Nelson C. Smith
Nelson C. Smith, farmer, P. O. Windham, was born December 1, 1826, in North Becket, Mass., son of Champion and Achsah (Little) Smith, natives of Massachusetts, born in 1803 and 1806, respectively, parents of five children: Nelson C, Elmira, Martha, Mary (deceased) and Leona. They came to this county in 1834, and the original homestead tract consisted of seventy acres, to which they added until it contained 150 acres, and from a state of nature was gradually placed under a high state of cultivation. Champion Smith died June 6, 1881, his wife having preceded him January 2, 1879. The subject of this sketch was married December 10, 1857, to Mary E. Ford, born in Trumbull County, Ohio, March 2, 1831, daughter of Augustin and Susannah (Krahl) Ford, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, and early settlers of Trumbull County, Ohio. To this union was born one daughter— Alice Blanche, born November 8, 1863, and married, January 4, 1883, to Arthur Roper, of Nelson, Ohio, by whom she has one child—Esther Beuno, born January 4, 1884. The principal occupation of our subject has been farming, though for two or three years he peddled jewelry. He offered his services two or three times in his country's defense, but was not accepted on account of the loss of one of his eyes. He has filled the office of Constable three terms. For nearly twenty years he has been actively connected with the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F. fraternities. As a rule the Smith family have been Republican in politics.
From History of Portage County, Ohio, Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1885