The Smith Family is well known to the people of Austin County with branches dating back to 1824 in Austin's Colony. Betty Smith Meischen owns the property with her two brothers AJ and Ricky Smith. Our family settled in Austin County in 1824, some of the earliest colonists with Stephen F. Austin. Ten of our direct ancestors were in Texas during the Colonial era and another handful during the Republic. Our 2nd great grandmother Rebecca Bell was born in Austin County, Texas (then Mexico) in 1832. We descend from the Bells that founded Bellville. Our father, AJ Smith started a flooring business in 1946 in Bellville. It later turned in to a furniture and appliance store also. Betty and her brothers grew up working in the family business and continued to do so up until it was sold in 2008. Our mother and father, Betty and her two brothers all graduated from Bellville High school as well as our three children. Betty has written and published 10 books, largely on Texas History. She writes a column in the New Ulm Enterprise entitled Reflections. She is a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She and her husband Del live near Round Top.