Smith, Nathan Allen, approximately 1750-1825

Nathan Allen Smith was a Quaker minister from Philadelphia. He was the son of Ralph Smith and Margery Allen, the daughter of Nathan Allen. The exact place and date of Smith's birth are uncertain, though it likely occurred within several years of his parents' marriage in April 1749. Because his mother was temporarily disowned by the Society of Friends for marrying a non-Quaker, Smith was not a Friend by birth, but joined the Society in 1786. He was soon recognized as a minister, and over the next two decades made religious visits to many meetings in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Smith seems to have married twice. His first wife, Joyce, died in 1812; several of the couple's children had died previously, and the two surviving sons, Ralph and Nathan, were disowned by the Society of Friends in 1811 and 1815. Smith remarried in 1817 to Phebe Pearson.

Late in 1819 Smith was removed from the ministry due to the large amount of debt he had accumulated. He died in 1825.