This book contains the Histories, Stories, Pictures and Descendancy list of my Great Great Grandfather James Edward Smith Sr. and his descendants. I have also included the life stories that I could find of the parents of James Edward Smith and his wives, so that we could get an idea of the life that they had come from.

I have always been interested in the stories about the lives and hardships of the early Pioneers that came to Utah, and am proud to be a descendant of a family that helped settle and make Utah into what it is today.

I did not start out to do this book. It started when I was showing my mother how much information I had on the Smith line, she suggested that I put it all together into a book form with the photos that I had received from her. Well that is how it all started. This is my first effort at putting a book together. Because this is my first time at doing something like this I am sure there have been some mistakes made, even though I have had many people read over the book and check the names, spelling and information for correctness. Please forgive me for I have made every effort to have things correct. And please let me know of any corrections so that I can correct my records.

I would like to thank Iris Smith Bushnell for all the great information and photos that she has sent me, and for all the trouble she went to contacting the family to get stories, photos and information. Iris even put me in contact with Ione Smith Manning, who descends from James Edward and Mary Susan Stephens Smith side of the family. Ione also has been a great help in putting together this book by supplying me with all the information and photos on her side of the family.

I have gotten such great support and response from every one; and I would like to thank all of you for your assistance and support in putting this book together. I could not have done this alone. I have tried to give credit where credit is due for all the stories that have been collected in this book. If I have not given the proper credit for a story or photo in this book, it is because I could not find out where it came from or was given the wrong information. I do not take any credit for anything except for gathering some of the information and putting it together into this book.

The only regret I have is that my Grandfather Ira Edmund Thompson is not around to see this book. He is the oldest child of Ida Mae Smith and Edmund Albert Thompson. I had a very special relationship with him and miss him very much. I know if he were still here he would be real excited about this book.

Rodney G. Jensen.