arrested in Pittsburgh, Mr. Smith visited him and finally got him to expose the ramifications of the thieves. Returning to Indiana, he went to work to ferret out the members of the gang, and through his efforts twenty-five of the ringleaders were captured at the different headquarters and sentenced to the penitentiary. One of their principal depots was in West Wheatfield township, near Armagh. But in less than a year the whole organization was broken up and the leaders serving the state, and that principally through the efforts of Mr. Smith. Some time after he retired from the office of constable he was appointed deputy sheriff, which position he held for two years, and in 1857 was elected sheriff of Indiana County, which office he held for three years. Some time after this he was appointed to a position in the Philadelphia custom house, and in 1871 he was appointed assessor of internal revenue for the district composed of Indiana, Westmoreland and Fayette counties, and held the office until the duties of the assessors were transferred to the collectors. At the close of his term in the last mentioned office he joined his son, Samuel A. Smith, in the publication of the Indiana Messenger.
He was always a man of strong political convictions, and in early days was an enthusiastic abolitionist, and on more than one occasion piloted runaway slaves from one station to another on the "Underground Railroad," a branch of which passed through Indiana County. He was one of the original republicans, and adhered to that party from its formation, and always took a deep interest in its success.
The educational interests of the county always received his warmest support, and he was one of the original projectors of the state normal school at Indiana, and was one of the trustees from the organization of the board.

1 Editor, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 339.

2 J. P. Lytle, The Reed Family (Marion Center, PA: Independent Office, 1909), Pg 54.

3 J. P. Lytle, The Reed Family (Marion Center, PA: Independent Office, 1909), Pg 51.

4 J. P. Lytle, The Reed Family (Marion Center, PA: Independent Office, 1909), Pg 50.

5 J. P. Lytle, The Reed Family (Marion Center, PA: Independent Office, 1909), Pg 56.