Patrick Thomas Smith was born and raised in Western Maryland. He is a graduate of Frostburg State College (BS), West Virginia University (MS) and Texas A&M University (PhD). His first book on the Friend Family was published in 2006. Since then, he has published over forty books on the Friends as well as other families of Western Maryland. He is the 4th great grandson of John Friend, Jr. and a member of the Friend Family Association of America. He lives in Frederick, Maryland with his daughter, Emma Gustav Smith.