With genealogies of the Smith, Cathcart, and Ramsey families

The Smith farm, July 18th, 1895

Thomas Smith [earliest known progenitor] and his family first came to Monroe County from South Carolina in 1826. He traveled with fellow members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church who were deeply opposed to slavery and who wanted greater educational opportunities. He bought land just east of Bloomington, including where Covenanter Cemetery is now located. Thomas married Jane Curry and had five sons and three daughters. Their sons included James Cameron Smith and Renwick Cargill Smith.

Thomas and Jane highly valued education. In the 1830s when the Indiana State Legislature suggested moving the state seminary to Indianapolis, the Smiths were among several prominent Monroe County families who contributed funds to keep the seminary here. Because of the Smiths' $500 contribution, they were honored with the right to have all their heirs attend the state seminary tuition-free. All of the Smith children and many of the grandchildren took advantage of this arrangement. Had it not been for the Smiths' generous contribution, Indiana University would probably not be in Bloomington today.

In the troubled years leading up to the Civil War, the Smith family was very active in the Underground Railroad. Their house was one of two Bloomington stations on the Railroad, hiding escaped African-Americans who'd been kept as slaves in the South and secretly helping them move farther north.

The Smith boys were usually the conductors on the Railroad. They would cart a large load of hay to Morgantown to sell it, with the African-Americans hidden under the hay. Morgantown was the site of the nearest station on the Railroad: The John Cathcart farm. As fellow members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, the Cathcarts had much in common with the Smiths and visits between the families became commonplace.

When the Civil War broke out, both James Cameron Smith and Renwick Cargill Smith joined the Union army, with Renwick serving as an officer. When the war was over, Renwick farmed and worked as a building contractor and in the limestone business.

James Cameron Smith, Renwick’s brother, married Mary Jane Cathcart Smith and had nine children, all of whom attended Indiana University. One descendant, Henry Lester Smith, served as dean of the IU School of Education for many years. It was James and Mary Jane who purchased the land which became Smith Farm, Ramsey Farm, and now Renwick.

The Smith family in 1895: James Cameron Smith (center) and Mary Jane Cathcart Smith (back row, second from right) with their nine children.

Mary Jane Cathcart Smith was the daughter of John Cathcart and Sarah Little Cathcart. John was a native of Ireland who immigrated to the United States, settling first in Ohio in the 1830s before moving to Morgantown. He married Sarah and had three children: Mary Jane, Samuel, and Ella. As noted above, the Cathcarts were active abolitionists which, with their religious ties, gave them much in common with the Smith family. Mary Jane married James Cameron Smith while Ella married his brother Samuel.

Among the nine children of Mary Jane Cathcart Smith and her husband James Cameron Smith was daughter Clara. In 1897, she married Rolla R. Ramsey on the Smith farm (now Renwick). Rolla was a professor of physics at Indiana University for 41 years and a pioneer in electronics and radio. He was the first to bring radio broadcasts to I.U. and Bloomington. In 1927, he successfully sent a television image from a transmitter to a receiver at the opposite end of the I.U. physics hall. During World War I, he headed the Army’s radio course at I.U. and introduced civilian teaching of radio into the Army.

Snow at Smith Farm, 1910

Clara and Rolla had one son, Hugh. Born in 1907, he later became a Bloomington physician.

Hugh married Gail Glenn Ramsey in 1934. During World War II, Hugh served in the Army Medical Corps in the European Theater. After the war, he resumed his practice. He served two terms as Monroe County coroner and was a member of City Council from 1951-1955. Gail Glenn Ramsey was head of the local Red Cross blood drive and president of Tri Kappa, a women's service organization. Hugh and Gail had four children (John, Frances, James, and Charles) and lived for over 50 years in a house on East Third Street.

In 2003, Wininger/Stolberg Group purchased Ramsey Farm from Charles Hugh Ramsey, trustee of the Gail Glenn Ramsey estate. In Charles’ own words:

“This land represents an important family legacy of struggle, commitment, and joy during the six generations of Smith/Ramsey family ownership. It was imperative to us, the current generation, to strive to honor the past generations that worked the land, worshipped their Lord, cared for the ill, educated students, and enjoyed the beauty of this area. We feel the land is now in the hands of an organization who shares our vision of development that will honor that legacy.”
- Charles Ramsey, Smith/Ramsey heir and former Bloomington resident