Person:John Smith (1262)

... He was the first pastor of the Spencer, Lulbegrud, North Middletown and Grassy Lick churches for several years. He also helped to organize the Somerset, Sharpsburg and Owingsville churches and was at one time pastor of the Mt. Sterling Christian church. In 1834 he became an evangelist and his services covered nearly every county in Kentucky and parts of Tennessee and Alabama. *** After the death of his wife he spent the remainder of his life with his daughter, Mrs. J.A.J. Lee, in Owingsville, and Mrs. Ringo, in Mexico, Missouri, where he died. ...

"Elder John Smith, familiarly known in Kentucky and to many thousands of people elsewhere as 'Raccoon' John Smith, was one of the most remarkable men of the 'Current Reformation;' born in Sullivan county, East Tennessee, October 15, 1784, and died at Mexico, Mo., February 28, 1868, aged 83; education limited, but thorough; joined the Baptist church in December, 1804, and from 1808 to 1828 was a preacher in that connection, and for the next forty years one of the most eloquent, powerful and trusted leaders of the Church of the Disciples of Christ. Upon his tombstone is inscribed, "By the power of the Word, he turned many from error; in its light he walked, and in its consolation he triumphantly died."

"Raccoon" John Smith (1784 - February 28, 1868) was an early leader in the Restoration Movement.¹ His father, George Smith (originally Schmidt) was of German ancestry, and may have been born in Germany, while his mother, Rebecca Bowen Smith, was of Welsh and Irish ancestry.² He played a critical role uniting the movement led by Thomas and Alexander Campbell with the similar movement led by Barton W. Stone and in spreading the message of the movement over much of Kentucky.

Personal Life

Smith was born in what is now Sullivan County, Tennessee, in 1784 to a family of Regular Baptists.¹ His nickname, "Raccoon", reportedly resulted from him saying he lived in such a remote location that his only neighbors were raccoons.³ Smith moved with his family to what is now Clinton County, Kentucky.¹ He was largely self-educated, with no more than six months of formal schooling.¹ He was baptized in 1804, and ordained as a minister in 1808.¹ Smith married Anna Townsend in 1806.¹ They lost two children to a cabin fire, and Anna died from shock shortly afterward in 1815.¹ Smith remarried in December of the same year to Nancy Hurt.¹

As a preacher, Smith began to wrestle with the Calvinist teachings of predestination and total depravity as taught in The Philadelphia Confession of Faith.¹ His doubts regarding these doctrines meant that when he met Alexander Campbell in 1824 he was open to the Restoration Movement themes that salvation is open to all based on faith in Christ, repentance from sin and baptism by immersion.

He died in Mexico, Missouri on February 28, 1868, and was buried next to Nancy.
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Sources:
1. Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-8028-3898-7, ISBN 978-0-8028-3898-8, entry on Smith, "Raccoon" John
2. Sparks, John (2005). Raccoon John Smith: Frontier Kentucky's Most Famous Preacher. The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 1–3.
3. Phillis, John (2005). "History Of The Church - Lesson 14 Part 2: The Restoration Movement - The Latter Part of the 18th Century and the 19th Century". Retrieved 11 February 2014.