Smith, Augustin B

Augustine “Gustin” B. Smith was born around 1790 in Fairfax to Charles B. and Mary Ann Smith. Smith’s family roots, however, were in Prince William County; both his father, Charles Burgess Smith, and his grandfather, Augustine Smith, were born in Hamilton Parish in that county. G.B. Smith was a private in the War of 1812, serving in the First Corps d’Elite Brigade of the Virginia militia, which was mustered into federal service when the British attacked Virginia in 1813. While the name of Smith’s spouse is unknown, sources indicate that he had seven children. According to the 1820 and 1830 censuses, Smith resided in Truro Parish, Fairfax County, and engaged in agriculture. Fairfax County deed records indicate that Smith leased land from Robert T. Thompson in 1827.

Little else is known about Smith other than that he died in 1832, the same year as his mother. Smith died without a will, so his estate was put into probate. The resulting inventory included items such as two looking glasses, a side saddle, a clock, a set of silver teaspoons and tongs, numerous pieces of furniture, large and small safes, and numerous animals, including a “lot” of pigs, oxen, horses, sheep, cows and steers, as well as a brood mare. The inventory also included a full set of blacksmith tools and a “lot” of iron, as well as a seventy-one gallon still (and a “lot” of barrels), both of which could signify outside sources of income for Smith, a member of his family, or one of his enslaved people. Three enslaved adults (one man and two women) and an enslaved child appear in the inventory.

By Dianne Tomasek