Samuel Smith Sr. was born in Isle of Wight, Virginia on May 27, 1709. Later a resident of Johnston County, North Carolina, he was referred to as a colonel, possibly due to involvement in the local militia. Smith was an owner of enslaved people, and in 1779 one of his enslaved people, a man named Bristoe, was found guilty of witchcraft. Smith died in Johnston on September 14, 1783.