In the spring of 1851, Dominicus Jordan (1796-1869), with his wife Keziah (1795-1872), and five children, Robert (1836-1858),
Woodford (unknown dates), Susan “Sue” (1831-1886), Martha (1826-1905), and Annie Maria (1833-1912), moved from Maine to De Pere, Wisconsin. Soon after
arriving in De Pere, Jordan opened a general store and also became involved in the lumbering
business. Their son Robert died at the age of 22 and Woodford had no children. Their
daughter Sue also remained single. Martha married William Field Jr. (1823-1883) and had one daughter,
Gracie, who died in 1861 at the age of 5.
In 1855, Annie married Benjamin Franklin “B.F.” Smith (1836-1914), a native of Canada who had arrived
in De Pere in 1851, accompanying his father who was looking for a new start after losing his
business to fire. B.F. got a job at a lumber mill and eventually bought out Dominicus
Jordan's store. B.F. later sold the store, and he and Jordan worked together in the lumber
industry from 1863 to 1866 after which B.F. opened another store on the same site as the
first. Over the forty years he operated the store, he also opened a lumber yard and a
grain elevator, and became involved in shipping. He was also active in the community as a
member of the Elks, the Masons, and the First Presbyterian Church. He retired in 1895 and
died on April 20, 1914. Annie Smith died on September 15, 1912.
B.F. and Annie Smith had three children survive to adulthood, Addie Belle (1859-1935), Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” (1861-1939), and Horace Jordan (1866-1937)
Addie and Lizzie attended Rockford Female Seminary in the 1880s and then returned to De
Pere. Addie married Allison George “A.G.” Wells in 1880, and the couple had two sons,
Hugo Smith (1883-1957) and Leland Allison (1892-1963). A.G. Wells (1855-1921) arrived in De Pere in 1872 and obtained a job as a
clerk in B.F. Smith's store. In 1879, he bought out Smith and, in addition to the store,
became involved in milling and in building and operating a grain elevator with his
father-in-law. Originally known as A.G. Wells & Company, in 1893 he reincorporated it as
The A.G. Wells Company. He died on August 14, 1921. His wife, Addie, was active in the
community as a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Daughters of 1812, and several
other clubs and organizations.
Lizzie Smith also became a well-known figure in De Pere, serving as the town's
librarian for many years. Although she never married, Lizzie had many friends and
acquaintances around the country and was an integral part of the extended Smith and Wells
families, corresponding frequently with her nieces and nephew.
Horace J. Smith attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison after
graduating from high school and received his undergraduate degree in 1887 and a law degree
in 1889. Horace became an abstract attorney in De Pere and was also active in various
community affairs. Smith enjoyed both travel and amateur photography which is reflected in
the collection. In 1897 he traveled to New York, and in 1898 and 1899 he spent several
months in California, writing letters home describing his travels.
In 1908, Horace married Catherine Carney (1888-1948), and they raised five children in the family home
at 302 N. Broadway. The Smith's four sons, Robert Carney “Pete” (1910-1970), Phillip B.
“Tiny,” Mark Woodford, and Roger Garvey, and their one daughter, Margaret Jane
“Bene,” all graduated from De Pere High School. Four of them attended the
University of Wisconsin, but with the advent of World War II not all were able to finish;
all five served in the war in various capacities and returned home safely.
Robert Carney “Pete” Smith married Barbara Lester (1917-2012) on July 10, 1941. While Pete
was away during the war, Barbara moved to Madison. Pete was discharged in 1943 after
becoming ill, and returned to Madison where he enrolled in law school at the University of
Wisconsin, receiving his degree in 1944. The couple returned to De Pere, where they raised
their children. Upon moving back to De Pere, Pete joined his mother at the family abstract
firm and remained with the family business until his death in 1969. Barbara later returned
to Madison.
