Isaac Smith was born in Truro, Massachusetts to Captain David Smith and Rebecca Lombard. Both of his parents were of English descent whose families who had lived as fishermen for several generations in this area of Cape Cod. At the time of his birth, the country was fighting the American Revolution. Isaac's parents were Loyalists. At the end of the Revolution, in 1784, they chose to move their family to Guysborough, Nova Scotia. Isaac would have only been a toddler. In future records, Isaac personally confirms that his family remained there for a period of about two years before moving to Port Hood Island.
In 1789, his father drowned while on a seal hunting expedition with his sons. Some sources state that Isaac was with them on that fateful day, while others discredit this, assuming Isaac was too young. He would have been 9 years old. Despite their misfortune, Isaac's family continued living a secluded life on the island, basically from the land and sea.
It is recorded that Isaac and his brothers Lewis and David were among the first land holders on the mainland. The most interesting thing to note in the records is that Isaac was only 14 years old in 1795 when he received a lot of land of 200 acres with a promise to occupy and improve. The grant for this lot was allowed later around 1818.
Isaac's brother Harding, who had returned to Massachusetts as an adult but continued to visit Nova Scotia, helped Isaac build a house for himself. It was the first frame house in Port Hood. During the 1940's, a woman named Clara Dennis wrote several books and did a series of photographs documenting the folklore and family stories about the people of Nova Scotia. Isaac's house was featured in the book "Cape Breton Over". Over 130 years after it had been built, it was still standing and Isaac's descendants still lived in it.
Isaac married to Catherine Fraser around the year 1815.
They raised a large family and Isaac became known as progressive farmer in his time.
He died in 1853.

SOURCES:
-His birth registration in the Vital Records of Truro, Massachusetts
-Last Will and Testament of Isaac Smith
-The last will and testament of Rebecca Smith
-Cape Breton Island Petitions at Nova Scotia Archives for Isaac Smith 1818
-Cape Breton Island Census Rolls 1818
-Nova Scotia Census Returns 1838
-“The Smiths of Cape Breton”, by Perley Watts Smith, 1967,Chapter 6
"History of Inverness County", by J.L. MacDougall, 1922 - pg. 250
-"Mabou Pioneers", A.D. MacDonald, 1977 -pg 654
-"Cape Breton Over", by Clara Dennis, pg. 269
-“Cape Breton and the Jackson Kith and Kin”, pg 120 – 121
-"Sidney Earle Smith", by Edward Annand Corbett, 1961
-“The Consolidated Genealogies of the Ralph Smith Family”, by Ralph S. Bloise, 1992, pg. 55