WILLIAM SMITH, who in his lifetime was one of the most prominent and enterprising citizens of Washington borough, was a native of Beaver county, Penna, born near Darlington, August 15, 1800. Until he was twenty years of age, he worked on his father's farm, and in 1821, in company with his brother James, he came to Washington and opened a general store. The brothers remained in the borough about one year, and then removed to Philadelphia, where they engaged in the same business on Market Street on a more extensive scale. They met with success, but about the year 1825, owing to the failing health of James, the business was disposed of and the brothers returned to western Pennsylvania, William locating in Uniontown, where he once more embarked in the mercantile business. In 1828 he returned to Washington and opened a store in a house where the Watson block now stands, south of the Public Square. The business from the very start proved a success. In 1835 he purchased from Rev Thomas Hogue the northeast corner of Main and Beau Streets, to which he moved his store. Prior to this he had bought of Judge Baird the "Round Corner." In 1861 he erected the magnificent brick and iron structure on the northwest corner of Main and Beau Streets, known as "Iron Hall." In 1853 he received his son William W. into partnership, the name of the firm becoming William Smith & Son, which yet remains. At an early day Mr Smith commenced a private banking business, which he also made a success and on his retirement from active business life about the year 1867, the private banking house of William Smith & Son was firmly established. While a resident of Uniontown, Mr. Smith met Mrs. Wrenshall, of Pittsburgh, whom he subsequently (1828) married in Steubenville, Ohio, to which union were born two children, of whom W. W., the present head of the business survives; the other was Fanny Fielding who became the wife of Ferdinand Varro. In the fall of 1861 after a long and painful illness, Mrs. Smith died, and her husband subsequently married in Philadelphia, Mrs. Newell, a widow of that city, a daughter of John Simes, one of the early citizens of Washington. Several years afterward, Mr. Smith having retired from business, purchased a pleasant home in Philadelphia, to which he removed, and here his second wife died in the winter of 1886. He continued to reside in Philadelphia until the spring of the following year, when he returned to Washington, where he painlessly and peacefully passed away on Tuesday evening, July 12, 1887, in the eighty seventh year of his age. Mr Smith was in his younger life an adherent of the Covenanter Church, but while a resident of Washington he was an active member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. When he removed to Philadelphia, he connected himself with the United Presbyterian Church, under whose banner he died. W. W. Smith was born August 15, 1830, in Washington, Penna, a son of William and Fanny Wrenshall Smith. His elementary studies were pursued in the preparatory department of Washington College, under Professor Robert Milligan, and in 1848 he entered the freshman class. After his graduation in 1852, he commenced commercial life in his father's dry-goods store and banking office, becoming a partner in 1853, as already related. Mr Smith had studied law in the office of Robert H Kuntz, but was not admitted to the bar, having exclusively devoted himself to the business upon which he had entered. During the Civil War he served as a volunteer aide-de-camp on the staff of General U S Grant, both in the southwest and Virginia. On June 13, 1867, he married Miss Emma Willard McKennan, daughter of Judge William McKennan, of the United States Court of whom prominent mention is made elsewhere. To this union were born two children: William McKennan, assisting his father in the management of his business, and Ulysses S. Grant, instructor of military tactics and calisthenics at Trinity Hall. The mother died in 1879. Among the many distinguished guests present at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Smith were General U. S. Grant (who was a frequent visitor at their pleasant home), wife and sons, and of the General's staff were present Gen Hilyer and Col. William Dunn. Mr. Smith was elected treasurer of the Episcopal Church in 1853, holding said office until 1892; was three times representative of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the general conventions of the church, held respectively in Boston (1877), New York (1880), and in Philadelphia (1883), and for many years has been one of the board of trustees of Washington and Jefferson College. He is proprietor and rector of Trinity Hall, a select boarding school for boys in Washington, Penna. He is the owner of a much valuable business property in Washington borough, including the well-known "Iron Hall' block; of numerous fine farms in the county; lands in Florida and West Virginia, besides valuable residence property in Philadelphia. TRINITY HALL In 1866 Mr. W. W. Smith became owner, by purchase, of this fine property where he resided until the death of his wife. The school was established in 1879 by Mr. Smith, mainly in order that his own sons should be instructed at their home. The original building was erected in 1857 as a private residence, owned and occupied by Joseph McKnight, and since its purchase by Mr. W. W. Smith who occupied it as a private residence for over twelve years, it has been greatly enlarged from time to time as the growth of the patronage of the school demanded. The Rev Fred C Cowper of Amesbury, Massachusetts, pays the following tribute to the excellency of Trinity Hall and its surroundings: "The school grounds contain forty acres situated in a rich and beautiful hill country, 1200 feet above tidewater, and surrounded by wide-spreading maples, elms, lindens, and evergreens, with orchards, gardens, and vineyards through which wind broad drives bordered by well-kept lawns. There has never been sickness in the school. Delicate boys become strong and manly in its pure health-giving atmosphere. The morals of the place are pure; the tone elevating and refined. Under the present management, the household in all its departments is suitable for the sons of gentlemen, and has all the comforts of a refined home. It is a lovely spot indeed, favored by nature, developed by the best skill of the landscape gardener, kept up by those who take pride in it; and fortunate is the boy who is permitted to spend his school days at Trinity Hall."

Text taken from page 114 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed November 1997 by Martha Burns of Anaheim, CA as part of the Beers Project. Published November 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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