from Kentucky – A History of the State, Perrin, 1887

Owen County

J. C. Smoot was born in Clinton County, Indiana, February 4, 1835, and is a son of George and Dorothy (Dennis) Smoot.  George was born in Owen County, Kentucky, February 8, 1801.  He moved to Indiana in 1828, where he lived until 1835, when he returned to Kentucky.  He was an old and highly respected farmer, and died in Owen County in 1882.  Reed Smoot, paternal grandfather of J. C. Smoot, was born in Culpeper County, Virginia.  He was a Revolutionary soldier, and married Fannie Clark, a native of Virginia.  He came to Kentucky at an early day, being among the first settlers.  He was a very wealthy man, and owned 10,000 acres of Owen County land.  Dorothy (Dennis) Smoot was born in Franklin County, Kentucky, a daughter of Jesse Dennis.  Jesse Dennis was a wealthy farmer, and was killed by a horse kicking him in 1840.  He was born in Woodford County in 1788, and his father, Samuel, was born in Ireland, came to America in 1778, and was a brave soldier of the Revolutionary War.  J. C. Smoot was educated at the common schools of Owen County.  He has made farming his chief occupation, and owns a farm of 400 acres, which he values at $20 per acre.  February 20, 1864, Mr. Smoot married Susan E. Marston, daughter of William and Nancy J. (Proctor) Marston, and two children have blessed their union:  W. K. and Helen.  William Marston, the father of Susan E., was a prominent and wealthy farmer of Owen County, he died September 11, 1868.  Mr. Smoot is a staunch member of the Republican Party.