Bernard Reilly Smith was the first male child of Patrick and Mary Reilly Smith, born 15 Sept 1876 in San Augustine County. He was baptized by a priest from the Sacred Heart Church, Nacogdoches, Tx on 10 Mar 1877. Being the first born male in the family, the Irish naming tradition would have been to name him after Patrick Smith's father. Patrick's family bible shows his father's name as John M. Smith. The name of Bernard Reilly comes from his uncle Bernard Reilly whose death in 1873 brought Patrick to San Augustine as a heir to the estate of his uncle, Bernard Reilly.

Upon the death of his father, Patrick Smith, in Dec 1906, Bernard became the administrator of the Patrick Smith estate and also became the guardian for the four minors, his younger siblings, Farrell, Susan, Phillip and Michael. Copies of the probate estate were made at the San Augustine County Courthouse. In 1929, he again was called upon to be the Executor of the will of his brother, John Patrick Smith.

On 23 Apr 1936, at the St. Patrick's Cathedral in Corpus Christi, the sponsors for my baptism was Bernard Reilly Smith and his wife Catherine. In Aug 1947, he and wife were in New Orleans on a business trip and took my mother and I to supper at Antoine's Restaurant, one of the best restaurants in New Orleans, then and now. I think he took an interest in me because of the gunshot wound that crippled his brother, my grandfather, John Patrick Smith.

Bernard and Catherine lived in Knoxville, Tn at the Hotel Andrew Johnson in a suite on the 11th floor. Grandson David told me that Catherine did not care to cook and BR did not like yard work, so they chose hotel living for some 30 years. Following Bernard's death and burial, his siblings gathered at the hotel for about a week and held an "Irish Wake" in honor of their older brother, according to David Smith, a grandson.

As late as 1952, he was still attempting to resolve the distribution of the Bernard Reilly estate property, especially lots in Galveston, Tx.

The following is what his brother Michael wrote about Bernard in his family history of the Smith family, parents and siblings...

Bernard Riley Smith was born in San Augustine, Texas (the 2nd child of Patrick and Mary Smith) in 1876 on Sept 15th. He went to business school, Metropolitan College, in Dallas, Texas and joined the Reed Coal Co. of Dallas. He was very successful in the coal business and owned controlling interest in Southern Coal Company with headquarters in Chicago, Ill. (NOTE: this was the reason for the trip to New Orleans in 1947).

While in Dallas, Texas he married Catherine Connelly and had one child, Patrick Bernard Connelly Smith who was born in 1905. died 17 June 1997. They had no other children. He then sold out Southern Coal interest and bought Intermountain Coal Co. of Knoxville, Tenn. He died in Knoxville..... His son P. B. C. Smith still lives in Knoxville, Tenn as of 1996. His son, PBCS, owned and ran Intermountain Coal Co. He recently sold it and retired in Knoxville, TN.

Research is ongoing as to the burial cemetery of BRS. Knoxville Memorial is being used in order to get this memorial posted on FAG. Correction will be made when the actual cemetery is located. EUREKA... In a phone conversation with David Smith, the cemetery is Highland Memorial in Knoxville.

NOTE: Also buried in HIghland Memorial is Patrick Bernard Connelly Smith, #60327191 and his wife, Bessie Stanton Smith, #60327217. The contributor of these is "Spanky" who did not link these two and has disabled his messages and Link requests making it impossible to link PBCS and wife to his parents, BRS and wife.

In April, 2015 "Spanky" came out of his "disablement" temporarily long enough to make the above links. He was in a disagreeable mood but he did do it. THANK you Mr. Spanky, whoever you are.