Richard Malcolm Smith

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Richard Malcolm Smith. Born December 29, 1852, in Kentucky.

Now, a man born in Kentucky who ends up shaping the legal and political landscape of Wood County, Texas, that right there is a journey worth sitting with. He came to Texas in his youth, and when he got here, he did what a lot of sharp young men did back then. He found work with words.

He picked up journalism, writing for the Galveston News and the Brazos Pilot. Two papers, two different corners of Texas life, and Richard Malcolm Smith had a hand in both. Then 1878 rolls around, and he attends his first Democratic state convention.

Not his last. Just his first. A man who shows up to his first convention like that, well, he's got his eyes on something larger than a byline.

He became a lawyer in 1885, and that was that. The next chapter had been written in his mind long before the ink was dry. In 1897 he moved to Wood County, and he didn't come quietly.

He established the Winnsboro Free Press. Then the Wood County News, which was later purchased by the Mineola Monitor. He planted roots in the press and in the law both, which tells you something about the kind of man he was.

He served as Wood County Judge from 1908 to 1912, then stepped up to become judge of the 7th judicial district. And if you think that was the last chapter, think again. In 1931, Richard Malcolm Smith walked into the Texas Legislature.

He served through 1932. The man was born in 1852 and he was still serving in Austin in 1931. Let that settle over you like a West Texas evening.

He and his wife Euzelia, born in 1872, were the parents of four sons. Euzelia lived all the way to 1960. Richard Malcolm Smith passed on August 19, 1935.

Journalist, lawyer, newspaper founder, county judge, district judge, legislator. One life. One Kentucky-born Texan who just kept showing up.

What the marker says

(December 29, 1852 - August 19, 1935) Born in Kentucky, Richard Malcolm Smith came to Texas in his youth. He found work as a journalist with the Galveston News and the Brazos Pilot. Smith attended his first Democratic state convention in 1878. He became a lawyer in 1885. Moving to Wood County in 1897, Smith established the Winnsboro Free Press and the Wood County News, which was purchased by the Mineola Monitor. He served as Wood County Judge from 1908 to 1912, then became judge of the 7th judicial district. He served in the Texas Legislature from 1931 to 1932. Smith and his wife Euzelia (1872-1960) were the parents of four sons. (1999)