John Lincoln Smith (1860–1923)

Smith was born in 1860 to parents who had emigrated from Prussia to the United States. The family subsequently moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Zanesville, Ohio. His German immigrant background is recorded in historical biographical research concerning his life and career.[1]


Smith established himself as a professional photographer in Zanesville by the 1890s. City directories identify J. L. Smith at 101 Main Street in 1896 and J. Lincoln Smith at 101–107 Main Street in 1900. By 1901, the studio had relocated to 319–325 Main Street, where it continued to be listed through at least 1910.[2] Other research places his commercial activity in Zanesville as late as 1922.[1]

His surviving photographic work includes cabinet-card portraits and local subjects bearing variations of the studio imprint, including *Smith*, *Smith's*, and *J. L. Smith*. The premises at 101–107 Main Street were also associated with the photographic firm Smith and Schultz during the early 1890s.[2]

Among his documented works is a large-format photograph of the Zanesville Rube Band, a musical organization associated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Smith copyrighted the photograph in 1908, with a corresponding entry in the United States *Catalogue of Copyright Entries* dated June 17, 1908.[1]


Smith participated extensively in Zanesville's fraternal and civic affairs. A biographical account published in 1905 identifies his membership in the Freemasons, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, Woodmen, Maccabees, and Royal Arcanum. He had also belonged to the Elks. Politically, he was identified with the Republican Party and had served as a trustee of the Zanesville city cemeteries.[3]


Smith was married to Gertrude Watson Smith, daughter of William A. Watson, an early Zanesville merchant tailor. Gertrude assisted her husband in his photographic business for many years and was prominent in local civic and social affairs. She belonged to Grace Methodist Episcopal Church and was a founding participant in the city's Psychological Society.

The couple had four children: Don D. Smith, Sidney M. Smith, Louanna Gunther, and a daughter who married Miriam Morrison. Following her husband's death, Gertrude moved to Long Island, New York, where she died after a prolonged illness. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Zanesville.


Smith suffered from paralysis in later life and was reportedly confined to a wheelchair. He died in 1923, aged approximately 63.[1]


John Lincoln Smith has been incorrectly identified as the son of Elon Edmund Smith (1848–1929), a photographer associated with Marysville, Ohio. The identification appears in a 2021 photographic-history article that attempts to connect the two photographers through similarly named studios and their activities in Ohio.[2]

This father-son identification is contradicted by biographical and chronological evidence. Elon Edmund Smith's gravestone records his birth in 1848, only twelve years before John Lincoln Smith's birth in 1860. More decisively, John's documented family background identifies his parents as Prussian immigrants who moved from Baltimore to Zanesville, whereas Elon Edmund Smith was born in Ohio to Edmund Doty Smith and Lavinia Bailey Woods.[1][2]

The two photographers therefore represent distinct biographical identities, and the attribution of John Lincoln Smith as Elon Edmund Smith's son is erroneous. Their shared surname and profession do not establish a familial relationship.


1. Brubaker, Mike. "[The Zanesville Rube Band](https://temposenzatempo.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-zanesville-rube-band.html)." *TempoSenzaTempo*, October 18, 2013.
2. "[Elon Smith of Ohio](https://cabinetcardphotographers.blogspot.com/2017/09/e-smith.html)." *Cabinet Card Photographers*, March 1, 2021. Includes photographic studio records, city-directory listings, and genealogical information.
3. Sutor, J. Hope. *Past and Present of the City of Zanesville and Muskingum County, Ohio*. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1905, pp. 636–639.
4. United States Copyright Office. *Catalogue of Copyright Entries*, 1908, p. 284. Photograph of the Zanesville Rube Band by J. Lincoln Smith.
5. Gravestone of Elon Edmund Smith (1848–1929). Birth-date evidence identified through independent research by Tony Bonn.