Son of George Washington Smoot & Ann Rowlett

Married Margaret Thompson McMeans, 11 Nov 1838, Far West, Caldwell, Missouri
Married Diana Eldredge, 6 May 1855, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Married Anne Kirstine Mauritzen, 17 Feb 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Married Emily Hill, 17 Feb 1856, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

History

Smoot was born in Owenton, Kentucky on February 17, 1815 to George W. Smoot and Ann Rowlett Smoot. His family moved twice in his childhood, first to southwestern Kentucky and then to banks of the Blood River in Tennessee. His mother converted to Mormonism in 1833, and he followed her in March 1835.

Missions

In February 1836 he was ordained an Elder and began preaching in Kentucky and Tennessee with Wilford Woodruff, David W. Patten, and others. Woodruff would later marry Smoot's niece and name a son, Abraham Owen Woodruff, after Smoot. He moved to western Missouri in 1837. From there he embarked on a five-month proselytizing mission to southern Missouri and Arkansas in 1838. After participating in the Missouri Mormon War, Smoot moved to Montrose, Iowa. In August 1841, he left to preach in South Carolina, and he returned in July 1842. He led a branch of the Church in Keokuk, Iowa. In 1844, he served another mission in Alabama.

Family

In November 11, 1838, he married Margaret Thompson McMeans McMeans in Far West, Missouri in the aftermath of the siege.

Smoot officiated in the Nauvoo Temple during the winter of 1845-1846. He began practicing polygamy in January 1846 by marrying Sarah Gibbens and Emily Hill. He eventually married three more women (Diana Caroline Tanner Eldredge, Anne Kirstine Mauritzen, and Hannah Caroline Rogers) and had twenty-seven children, three of whom he adopted. United States Senator Reed Smoot and Brigham Smoot were two of his sons; a daughter was Ida Smoot Dusenberry. Smoots fourth child and third daughter Zina Beal Smoot was the wife of Apostle Orson F Whitney.

Salt Lake City

Smoot led companies of pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, 1852, and 1856. He was an alderman from the Sugar House district from 1854 to 1857. He became mayor of Salt Lake City in 1857 after the death of his business partner and then mayor Jedediah M. Grant. He served as mayor until 1866. He also twice was a bishop in Salt Lake City.

Provo and Brigham Young Academy

Brigham Young called Smoot to be president of the Utah Stake in Provo, Utah. Smoot reluctantly accepted, and moved to Provo in February 1868. Within a week, he was elected mayor, an office he held until 1881. He was a major investor in the Provo Woolen Mills, and was co-founder of a bank and a lumber company. Smoot was the first head of the board of trustees of Brigham Young University, then known as Brigham Young Academy. Smoot is also credited with making major financial contributions to the Brigham Young Academy that allowed it to continue functioning. Today, the Administration building at Brigham Young University is known as the Abraham O. Smoot Administration Building.