# Philander Smith

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For the Natchez planter, see [Philander Smith (Mississippi)](/source/Philander_Smith_(Mississippi)).

**Philander Smith** (November 23, 1809 – February 24, 1882) was an American real estate agent and philanthropist. [Philander Smith University](/source/Philander_Smith_University) is his namesake.

## Biography

Philander Smith was the son of David Smith, whose 1801 sawmill in [upstate New York](/source/Upstate_New_York) gave name to the village of Smith’s Mills (now the town of [Adams](/source/Adams_(town),_New_York)).

Among the early settlers at [Oak Park, Illinois](/source/Oak_Park,_Illinois), Smith and wife Adeline provided financial assistance to [Methodist](/source/Methodism) missions in [India](/source/Methodist_Church_in_India), China, and Japan.

Smith died in Oak Park on February 24, 1882, and was buried at [Forest Home Cemetery](/source/Forest_Home_Cemetery) in Forest Park, Illinois.[1] His widow Adeline continued to give away his $125,000 fortune to a number of causes for a dozen years after his death. Her gift that year to the Methodists' Walden Seminary in [Little Rock, Arkansas](/source/Little_Rock,_Arkansas) resulted in its immediate renaming as [Philander Smith College](/source/Philander_Smith_College).

## Legacy

- In 2003, the Historical Association of South [Jefferson \[County](/source/Jefferson_County,_New_York)] moved into the former Philander Smith House at 29 East Church Street in Adams, New York.
- With the 1866 marriage of his daughter Sarah, Mr. Smith became father-in-law to famous [Christian Zionist](/source/Christian_Zionism) [William Eugene Blackstone](/source/William_Eugene_Blackstone).
- Adeline M. Smith was memorialized in *The Gospel in All Lands 1895,* p. 519, so she probably died that year. The eulogy lists the many donations she made to the church.

## References

1. ["Deaths: Smith"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106197080/deaths/). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. 1882-02-25. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-24. – via Newspapers.com.

- McCabe, C. C. ["A Faithful Steward"](https://books.google.com/books?id=WmhrkGe1PXQC&q=philander) in *The Gospel in All Lands* (New York: Hunt & Eaton, 1895): 519
- [Philander Smith College: History](https://www.philander.edu/history)
- [Philander Smith College: Mission](https://www.philander.edu/about-psc/)

## External links

- [Adams (New York) History and Genealogy](https://web.archive.org/web/20110811034043/http://adamsny.net/adamsnyoldhouses.html)

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