The gentleman architect Richard Morris Smith, son of Morris and Caroline Smith, was born in Burlington County, NJ. Nothing is known of his training for architecture, and he first appears as an entry in the diary of Thomas Ustick Walter. On 18 June 1851, Walter records, "...took office in 4th near Chestnut St. with R. Morris Smith @ $12.50 per quarter." Walter had recently been appointed architect of the United States Capitol and was completing some Philadelphia projects before moving to Washington. One of these was alterations to the Spruce Street Baptist Church that Smith superintended. Beyond this single association nothing of Smith's relationship to Walter has yet been discovered.

Smith continues more or less regularly to list himself as an architect in the Philadelphia city directories from 1852 until 1893, although only three of his designs have been discovered. The first of these is "Restalrig Hall" in north Philadelphia erected for Anna E. Armatt and Gustavus G. Logan (1852-1854). Following shortly thereafter comes the James Robb House on Washington Avenue in the fashionable garden district of New Orleans, LA (1853) that proved to be too expensive; in 1855 James Gallier, Jr. (1827-1868) redesigned and completed it. Also in 1853 is Smith's design for a Gothic country house for Rowland Hazard of Peace Dale, Rhode Island. From the drawings that survive, Smith appears to have been a designer and draftsman of modest talent.

According to his cousin, John Jay Smith--whose role in advancing the careers of John Notman, Thomas Ustick Walter and James C. Sidney has been noted elsewhere--Richard M. Smith was in England in 1874. The following year he married Ann Kaighn of "Kaighns Point," New Jersey, and in 1877 he published The Burlington Smiths, A Family History (Philadelphia, E. S. Hart).

Written by Roger W. Moss.