Smarr, Sam (1788?–1845), a beef farmer, was shot to death in January 1845 by merchant William Perry Owsley. Witnesses said Smarr was generally a peaceful man and “in good circumstances as to property.” He was “as honest a man as any in the state,” said one Hannibal resident, but “when drinking . . . was a little turbulent and made a good deal of noise.” A second witness agreed that Smarr was a kind and good neighbor when sober, but when drinking “he was very abusive, and did not care much what he said.” Another regarded him as “dangerous . . . though some think not.” The murder is mentioned in “Letter to William Bowen” (21) and “Villagers” (101), and is re-created in chapter 21 of Huckleberry Finn (1885), where Colonel Sherburn shoots “old Boggs.” In 1900 Clemens wrote: “I can’t ever forget Boggs, because I saw him die, with a family Bible spread open on his breast. . . . Boggs represents Smarr in the book” (SLC to Miss Goodrich-Freer, 11 Jan 1900, ViU; Missouri v. Owsley).
