Levi Smith Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0495

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The collection features letters from Levi W. Smith, miscellaneous documents, deeds, 3 cartes de visite, and an account book. The letters are fairly routine correspondences between Smith and close family members. Correspondence topics range from personal experiences on the blockade to predicting his next deployment or visit home. He was stationed in the Gulf of Mexico (1861-1863) near Pensacola, Tampa, and Key West. Miscellaneous documents include appointments to office and legal papers from before and after his enlistment with the Navy.

Dates

Creation: 1842 - 1923
Creation: Majority of material found within 1856 - 1866

Creator

Levi Smith Family. (Family)

Access

The collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical Note

Levi W. Smith was born in Vinalhaven, Knox Co., Maine, on 5 August 1838. He was the son of Thaddeus Smith and Elizabeth Pierce, both of Vinalhaven. During the Civil War, Smith served on Union ships blockading Confederate ports. His three main assignments were serving as a seaman on the U.S.S Ethan Allen (15 September 1861 - 15 August 1863); then as a Master’s Mate on the U.S.S Tuscarora (28 September 1863 - 3 May 1864); and finally, on the U.S.S. James Alger (June 1864 - May 1866). He also served on other ships for brief periods including the U.S.S. Ohio (June - August 1863) and the U.S.S. Sarah Bruen (January 1864). After the Civil War, Smith continued with the navy, serving in the Caribbean until he moved back to Vinalhaven, to work as a stone cutter. He married his wife, Augusta, on 7 January 1867 and together they had at least two children, Henry (born about 1868) and Annie (born about 1871). In 1882, Smith was listed as the Constable and Collector for Vinalhaven, and was also a state legislator. In 1891, 1898, and again in 1905, Smith was appointed a trial justice for Knox County. He was also a Justice of the Peace from 1905 until his death on 4 March 1910 in Vinalhaven.