Aaron J. Smith
 

If there is one thing which distinguishes the American business man from those of any other country it is the faculty with which any and all occupations are readily taken up by him and made successful. In the older countries it has long been customary for the son to follow the father's pursuits. "Follow your father, my son, and do as your father has done," was a maxim which all sons were expected to adopt. It is in such countries as the United States that full swing can be given to the energies of the individual. A man may choose any business or profession he desires, and he is limited only by competition. He must meet the skill of others and give as good service as they or he will not get the positions or business. Such adaptation to any work or business is well shown in the career of Aaron J. Smith, a widely known and successful merchant of Lebanon. He has turned his hand to many things and proved that farming was not the only occupation which he could make successful. He is one of our most substantial and representative native-born citizens, being the scion of a sterling pioneer family of Boone county, members of which have figured more or less conspicuously in the affairs of the same for three quarters of a century, and he has been careful to keep untarnished the bright escutcheon of the honored family name. Mr. Smith was born on a farm in Perry township, Boone county, March 8, 1856. He is a son of Eli and Patsey A. (Kemper) Smith. The father was born in Kentucky in 1828, and was a son of Aaron J. and Fannie F. Smith. The paternal grandfather of our subject was born about 1800 in Kentucky where he spent his earlier years, migrating to Indiana in the early thirties, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government in Boone county, which he cleared and developed by hard work and perseverance. He was thus one of the pioneers in this locality, and he endured the usual hardships and privations incident to life in a new country. Here he prospered, becoming a leading farmer, and his death occurred on his place here in 1878. Politically, he was a Democrat, and in religious matters was a member of the Baptist church. His wife was also born in Kentucky in the year 1800. Her maiden name was Thomas. She died in Boone county in 1889 at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Eli Smith was reared on the old homestead and he received such educational advantages as the early-day schools afforded. He devoted his life successfully to general farming and stock raising, with the exception of two years when he served as county treasurer, from 1882 to 1884. His record is as an open book, for he was always known to be scrupulously honest, straightforward and unselfish in his every-day life, was public-spirited, obliging and hospitable, and was well-known throughout the county and admired by all classes. Politically, he was a Democrat, and in religious matters a Baptist. His death occurred in June, 1894. His wife, Patsey Kemper, was born in Kentucky, in 1825, and was a daughter of Joel and Elizabeth Kemper, natives of
Kentucky, from which state they came to Indiana in 1830 and located near Indianapolis, later removing to Boone county, and here spent the rest of their lives on a farm. The death of Mrs. Eli Smith occurred in 1905. Like her husband she was greatly beloved by a wide circle of friends. Aaron J. Smith, of this sketch, was reared on the home farm where he did his full share of the work when a boy, and he received his early education in the common schools, which has later in life been greatly supplemented by actual contact with the business world and by extensive home reading. He worked on the farm until he was sixteen years of age, then learned the trade of tile and brick moulder and burner, at which he worked until he was twenty-one years of age, becoming an expert and his services were in great demand. Turning his attention to the mercantile world in 1876 he launched out in the drug business at Fayette, Indiana, and in 1877 began selling clothing and dry goods and was successful from the first as a merchant. He was elected trustee of Perry township, Boone county in 1882 and served four years in a manner that reflected credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned, having been re-elected. In 1886 he came to Lebanon and clerked three years, then went back to Fayette where he engaged in business three years. On June 1, 1891, he opened his present commodious and well kept clothing store in Lebanon, which is complete in every detail, managed under a superb system and where a large and carefully selected stock is always carried. Through honesty and fair and courteous dealings he has built up his business to its present large proportions. He draws a large number of customers from all over the county, his store being a favorite gathering-place for farming folk when in the county-seat. He has been very successful in a business way and is rated as one of the county's most substantial and progressive men. Mr. Smith was married to Emma Frazee, who was born August 30, 1857, in Boone county and here she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of Aaron and Amanda Frazee. Six children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Charles, born January 18, 1881, is now in business at Altos, Oklahoma; Alpha A., born January 14, 1885, died January 19, 1886; Carl, born December 14, 1887, is in business with his father; Basil, born November 9, 1898 is attending school; Guy, born September 1, 1894, is at home; David, born September 14, 1891, is engaged in the tailoring business in Lebanon. Politically, Mr. Smith is a Democrat and has long been deeply interested and more or less active in public affairs. He is a member of the Baptist church, and fraternally belongs to the Masonic Order, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree, and is a Knight Templar; he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has long been prominent in fraternal circles, and his daily life among his fellowmen would indicate that he attempts to carry the sublime precepts of these orders into his every relation of life.

Submitted by: Amy K. Davis
Source: "History of Boone County, Indiana," by Hon. L. M. Crist, 1914