Dr. William Smedley

William Smedley was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on May 4, 1836 to Abiah T. and Agnes Few Smedley. In 1862, in a prairie schooner drawn by an ox team William began his pioneer journey going from Omaha to Oregon. His diaries from that journey would be published in 1916, Across the Plains, and become the anchor to family tales as well as the recreation of his journey by future generations. 

 After one year in the far west William returned to Pennsylvania and attended Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He began practicing in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1870, before moving back west to Colorado. William would arrive in Denver on September 25, 1870 where he would continue his dental practice. 

Dr. William Smedley valued education and professional development which lead him to be the first president of the Denver Dental Association and the Colorado State Dental Association. He was also the president of the board of directors of the North Side School District for seventeen years which led to the later dedication of Smedley Elementary School in North Denver. 

He was an active member of the Colorado Humane Society for over twenty-five years and one of the early members of the Denver Chamber of Commerce. His other community involvement included the Denver Philosophical Society, the State Forestry Association and the Colorado Mountain Club where he would climb most of Colorado’s highest peaks. 

On July 4, 1872, in Chester, Pennsylvania, Dr. William Smedley married Miss Mary Ellen Vickers. Dr. and Mrs. Smedley had five children, all born in Denver. The eldest, Annie V., followed by William Paxson, Chester Earl, Victor Clyde and Agnes M.