Soapy Smith – Adventures in Western History

Soapy Smith Speaks

By joyce4books | April 18, 2010 by joyce4books

A colorful historical character, Soapy Smith, provided a great story from the Old West, and considerable food for thought in my previous blog entry. To follow up on this subject, his great-grandson and namesake, Jeff Smith, has graciously agreed to answer some questions here, about his search for truth regarding his famous ancestor. When you were researching your great-grandfather Soapy Smith’s life, what were your favorite discoveries? I would say my favorite discovery was the…

Alias Soapy Smith

By joyce4books | April 14, 2010 by joyce4books

Recently, I was contacted by Jeff Smith, the descendant of a well-known colorful Western pioneer, who went by the name of “Soapy Smith”. In plain terms, Soapy was a con-artist who found creative ways to secure an income while dodging the law in the Western United States and Alaska. His name evolved from a scheme in which currency was hidden in cakes of soap and sold to gullible customers willing to gamble on its placement.…