Smith for the most part was forgotten by his countrymen as a historical figure for over 75 years after his death. In 1853, Peter Skene Ogden had written about the Umpqua massacre in "Traits of American Indian Life and Character by a Fur Trader", and the Oregon Pioneers Association and Hubert Howe Bancroft wrote versions of it in 1876 and 1886, respectively. There are mentions of him in memoirs by other fur trappers, and mentions by George Gibbs and F. V. Hayden in their reports. "Recollection of a Septuagenarian" by William Waldo, published by the Missouri Historical Society in 1880, discussed Smith, focusing on hearsay evidence of his piety. There was no mention of Smith in the 1891 volume 5 publication of "Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography" edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. The first known publication solely about Smith was in the 1896 "Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California". In 1902, Hiram M. Chittenden wrote of him extensively in "The American Fur Trade of the West" The same year Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh wrote about Smith's exploits with the Mojave Indians in his book "The Romance of the Colorado River: The Story of Its Discovery in 1540 with an Account of Later Explorations". Smith, however, again was not listed in the 1906 volume 9 publication of American Biographical Society's "Biographical Dictionary of America", edited by Rossiter Johnson. In 1908, John G. Neihardt and Doane Robinson lamented the obscurity of Smith; afterward, more extensive efforts were initiated to publicize his accomplishments.