Alexander Smith Sr. was born March 7, 1852 at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He came to Toronto Canada in 1882 and worked for his brother George and then in a lumber camp. On 20 January 1883 he married Martha Crichton (1861-1946) at York, Ontario, Canada. Two of their children Alexander Jr. (1883-1972) and Isabella (1885-1968) were born in Ontario. In 1886, the Smith family came to the Hamiota district where Alexander's brother James had homesteaded in 1882. Alexander Sr. went to Birtle to file a claim on his homestead S.E. 1/4 18-13-24. The family spent their first years in a house made of clay, grass and straw, which Alexander Sr. built himself.
The remaining ten children - Jean (1885-1968); James (1888-1961); Margaret "Maggie" (1889-1975); Caroline "Carrie" (1890-1984); Lucy (1892-1974); Annie (1894-1980); Lizzie (1895-1973); Martha (1897-1956); Mary (1894-1971) and Harvey (1895-1973) - were born in the Hamiota, Manitoba district. The family was interested in sports, so when neighbors dropped by they were always welcome and a ball game or horseshoes was sure to follow.
Alexander Sr. and Martha Smith celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1932. Alexander Smith Sr. passed away 13 February 1939. He and his wife Margaret are buried at Hamiota, Manitoba.