RICHMOND MAYO-SMITH. 



1854—1901. 



By E. R. Seligman. 



Richmond Mayo-Smith, son of Preserved and Lucy (Mayo) Smith, was born in Troy, Ohio, 

 February 9, 1854. His father was a native of Massachusetts, son of the Rev. Preserved Smith, 

 pastor of the church in Warwick, of that State. His mother was the daughter of Seth Mayo, 

 of Medford, Mass. 



On his father's side he was descended from the Rev. Henry Smith who came from England 

 in 1636 and became the first pastor of Wethersfield, Conn., at which place he died in 1648. 

 His son Samuel was one of the first settlers of Northampton, Mass., afterwards removing to Had- 

 ley. Three generations later Chileab Smith removed to the then newly settled town of Ash- 

 field. His grandson, Preserved Smith, served in the Continental Army, afterwards studied at 

 Brown University, and then entered the ministry. The greater part of his life he was pastor 

 of the church at Rowe, Mass. The next Preserved Smith also graduated at Brown University 

 and was pastor of the church at Warwick. His oldest son was Preserved Smith, father of 

 Prof. Mayo-Smith, who went to Ohio in 1839, and engaged in business, first at Troy and after- 

 wards at Dayton. He became a manufacturer of cars and a railroad man, being one of the 

 group which built the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad. Barney & Smith was, and is, 

 the name of his car factory, and has a plant over a mile long. He was famous in Ohio for his 

 benefactions. Lane Seminary of Cincinnati received over $100,000 from him, which was a 

 much larger sum in those days than in these days of great gifts. 



Prof. Mayo-Smith's mother, Lucy Mayo, was descended from the Rev. John Mayo, first 

 settled pastor of the Second Church of Boston, which he served from 1655 to 1672. His colleague 

 and successor was the celebrated Increase Mather who testified that Mr. Mayo was "a blessing 

 to bis people." 



Richmond was the fourth son of his parents and received the name of his grandmother who 

 was Beebe Richmond of Providence, and of his mother, a Mayo as aforesaid. When he was 2 

 years old the family removed to Dayton and here he attended the public schools (district and 

 high school) and was thus prepared for college. Graduating from the high school in 1871 

 he entered Amherst College in the same year, completing his course in 1875. 



Of his early life there is little to write. The family consisted of three sons, two older than 

 Richmond, and one daughter, younger. One son had died in infancy. The New England tradi- 

 tions were upheld, family government being firm, but not harsh. Dayton was a town of 20,000 

 people in 1856 but grew rapidly in the next decade. Still the simple life was the rule. The 

 public schools were probably as good as the average. Ohio in fact had early organized a good 

 system of public instruction. Life was uneventful except for the period of the Civil War, and 

 a boy of 8 to 12 years old could hardly appreciate the full significance of that struggle though 

 doubtless he cheered for the soldiers and for the Union. His father had been a member of the 

 Republican Party from its first organization and the sympathy of the sons was assured through- 

 out the conflict. At school Richmond stood well and was what we may call a thoughtful boy 

 though not precocious. He came quite naturally into the New School Presbyterian Church 

 of which his parents were members. 



At Amherst College Richmond had the reputation, which he always kept, of being extremely 

 level headed and full of common sense. As one of his classmate, who has since risen to dis- 



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