William Smith (ship captain)

In 1810, he sailed to Guangzhou, China to deliver 63,000 otter and seal skins from the Farallon Islands.

In 1816, he returned to California after working in Hawaii and Southeast Asia, where he participated in the sandalwood trade.

Leese informed the United States Consulate in Monterey, California about Smith's death in a letter dated May 8.

In the letter, Leese said that Smith was buried "on the South Cide of the Sonoma Mountain North of the Town in a verry Noted Place."

The exact location of Smith's grave was unsuccessfully sought by the Sons of the American Revolution, who created a monument near the presumed site at Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma.