Role in Ravensworth – owner in parcels 1.1.1 and 1.1.7

Augustine Jaquelin Smith was born on May 28, 1774 to Augustine and Margaret (Boyd) Smith. The father died ten days later, and within seven years his mother and grandparents had died. He and his sister Mary were then raised under the guardianship of his uncle John Smith, a colonel in the Revolutionary War and later elected member of the US House of Representatives.

On May 23, 1796, Augustine married Susanna Taylor (c.1776-1836), daughter of an Irish emigrant from Dublin. They had nine children:

• Elizabeth Johnstone Smith (1797-?)
• Margaret Boyd Smith (1799-?), married Thomas W. Hewitt
• Mary Jaquelin Smith (1800-?), married Jacob Morgan, May 30, 1826
• Augustine J. Smith (1802-?), married Louisa Wilson, November 11, 1828
• Anna Augusta Smith (1804-1853), married Captain Alexander M. Rose, USN, February 28, 182
• Susanna Taylor Smith (1806-?), married Wiley Roy Mason, November 4, 1828
• David Boyd Smith (1808-1864), married Harriet Dangerfield – sister of Henry Daingerfield
• Jane Allen Smith (1812-?), married Dr. Alexander Mason, December 23, 1831
• William Taylor Smith (1815-?), married Columbia Turner, daughter of Richard Turner, of King George County, VA
• Robert Johnstone Smith (?-1819), lawyer, did not marry^{1 2}

Augustine was a doctor, receiving his education at Carlisle College in Pennsylvania. However, he did not practice medicine. Having a substantial inheritance from his parents’ estate, he instead turned his efforts to agriculture and public service. ³

His public service included:

• He represented Fairfax County in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1796, 1797/98 and 1821/22.⁴
• Along with fellow commissioner Mordecai Fitzhugh, he managed the early effort to build the Middle Turnpike, today’s Leesburg Pike, VA State Route 7.⁵
• He served as a Sergeant in the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812.⁶
• He was sometimes referred to as Colonel, perhaps as a token of respect but more likely for rank earned in the militia.⁷

Augustine Smith lived on his 1200-acre West Grove plantation on the Potomac River two miles south of Alexandria, which he purchased in 1814.⁸ In addition, he owned a home in Alexandria and extensive land in western Virginia (now West Virginia).⁹

The 1820 federal census counted 14 white and 60 enslaved people in his household. Of the latter: 34 were male; 26 were female; 29 were younger than 14 years old. Thirty-four were identified as “engaged in agriculture.”¹⁰

Smith with friend and fellow doctor Henry Rose jointly purchased 3000 Ravensworth acres in Parcel 1.1.1 and Parcel 1.1.7 from Battaile Fitzhugh in 1797. This was a business venture from which they sought profits by further subdividing and selling the land.

Augustine Smith died February 12, 1830. He and Susanna are buried in Saint Paul’s Cemetery, Alexandria, VA. (Augustine Smith – Find A Grave Memorial)

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