Asa Bowen Smith
Reverend Asa Bowen Smith | |
|---|---|
Asa Bowen Smith, miniature portrait, 1837, Missionary Album | |
| Born | July 16, 1809 Williamstown, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | February 10, 1886 (aged 76) Rocky Hill, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Burial place | Buckland, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Other names | A.B. Smith |
| Education | Middlebury College, Andover Theological Seminary, Yale Theological Seminary |
| Occupation(s) | Minister, missionary |
| Years active | 1838–1886 |
| Known for | Missionary, creator of Nez Perces grammar |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Gilbert White Smith, Harriet E. Smith |
| Parent(s) | Asa and Polly Waller Smith |
| Church | Congregational Church |
| Ordained | 1836 |
| Writings | Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon, U.S. |
Asa Bowen Smith, also known as A.B. Smith (July 16, 1809 – February 10, 1886), was a Congregational missionary posted in Oregon Country and Hawaii with his wife Sarah Gilbert White Smith. In 1840, Smith wrote the manuscript for the book Grammar of the Language of the Nez Perces Indians Formerly of Oregon, U.S.. He conducted the first census of the Nez Perce. After eight years as a missionary, he returned to the Northeastern United States where he was a pastor of the Buckland Congregational Church in Massachusetts and of the Congregational Church in Southbury, Connecticut.
He attended Middlebury College, Andover Theological Seminary, and Yale Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1837.