Asael Smith grave

 

(by Kenneth Mays deseretnews.com 5-6-14)

 

In 1638, a boy named Robert Smith left England and arrived in America and settled in the region of Topsfield, Massachusetts. Robert and his wife, Mary French, later had a son, Samuel.

Samuel Sr. and his wife, Rebecca Curtis, also had a son, Samuel. The younger Samuel and his wife, Priscilla, had a son, Asael, the father of Joseph Smith Sr. and grandfather of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Asael was born in Topsfield, Massachusetts, in 1744. He fought in the Revolutionary War and stressed to his family the importance of living a good life. Asael eventually moved to Tunbridge, Vermont, where his son Joseph would meet his future wife, Lucy Mack. Asael and some of his family later moved to St. Lawrence County, New York.

While there, he was introduced to the gospel restored by his grandson, Joseph Smith Jr. It was Joseph Sr. and his son, Don Carlos Smith who taught him. Asael died shortly after their visit in October 1830. He was buried in the Union Cemetery in Stockholm Township, St. Lawrence County, New York.