Smith was born in Cecil County, Maryland, not far from the modern location of the Conowingo Dam.
[1] He was "tall, blond, slender, and had piercing eyes" and was "emotional to a degree we do not usually associate with Englishmen.
[1] He and his family moved west to Cross Creek in what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania.
[1] Smith was known as a "firery and eloquent speaker" and held days-long revivals on the high plateau at Upper Buffalo.
[1] It was said that he kept a cloak at the foot of his bed for use when he would spontaneously rise to pray in his bitterly cold room in the middle of the night.