Biography of William Marion Smith, President, Mississippi Historical Society, 1992
Marion Smith of Natchez, a descendant of 18th-century pioneers in what became the Natchez region, has long had a love for Mississippi and its history.
An honor graduate of Natchez High School, he received B.A. and J.D. degrees with honors from the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Moot Court Board, editorial board of the Law Journal and Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
After law school he became a partner in the Natchez law firm, Truly, Smith & Latham, and is annually selected by his peers for listing in Best Lawyers in America. He also taught oil and gas law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
As a Senator in the Mississippi Legislature for 12 years, he served as President of the Senate and interim Governor, was chairman of the Oil & Gas Committee, vice-chairman of the Finance Committee and one of two Mississippi members of the National Council of State Legislative Leaders.
He has served as president of the Mississippi-Alabama Division of the Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, co-owner of Ron-Mar Energy Co., Houston, Tex., and attorney for the Adams County (Miss.) Board of Supervisors and Gulf States Canners, Clinton, Miss.
He has served as president of the Ole Miss Alumni Association, the Inter-Alumni Council of Institutions of Higher Learning, the Mississippi Historical Society, the Natchez Historical Society and the Trinity Episcopal School Board of Trustees.
He has served as Senior Warden at Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity Warden at Christ Episcopal Church, Governor General of the First Families of Mississippi and as longtime member of the Adams County Water Association Board.
He and his wife, Carolyn Vance Smith, have two children, Emily Smith Wright of Bloomington, Ind., and William M. Smith, Jr., of New Orleans, and four grandchildren.