Joseph Leonard Smallwood was born in 1811 in Charles County, Maryland. He lived and worked on the family farm until the age of 24 when he moved to Alabama. Smallwood married Rebecca Gibson in 1836 and relocated to St. Joseph, Florida. Joseph and Rebecca continued to move for the majority of their lives.
Anthony Wayne Smith (1906-1992) was an attorney for the CIO and AFL-CIO from the 1940s into the mid-1950s when he became passionate about environmental issues and took up conservation causes at several National Parks. His papers consist of correspondence, legal materials, and ephemera from Smith's personal life, his time at the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA), CIO, and AFL-CIO.