Benjamin Arthur Smith was born in Butler, Bates County, Missouri, on 3 August 1896.¹ He lived in Butler with his parents, Benjamin Harris Smith and Ida Gertrude Pearce, until 1900.² Soon thereafter the family moved to the vicinity of Burbank in the Indian Territory where the family established a farm and raised livestock on land owned by a French Indian Chief. It was located in what is now western Oklahoma. His early memories included racing Indians to school on horseback at breakneck speed.³

In 1908, the family resettled in Yakima, Yakima County, Washington, where they operated a livery stable and owned apple orchards for many years.⁴ He attended Yakima public schools and joined the U.S. Navy in 1918 during World War I.⁵ He received his training as an Electricians Mate at the University of Washington in Seattle. He was discharged from the United States Naval Reserve Force in 1921.⁶

Benjamin was a member of the First Christian Church in Yakima since 1919. On 4 December 1921, he married Grace Evelyn Reed in Yakima.⁷ Grace was the daughter of Joseph Anderson Kerr and Annabelle Clay, who had moved to Yakima from Geauga Lake, Ohio, in 1910.⁸ Together, they owned and operated fruit ranches in Summitview and the lower valley and the Wapato area for fifteen years.

Their first son, Alexander Benjamin Smith, was born 3 May 1925.⁹ An other son, George Louis Smith, was born 11 May 1932.¹⁰ During the Great Depression, Benjamin Smith moved his family into Yakima where they owned and operated the Roosevelt Hotel at 17 1/2 North Second Street. In 1936, he established the Arrow Taxi Company and subsequently acquired the Yellow Cab Company that he owned and operated until his retirement in 1967.¹¹ Following his retirement, Benjamin traveled through Europe with his son, Alexander, who was stationed with NATO forces in Naples, Italy. Benjamin was an avid fisherman, and his best friend and fishing partner was his former business associate Albert Kauzlarich.

Benjamin died 11 March 1978 in Yakima following a number of years confined to his bed after suffering a stroke.¹² The stroke left him paralyzed and unable to communicate clearly. The family members, especially his wife, Grace, visited him at the nursing home. He was buried at Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima.¹³

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¹ Missouri Department of Health, delayed birth certificate 583158 (1896), Benjamin Arthur Smith, Bureau of Vital Records, Jefferson City.

² 1900 U. S. census, Bates County, Butler Township, Missouri, population schedule, page 35, enumeration District (ED)12, sheet 14, dwelling 172, family 190, B. H. Smith; NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 839.

³ Benjamin Arthur Smith (Yakima, Washington), interview by Alexander Benjamin Smith,13 October 1962; transcript privately held by interviewer, 3234 Valley Lane, Falls Church, Virginia, 1999.

⁴ Benjamin Arthur Smith, interview, 13 October 1962.

⁵ Benjamin A. Smith Certificate of Military Service, United States Naval Reserve 27 July 1918-30 September 1921; privately held by Alexander Benjamin Smith, 3234 Valley Lane, Falls Church, Virginia, 1999.

⁶ Benjamin A. Smith Certificate of Military Service, U. S. Naval Reserve Force, 27 July 1918-30 September 1921.

⁷ Washington County, Washington, Marriage Book 15:280, Smith-Reed; Auditor’s Office, Yakima.

⁸ Washington Co., Wash., Marriage Book 15:280, Smith-Reed.

⁹ Washington State Board of Health, birth certificate 187 (1925), Alexander Benjamin Smith; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Yakima.

¹⁰ Washington State Board of Health, birth certificate 290 (1932), George Louis Smith; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Yakima.

¹¹ Benjamin Arthur Smith, interview, 13 October 1962.

¹² Washington Board of Health, death certificate 48-632 (1978), Benjamin Arthur Smith; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Yakima.

¹³ “Benjamin Arthur Smith,” obituary, Yakima (Washington) Herald-Republic, 28 November 1978, page 10, column 1.

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