Life in Southern Prisons

Charles Smedley, eldest son of Joel and Martha Smedley, was born in Fulton Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on the first day of November, 1836. Until his nineteenth year he remained at home, assisting his father in farming during the Summer seasons, and in the Winter attending the public school of the district. Having mastered the elementary branches usually taught in the district schools, and desiring to acquire a knowledge of the higher scientific studies, he entered as a student in the celebrated Friends' School at Westtown, on the seventh of May, 1855. While at this institution, he pursued the studies he had chosen with great diligence and success. By close application he attained an honorable standing in his class; and his strict deportment merited the high approbation of his preceptors and the confidence of all his companions. On the eleventh of April, 1856, after spending nearly a year at Westtown, he returned home and again assisted his father in superintending the mills and managing the farm. This engaged his attention for the next two years.