General Marion Smith was born on March 5, 1854, in Fayette County, Va. (now W.Va.),a son of George Washington Smith Sr. and wife Catherine Bennett Smith.

In 1873, Marion married Frances Plumley Smith, a daughter of Washington Plumley and Nancy Catherine Bennett. (Ronald Ray Turner, Marriage Records of Raleigh County West Virginia 1850-1910.)

Marion died in 1924 and Frances in 1940. They were buried in New Salem Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Abraham Raleigh County, W.Va.

Mr. Smith farmed and, with his brothers Ervin and George Jr., operated Smith Brothers, a large general merchandise store in Abraham. The family also operated a sawmill that could be converted into a grist mill.

He taught the first Bible class for men at the New Salem Baptist Church in Abraham, according to a family history written by Larry G. Shuck.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith had several children die young. John M. Smith, 15 months, died of fever on Aug. 20, 1875. Four sons died of diphtheria within a three-month period in 1898: Parris C. Smith, 11, who died on Jan. 29, 1898; Charles D. Smith, 15, Feb. 24, Merida E. Smith, 11, March 1, and James E. Smith, March 27. Marion Lacy Smith, 11, months, died of whooping cough on Sept. 22, 1900. Jasper Lee Washington Smith, 17, died of an accidental gunshot wound on July 7, 1906.

The 1898 death records are online at the West Virginia Vital Records Research site: http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=4979904&Type=Death

There is some confusion regarding the cause of death of James. His tombstone inscription is an abbreviation: Jas. E. Smith. That led some people to think it is the tombstone of his brother Jasper Smith, who died in 1906 of an accidental gunshot wound. The name on Jasper's tombstone is J.L.W. Smith.

Marion's niece Golda Smith Fox is quoted in a 1974 article about the four 1898 diphtheria deaths: "I can remember hearing my mother (Emma Biars Smith) tell of helping to care for those Smith children during the epidemic." (Diptheria epidemic: 1887 Year of Tragedy In Richmond District, Pauline Haga, Post-Herald, Beckley, W.Va., Aug. 13, 1974, Page 16.)

An account of the children's deaths was written by columnist Shirley Donnelly in 1966:

"Parents who had bad luck with their children were 'G. Marion Smith, Born March 25, 1854, Died Jan. 29, 1924' and 'Frances Smith, Born Jan. 14, 1858, Died May 7, 1940.' Diphtheria invaded the Smith home and exacted a toll of four children in one year. Those four were 'James E. Smith, Dec. 25, 1880-March 27, 1898'; 'Merida E. Smith, May 25, 1888-March 1, 1898'; 'Charles D. Smith, Oct. 8, 1882-Feb. 24, 1898'; 'Parris C. Smith, Dec. 29, 1886-Jan. 29, 1898. Other children lost were 'John M. Smith, March 5, 1874-Aug 20, 1875'; an 'Infant son of C.M. (G.M.) and F. Smith' Oct. 23, 1899-Sept. 22, 1900'; and 'J.L.W. Smith, Oct. 2, 1889-July 7, 1906.' This couple, Mr. and Mrs. G. Marion Smith had 15 children but reared only eight of them." (Richmond District Kept Courthouse Here, Post-Herald, Beckley, W.Va., Shirley Donnelly column, Oct. 18, 1966, Page 4.)

Larry G. Shuck lists 13 children born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith: John M., Mary Catharine (married to Benjamin Franklin Jones), William Silas (Della Bowling), James E., Charley Davis, Roxie Frances (Calvin W. Plumley), Parris C., Merida E., Jaspher Lee Washington, Effie Medora (Squire David Bennett) Joseph Omer (Margaret "Maggie" Fitzpatrick), Elmer J. Smith (Minnie Mae Bowling), and Lacy Smith. All of the children were born in Abraham. Ten Smith siblings are buried in the New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery. Effie was buried in Crews Cemetery; Joseph in Sunset Memorial Cemetery; and Elmer in the End of Trail Cemetery. ("Our Families: Shuck, Fleshman, Sydenstricker, Smith, Lewis, Kincaid, Keister, et. al., of West Virginia" by Larry D. Shuck, Gateway Press, Baltimore, Md., 1995, Page 123-124.)

Research by Eva Smith, updated May 4, 2017.