American collector - portrait of Samuel Hoy Smith

These images of a miniature portrait have been kindly submitted for display by its current owner, Dave Ketterer who is keen to know more about the sitter.

Dave's grandmother was advised in around 1957 that it was by one of the Peales. Although I cannot confirm this, it does seem, based on a comparison of styles, that Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825) is the most likely member of the Peale family.

The sitter is Samuel Hoy Smith, a Mason and one of the original settlers of Knox Co. Ohio. Samuel Hoy Smith was born 24 Feb 1776 in New York and died 17 March 1862. His first wife was called Elizabeth. Later he married Jane Victor and they had nine children. There is a marriage recorded between Samuel Smith and Jane Victor on 16 Apr 1821 at Muskingum, Ohio.

Samuel Hoy Smith was the owner of a newspaper called "The Ohio Register", for more about it see KnoxCo., OH - Early Research Page There is also an Internet reference to Samuel Hoy Smith seeking a grant of land in 1825 on behalf of himself and several hundred other persons. Dave Ketterer has a lot of information about Samuel Hoy Smith and is particularly interested in tracing his first wife Elizabeth. Dave can be reached at ketterer@empireone.net

The portrait is painted on ivory and is believed to have been painted around 1801. The frame is a typical American one of that period, with woven hair under the reverse glass, and the sitter's costume supports a date of 1801. The engraving on the reverse "Mary Jane Smith 1860" is a later addition. At the bottom the word Leppleman is engraved, for Mary Jane Smith Leppleman, her married name as she married Edward H Leppleman on 29 Aug 1866.