John
Smith
was
born
near
Scarborough,
Yorkshire,
England
in
1823.
In
1850
John,
his
wife,
and
their
3-year-old
son,
Ravil,
left
Yorkshire,
England,
on
a
ship
sailing
to
America.
John
brought
with
him
a
letter
of
introduction
to
the
American
Church.
John's
ancestors
tell
that
the
trip
that
was
to
take
three
weeks
became
a
twelve-week
trip.
They
ran
low
of
food
and
drinking
water
on
the
ship.
It
was
especially
hard
on
John's
wife,
as
she
was
pregnant
with
their
second
child.
Upon
arriving
in
America,
John
found
a
rooming
house
for
the
family
and
he
left
for
a
few
days
to
find
work.
When
he
returned
he
found
his
wife
had
given
birth
prematurely
and
she
and
the
baby
had
died.
John
and
his
son
settled
in
Pennsylvania.
In
1860
John
married
Mary
Jane
Frances
McDonald.
John
and
Mary
Jane
Frances
had
three
children:
Joseph
Harry,
John
Howard,
and
Mary
Elizabeth.
The
Smith
children
grew
up
in
the
rural
Philadelphia
area
and
went
to
school
there.
John
was
active
in
the
churches
in
the
Philadelphia
area.
He
became
a
Deacon
in
1870
and
an
Elder
in
1876.
John
was
with
the
Philadelphia
Annual
Conference
of
the
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
and
as
Deacon
and
Elder
he
was
qualified
to
administer
the
Sacraments
and
Ordinances
"to
feed
the
flock
of
Christ."
When
Joseph
Harry
Smith
was
in
his
early
20's,
he
decided
he
wanted
to
come
west
and
farm.
He
left
Philadelphia
and
came
to
Lincoln
in
1884.
He
rented
a
farm
near
60th
and
Vine
area
and
began
farming.
The
rest
of
the
Smith
family,
except
Ravil,
soon
moved
to
Lincoln,
also;
where
they
lived
for
five
years.
In
1889,
Joseph
Harry
Smith
bought
a
farm
northwest
of
Denton.
John
and
Mary
also
bought
a
home
two
and
one-half
miles
northwest
of
Denton.
In
the
1890's
John
Smith
was
conducting
church
services
every
Sunday
in
the
school
at
Denton.
Under
his
guidance
and
care,
the
congregation
grew.
The
people
attending
decided
to
build
a
church.
Rev.
John
Smith
was
elected
President
of
the
Board
of
Trustees
on
March
25,
1893.
On
June
12,
1893,
people
gathered
for
the
ground
breaking
for
the
new
church
building.
June
22,
1893,
people
gathered
to
lay
the
cornerstone
for
the
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
with
Rev.
John
Smith
officiating.
The
Denton
Methodist
Church
was
dedicated
August
20,
1893,
by
Rev.
Ravil
Smith
of
Philadelphia.
Assisting
him
were
his
father,
Rev.
John
Smith,
Rev.
J.
W.
Embree,
and
Rev.
Ingham
of
Emerald.
Rev.
Samuel
Felton
of
Olney
Church
in
Philadelphia
made
a
gift
of
a
36-inch
bell
to
the
church,
which
is
still
in
use.
The
church
was
dedicated
August
20,
1893.
Rev.
John
and
Mary,
and
their
sons
Joseph
and
John
remained
in
the
Denton
area.
John
remained
active
in
the
Denton
Methodist
Church.
Rev.
John
Smith
died
January
28,
1911
at
the
age
of
87.
He
died
in
his
home
two
and
one-half
miles
northwest
of
Denton.
Mary
died
March
25,
1922,
at
the
age
of
83,
in
their
family
home.
Ravil
felt
Mary
was
his
true
mother
and
came
out
from
Philadelphia
to
preach
her
funeral
sermon.
Both
Rev.
John
Smith
and
his
wife
Mary
are
buried
in
Sunnyview
Cemetery
in
Denton.
The
cemetery
is
a
community
cemetery
that
is
located
next
to
the
Denton
United
Methodist
Church.
Rev.
John
and
Mary
Smith
were
well
known
in
the
community,
being
known
best
as
"Father
Smith"
and
"Mother
Smith."
August
19,
1984,
a
United
Methodist
Church
Commemorative
Marker
was
placed
on
his
grave
to
recognize
his
valuable
contributions
to
the
life
of
the
church.
