John William Smith

John William Smith (November 4, 1792 – January 12, 1845) was a Republic of Texas and American political figure, the first mayor of San Antonio under the Republic, and the first mayor of San Antonio under the state of Texas. He supported and served Texas during the struggle for Texas Independence. Early life Born William John Smith in Virginia) as the second son of John and Isabel Smith, he grew up in Ralls County, Missouri after moving from his birth state of Virginia, and received an expensive education. He married Harriet Stone in Hannibal, Missouri sometime between 1821 and 1822. They had three known children, Samuel, Mary Elizabeth and Lucinda. His first elected position was in 1822 as Sheriff of Ralls County and State and County tax Collector. He resigned from the post in 1826 to move to Texas following the birth of his third child. His wife refused to accompany him and filed for divorce. She ultimately came to Texas with her second husband. Move to San Antonio Smith moved to Mexican Texas and settled in San Antonio. In Texas, he changed his first and middle names around because "William" was difficult for Mexicans to pronounce. He was known throughout the town as "El Colorado", Spanish for "Redhead". He served as in the city as military storekeeper until 1835 also working as a surveyor (like his Texas contemporaries; James Kerr, Byrd Lockhart, and Arthur Swift ) and a civil engineer. While in the city (San Fernando Cathedral to be exact), he converted to Roman Catholicism and married a 15-year-old Spanish (her great grandfather Juan Curbelo came from the Canary Islands) girl named Maria Jesusita Curbelo.