Smith T, John
My great-grandfather, John Smith T, was captured at Fort Morgan on Mobile Bay in 1864 and was imprisoned at Elmira where he died during the winter of 1865. Note the unusual last name with the letter "T" following the name "Smith". John Smith T was named for his uncle, John Smith, who went to Missouri before it was United States territory, bought up Spanish land grants and became the largest lead miner in the state. At some point John Smith added a "T" to the end of his name and began to style himself John Smith T.
The original John Smith T was probably involved in the Aaron Burr conspiracy. I have heard that he was indicted but never brought to trial. He had a brother, General Thomas Adams Smith, for whom Fort Smith Arkansas is named.
The nephew of these two men, my great-grandfather, is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. I have never seen his grave, but I have photos of it. John Smith T's son, my grandfather, went to Elmira around the turn of the century with the intention of bringing his father's remains back to Alabama and burying them here. However, on seeing the beauty and tranquillity of the cemetery there and all the graves of the other Confederate dead, he changed his mind and left his father buried at Woodlawn. He did one thing, however, that makes John Smith T's grave site easily distinguishable. He bought a dark stone marker and replaced the white slab which marks all the other graves there. I have been told that, as a result, looking out across the cemetery, this particular grave is immediately visible.
Information submitted by Winston Smith T.
