Smith was the son of
George Smith of
Truro and his wife Elizabeth Burall Bickford. He was educated at Saltash and Plymouth. His grandfather
William Bickford had developed a method of making mining fuses using rope which was safer than previous methods and with Smith's father had established a factory at
Tuckingmill,
Cornwall. Smith became a partner in his father's firm of Bickford, Smith, & Co. and lived near the factory at Camborne. There was another factory at St. Helen's Junction, Lancashire, and Smith was also chairman of
Helston Railway. He was also captain in the 15th Cornwall Rifle Volunteers and
J.P. for Cornwall. In 1868, he took the additional surname of Bickford, when he inherited the property of his maternal grandfather. Bickford-Smith purchased the
Trevarno Estate, at
Helston, Cornwall in 1874 and set about developing the gardens. Bickford-Smith was elected at the
1885 general election as the
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Truro. In
1886 he was re-elected as a Liberal Unionist and held the seat until he stood down at the
1892 general election. Bickford-Smith married Margaret Leaman Venning in 1852. After her death he married Anna Matilda Bond. They were staunch
Methodists. He died at the age of 71, in 1899. His son was the barrister and antiquary
Roandeau Albert Henry Bickford-Smith. Twin sons were born on 24 December 1881 at Trevarno. ==References==