Many people who were prominent in the early days of American settlement of Missouri are little known today. One of these early Missourians, John Smith T, was from a family of Virginia gentry who moved to Georgia prior to his birth in 1771. He left home before 1790 to settle in Tennessee during its frontier days. There he accumulated land and developed a reputation as a duelist. Parties sometimes settled disputes by resorting to duels with handguns, and Smith T became expert in initiating and winning duels. Smith T was small-boned with blond hair and blue eyes, but his appearance concealed his prickly temper.
Smith T came to Missouri about 1798 to capitalize on opportunities for mining and land. He settled at Mine Shibboleth in present-day Washington County. At this time Smith T added “T” after his surname, believed to have stood for “Tennessee” to distinguish him from numerous other John Smiths.
Smith T built a spacious house at Shibboleth for his wife Nancy and daughter Ann. His education and skills led to appointments as a justice of the peace, commissioner of militia, and county judge. He was said to be a gracious host and of good manners in social gatherings. He also undertook good works such as donating land for churches and schools and contributions to the poor.
Smith’s speculations included claims to 20 land grants encompassing nearly 30,000 arpens of land, 9 mines, 6 salt springs, and mill sites. Such claims often gave rise to personal disputes, undoubtedly appealing to Smith T’s skills as a duelist. It is possible he killed as many as 15 men in duels. He is said to have carried two pistols in his belt, two more in pockets, and a dirk in his vest for good measure. In one of his appointed jobs as a judge, he always had a rifle within easy reach.
Smith T and Henry Dodge, the latter who went on to be a national figure, became embroiled in the 1806 plot by Aaron Burr to establish an independent country from the southwestern U. S. and part of Texas. The plot disintegrated and both returned home, to find the government charged them with treason. The authorities arrested Dodge, who made bail and whipped the jury that indicted him. Smith T, however, just ignored the arrest warrant. Consequently, territorial Secretary Frederick Bates stripped him of his appointed offices. Later, Bates interfered with some of Smith T’s land claims, and Smith T challenged him to a duel. Bates refused, claiming his actions occurred in the course of governmental duties and were not personal in nature.
Details survive for two of Smith T’s disputes. Lionel Browne, a nephew of Aaron Burr, overheard Smith T make a derogatory remark about Burr, and challenged Smith T to a duel in 1819. They dueled on a Mississippi River island opposite Herculaneum, ending with Browne killed with a shot through the head at first fire. Richard Rose later attempted to persuade one of Smith T’s slaves to leave. When Smith T happened to meet Rose at a local stillhouse, he shot him dead. Smith T was unhurt in both instances. He was either never charged or acquitted in every instance.
Given his turbulent life, one might expect that Smith T had a colorful and spectacular end. He traveled to Tennessee in 1836 and contracted a fever, however, which proved fatal. One legend states relatives returned his body to Missouri and buried him at the home of his son-in-law James White at the “White Cliffs of Selma” in Jefferson County.
